Pretty Miss Norma Jean – Loneliest Star In Texas
Before there was Dolly Parton, there was Pretty Miss Norma Jean, a honky-tonk western singer who made her singing partner, Porter Wagoner, look and sound better than he was. A lot of water has passed under the bridge since then, and the era of western music as opposed to country has faded away, along with its greatest female voices. But just when youre ready to write it all off as another lost piece of heritage, along comes Pretty Miss Norma Jean, direct from the Cowboy Church in Branson, Missouri, that she runs with her husband Al Martin, accompanied by a stellar cast of living legends including her Oklahoma cohort Wanda Jackson and Buck Trent, and young pups such as Geronimo Trevino. She revs up thirteen tracks including some catchy novelties, such as the title track and Honky Tonk Hardwood Floor, which could have been covered by Junior Brown, plus Waylon Jennings underrated ballad, Anita, Youre Dreaming. But even her duet with Wanda, Ashes Of Love, pales next to the reprisal of her first hit, Lets Go All The Way, on which her voice burns with desire and raw emotion 40 years after she did it the first time around. That alone is worth the price of admission, especially for those who didnt get to hear Pretty Miss Norma Jean back in the day