Baby I Lied

"Baby I Lied"
Single by Deborah Allen
from the album Cheat the Night
B-side"Time Is Taking You Away from Me"
ReleasedAugust 20, 1983
GenreCountry
Length4:09
LabelRCA
Songwriter(s)Deborah Allen, Rafe Van Hoy, Rory Bourke
Producer(s)Charles Calello
Deborah Allen singles chronology
"Don't Stop Lovin' Me"
(1982) 		"Baby I Lied"
(1983) 		"I've Been Wrong Before"
(1983)

"Baby I Lied" is a song recorded by American country music artist Deborah Allen. It was released in August 1983 as the first single from the album Cheat the Night. The song reached number 4 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart. It was also her only hit on the Billboard Hot 100, where it went to number 26.[1] The song was written by Allen, Rafe Van Hoy and Rory Bourke.

The B-side of the single, "Time is Taking You Away from Me" was written by Allen and Van Hoy, and is a track that has not appeared on any subsequent albums.

Critical reception

In The Encyclopedia of Country Music, Mary A. Bufwack wrote that the song showed "Allen's country-pop style, marked by a wall of sound and soulful singing".[2]

Chart performance

Chart (1983–1984) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[3] 31
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[4] 4
US Billboard Hot 100[5] 26
US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[6] 10
US Cash Box Top 100[7] 23

Shannon Brown version

"Baby I Lied"
Single by Shannon Brown
from the album Untangle My Heart
B-side"Untangle My Heart"[8]
ReleasedAugust 20, 2001[9]
GenreCountry
Length3:40
LabelBNA
Songwriter(s)
  • Deborah Allen
  • Rafe Van Hoy
  • Rory Michael Bourke
Producer(s)Byron Gallimore[10]
Shannon Brown singles chronology
"Half a Man"
(1999) 		"Baby I Lied"
(2001) 		"Untangle My Heart"
(2002)

Shannon Brown released a cover of "Baby I Lied", releasing it on August 20, 2001, as her debut single for BNA Records, following getting dropped by Arista Nashville; at the time, Brown was the only female artist signed with the label.[11] Her version was supposed to be the lead single to her second planned debut album,[12] this one titled Untangle My Heart, which was planned for a January 2002 release. The album was never released and Brown was dropped by BNA following the album's second sincgle "Untangle My Heart".[8]

Content

Brown said of the decision to cover the song in a Radio & Records interview, "It was such an incredible record. I just wanted to make sure we could do it justice. Vocally, I did a few things that are me, but Deborah's vocal was absolutely amazing. It's a timeless song, and I just tried to make it my song as well."[11]

Critical reception

Deborah Evans Price of Billboard praised Brown's version of the song, saying that it "stands the test of time" and "Brown turns in a fine performance, shaded with ache and regret."[10]

Charts

Chart (2001) Peak
position
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[13] 40

Other cover versions

  • Tracey Ullman recorded a cover of the song shortly after Allen released the song as a single.[14]

References

  1. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2008). Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2008. Record Research, Inc. p. 22. ISBN 978-0-89820-177-2.
  2. ^ Kingsbury, Paul (2004). The Encyclopedia of Country Music. Oxford University Press. p. 9. ISBN 978-0-19-517608-7.
  3. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  4. ^ "Deborah Allen Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
  5. ^ "Deborah Allen Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  6. ^ "Deborah Allen Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard.
  7. ^ "Cash Box Top 100 Singles, February 4, 1984". Archived from the original on June 1, 2015. Retrieved September 10, 2017.
  8. ^ a b Whitburn, p. 66
  9. ^ "Going for Adds: Country". Radio & Records. No. 1415. August 17, 2001. p. 66.
  10. ^ a b Price, Deborah Evans (1 September 2001). "Reviews". Billboard. p. 23.
  11. ^ a b Gilbert, Calvin (August 24, 2001). "Brown Finds Her Place At BNA". Radio & Records. No. 1416. p. 138.
  12. ^ "Baby I Lied" (US CD promotional liner notes). Shannon Brown. BNA Records. 2001. 69104
  13. ^ "Shannon Brown Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
  14. ^ Baby I Lied. YouTube. Archived from the original on 2021-12-09.