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It Ain't Easy
It Ain't Easy
Studio album by Janie Fricke
Released	September 1982
Recorded	June 1982
Studio	Soundshop Studio
Genre	Country-pop
Label	Columbia
Producer	Bob Montgomery
Janie Fricke chronology
Singles from It Ain't Easy
	"It Ain't Easy Bein' Easy"; Released: August 1982; "You Don't Know Love"; Released: January 1983; "He's a Heartache (Looking for a Place to Happen)"; Released: May 1983;

It Ain't Easy is a studio album by American country music artist Janie Fricke. It was released in September 1982 via Columbia Records and contained ten tracks. The disc was the seventh studio release of Fricke's career and reached the top 15 of the American country LP's chart. The album spawned three singles. Two of its singles "You Don't Know Love" and "He's a Heartache (Looking for a Place to Happen)" reached the number one spot on the North American country songs charts.

Background and content

Janie Fricke struggled for several years to craft a musical identity until she began focusing on ballads in 1980. Her breakthrough came later that year with the top five chart hit "Down to My Last Broken Heart".^[2] She changed towards a more up-tempo country pop musical style with her next album release It Ain't Easy.^[3] Fricke also shifted producers for the album, working for the first time with Bob Montgomery. The album was recorded in June 1982 at the Soundshop Studio located in Franklin, Tennessee.^[4] It Ain't Easy contained a total of ten tracks.^[1] Most of the album's material were new recordings. Two of these tracks were composed by songwriter Jeff Silbar ("He's a Heartache" and "Who Better Than an Angel") and one was composed by singer-songwriter Mark Gray ("It Ain't Easy Bein' Easy"). The album also included a cover of Sami Jo's country pop crossover single from 1974 "Tell Me a Lie".^[4]

Release and reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic

It Ain't Easy was originally released in September 1982 on Columbia Records. It was the seventh studio album released in Fricke's career. The album was originally distributed as a vinyl LP and a cassette. Both formats offered an identical track listing.^[4]^[5] It was later reissued to digital markets including Apple Music.^[6] AllMusic's Tom Roland gave the album three out of five stars in his review: "Here she sounds like a strong woman who's very familiar with heartache, and producer Bob Montgomery gives her some rockin' material to shout on."^[1] The disc spent a total of 58 weeks on the American Billboard country albums chart, peaking at number 15 in January 1983. It was Fricke's longest-charting album in her career.^[7]

Singles

Three singles were spawned from the project It Ain't Easy. The first of its singles was the title track "It Ain't Easy Bein' Easy", which was issued by Columbia Records in August 1982.^[8] The song spent one week at the number one spot on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart in November 1982.^[9] It was followed in January 1983 by the second single "You Don't Know Love".^[10] It spent 19 weeks on the Billboard country chart and reached number four by April 1983.^[9] The third and final single was "He's a Heartache (Looking for a Place to Happen)". The track was issued as a single in May 1983.^[11] The song became Fricke's fourth number one single on the Billboard country chart, spending one week there.^[9] In Canada, both the title track and "He's a Heartache" would also reach the number one spot on the RPM country list.^[12] Although originally released on Fricke's It Ain't Easy LP, "Tell Me a Lie" was officially released as a single in September 1983 to help promote her next album Love Lies.^[13]

Track listings

Original versions

Side one (LP and cassette versions)^[4]^[5]
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"He's a Heartache (Looking for a Place to Happen)"	Larry Henley Jeff Silbar	2:58
2.	"Who Better Than an Angel"	Tim DuBois Sam Lorber Silbar	3:10
3.	"It Ain't Easy Bein' Easy"	Mark Gray Shawna Harrington-Burkhart Les Taylor	3:35
4.	"Too Hard on My Heart"	Rendy Caneer Eric Johnson Bob Shelton	3:04
5.	"A Little More Love"	Bruce Channel Didier Daily	3:33

Side two (LP and cassette versions)^[4]^[5]
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Love Have Mercy"	Jan Buckingham Wood Newton	2:35
2.	"Tell Me a Lie"	Mickey Buckins Barbara Wyrick	3:55
3.	"You Don't Know Love"	Beckie Foster Don King	3:21
4.	"Heart to Heart Talk"	Danny Morrison John Reid Johnny Slate	2:28
5.	"Tryin' to Fool a Fool"	John Schweers	2:45

Digital version

Music download and streaming^[6]
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"He's a Heartache (Looking for a Place to Happen)"	Henley Silbar	3:01
2.	"Who Better Than an Angel"	DuBois Lorber Silbar	3:11
3.	"It Ain't Easy Bein' Easy"	Gray Burkhart Taylor	3:36
4.	"Too Hard on My Heart"	Caneer Johnson Shelton	3:07
5.	"A Little More Love"	Channel Daily	3:34
6.	"Love Have Mercy"	Buckingham Newton	2:35
7.	"Tell Me a Lie"	Buckins Wyrick	4:01
8.	"You Don't Know Love"	Foster King	3:22
9.	"Heart to Heart Talk"	Morrison Reid Slate	2:29
10.	"Tryin' to Fool a Fool"	Schweers	2:51

Personnel

All credits are adapted from the liner notes of It Ain't Easy'.^[4]

Musical and technical personnel

Janie Fricke - lead vocals
Janie Fricke, Judy Rodman, Bill Warren, Tony Wiggins, Benny Wilson - backing vocals
Ron Oates - piano
Bob Wray - bass guitar
James Stroud - drums
Don Gorman (track 1), Dann Huff, Kenny Mims - guitar
Don Gorman - guitar solo (track 1)
Shane Keister - keyboards

Charts

Weekly chart performance for *It Ain't Easy*
Chart (1982–1983)	Peak position
US Top Country Albums (Billboard)^[14]	15

Accolades


Year	Nominee / work	Award	Result	Ref.
1983	Country Music Association Awards	Album of the Year for It Ain't Easy	Nominated	^[15]

Release history

Region	Date	Format	Label	Ref.
North America	September 1982	Vinyl	Columbia Records	^[4]
North America		Cassette	Columbia Records	^[5]
United Kingdom		Vinyl	CBS Records International	^[16]
North America	2016	Music download streaming	Columbia Records	^[17]^[6]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c Roland, Tom. "It Ain't Easy: Janie Fricke: Songs, reviews, credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
^ Deming, Mark. "Janie Fricke Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
^ Erlewine, Michael (1997). All Music Guide to Country. Miller Freeman Publications. p. 163. ISBN 9780879304751.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Fricke, Janie (September 1982). "It Ain't Easy (LP Liner Notes and Album Information)". Columbia Records. FC-38214.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Fricke, Janie (September 1982). "It Ain't Easy (Cassette Liner Notes and Album Information)". Columbia Records. FCT-38214.
^ ^a ^b ^c "It Ain't Easy by Janie Fricke". Apple Music. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
^ "Janie Fricke chart history (Country Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
^ Fricke, Janie (August 1982). ""It Ain't Easy Bein' Easy"/"A Little More Love" (7" vinyl single)". Columbia Records. 38-03214.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Janie Fricke chart history (Country Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
^ Fricke, Janie (January 1983). ""You Don't Know Love"/"Heart to Heart Talk" (7" vinyl single)". Columbia Records. 38-03498.
^ Fricke, Janie (May 1983). ""He's a Heartache (Looking for a Place to Happen)"/"Tryin' to a Fool a Fool" (7" vinyl single)". Columbia Records. 38-03899.
^ "Search results for "Janie Fricke" under Country Singles". RPM. Retrieved 26 November 2012.
^ Fricke, Janie (September 1983). ""Tell Me a Lie"/"Love Have Mercy" (7" vinyl single)". Columbia Records. 38-04091.
^ "Janie Fricke Chart History (Top Country Albums)". Billboard.
^ "CMA Past Winners & Nominees: Janie Fricke". Country Music Association. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
^ Fricke, Janie (September 1982). "It Ain't Easy (LP Liner Notes and Album Information)". CBS Records International. CBS-85983.
^ "Press Release: Sony Legacy Releases Four Janie Fricke Albums Digitally For The First Time Ever". The Country Note. 16 October 2016. Retrieved 29 December 2021.