Remember Her Name

by Mickey Guyton

Overview

The Academy of Country Music nominated Mickey Guyton "New Female Vocalist of the Year" in 2015, a full six years before she released her debut album, Remember Her Name. It had been four years since she signed a deal with Capitol Nashville, and she had only recently released a pair of EPs, the second containing "Better Than You Left Me," which made its way into Billboard's Country Airplay Top 40 -- enough for the nomination, enough to illustrate her enormous artistic potential, but not enough for the label to green-light a full album. Guyton wound up toiling away for the next half-decade, remaining one of the brightest potential stars in Nashville even as a completed album stayed elusive. In 2020, she finally had her breakthrough "Black Like Me," an autobiographical song about how difficult it is for a Black woman in small-town America, captured the zeitgeist in a tumultuous year filled with Black rights protests. Country radio didn't play "Black Like Me" -- not a surprise, considering how country radio in the 21st century had a long track record of not playing nearly as many women as men -- but by every other measure it was a success, snagging her a Grammy nomination and an adult contemporary hit while providing momentum for the singer/songwriter and label to finally deliver her debut album. Remember Her Name certainly offers a continuation of "Black Like Me," both in sound and sensibility. Guyton fills Remember Her Name with vulnerable revelations and anthems of empowerment, embracing her heritage as well as inclusion, singing "ain't we all All American" on the album's second song. Guyton's specific experiences of being a Black woman in country music are a distinctly American experience, and those struggles inform the heartbreaking "What Are You Gonna Tell Her" and rousing title track. A good portion of the record is devoted to lighter songs of love, dancing, and drinking -- the topics that are country music's bread and butter -- and they showcase Guyton's versatility as a singer: she not only sounds at ease in any setting, she demonstrates warmth, vulnerability, and humor. Her warm, human delivery counters a production that is often over-cooked, pushing Guyton closer to Celine Dion territory than Shania Twain. The Adult Contemporary showing for "Black Like Me" is no fluke; much of the album would also feel at home on AC radio. If the bombast and ballads flatten the production of Remember Her Name somewhat, it nevertheless feels genuine, not calculated. Guyton is broadening and expanding the genre-bending sounds of 1990s country-pop, both through production that weaves in modern elements and her distinctive point of view. She does all this within the framework of pop music, managing to maintain her own strong personality within familiar settings without quite reinventing the form -- and that's quite an accomplishment for a debut album. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Product Details

Release Date:	03/04/2022
Label:	Capitol
UPC:	0602445106974

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Mickey Guyton   Primary Artist,Vocals,Vocals (Background)
Nathan Chapman   Piano,Mandolin,Bass (Vocal),Guitar (Steel),Guitar (Acoustic),Vocals (Background),Bass,Banjo,Drums
Dan Dugmore   Pedal Steel
Karen Kosowski   Organ,Piano,Keyboards,Synthesizer,Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar (Electric),Vocals (Background)
Johnny Simmen   Vocals (Background),Bass,Drums,Guitar,Keyboards
Larissa Maestro   Cello
David Kalmusky   Strings,Synthesizer,Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar (Electric)
Marc Rogers   Bass,Guitar (Bass),Synthesizer Bass,Guitar (Electric)
Robert Bailey   Vocals (Background)
Victoria Banks   Vocals (Background)
Chad Cromwell   Drums,Percussion
Vicki Hampton   Vocals (Background)
Jerry Roe   Drums,Percussion
Forest Glen Whitehead   Bass,Banjo,Keyboards,Guitar (Electric)
Abbey Cone   Vocals (Background)
Devin Malone   Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar (Electric)
Kim Fleming   Vocals (Background)
Kevin Kadish   Guitar (Electric)
Aaron Sterling   Drums,Percussion
Emma-Lee   Vocals (Background)
Kris Donegan   Guitar (Electric)
Justin Schipper   Pedal Steel
Melissa Fuller   Vocals (Background)
Derek Wells   Banjo,Guitar,Mandolin,Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar (Electric)
David Dorn   Piano,Strings
Amy Peters   Keyboards
Jason Massey   Strings
Andy Skib   Guitar (Electric),Vocals (Background)
Jimmy Robbins   Bass,Mandolin,Keyboards,Guitar (Acoustic)
Eleonore Denig   Strings
Evan Hutchings   Drums,Percussion
Jaden Michaels   Vocals (Background)
Forest Whitehead   Piano,Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar (Electric)
Ryan Rossebo   Guitar
Eddy Dunlap   Pedal Steel
Gavin Slate   Guitar,Vocals (Background)

Technical Credits

Nathan Chapman   Composer,Engineer,Producer,Recording,Drum Programming
Karen Kosowski   Mixing,Editing,Composer,Engineer,Producer,Programming,Synthesizer Programming
Katherine Petillo   Design
Anna Krantz   Composer
Mike "Frog" Griffith   Production Coordination
David Kalmusky   Mixing,Composer,Engineer,Producer,Programming
Scott Johnson   Production Coordination
Karen Naff   Art Direction
Laura Veltz   Composer
Jason Campbell   Production Coordination
Serban Ghenea   Mixing
Tim Lauer   Programming
F. Reid Shippen   Mixing,Engineer,Recording,Mixing Engineer
Victoria Banks   Composer
John Hanes   Engineer
Jennifer Hanson   Composer
Narada Michael Walden   Composer
Preston Glass   Composer
Stephanie Wright   A&R
MoZella   Composer
Jerry Roe   Engineer
Balewa Muhammad   Composer
Carly McKillip   Engineer,Editing
Balewa Muhammed   Composer
Mickey Guyton   Composer
Forest Glen Whitehead   Producer
Ethan Barrette   Engineer
Alyson McAnally   Production Coordination
Emma Louise Davidson Dillon   Composer
Sarah Marie Burke   A&R
Abbey Cone   Composer
Michael Mechling   Mixing Assistant,Assistant Engineer
Yihan Wei   Recording
Kera Jackson   Art Producer
Fraser Churchill   Composer
Chad Carlson   Engineer
Andrew Mendelson   Mastering,Mastering Engineer
Toby Gad   Composer
Emma-Lee   Composer
Justin Schipper   Engineer
Melissa Fuller   Composer
Owen Lewis   Editing
BC Jean   Composer
Derek Wells   Engineer
Jennifer Schott   Composer
Johnny Simmen   Mixing,Engineer,Producer,Programming,Vocal Engineer,Vocal Producer
Alberto Sewald   Editing,Engineer
Alyse Vaupel   Creative Concept
Bonnie Nichoalds   Photography
Jenn Schott   Composer
Amy Peters   Editing,Engineer,Programming
Liam Bishoff   Assistant Engineer
Andy Skib   Composer,Producer,Programming
Jimmy Robbins   Composer,Producer,Recording,Programming
Tobias Gad   Composer
Jaden Michaels   Composer
Brittany Jean Carlson   Composer
Blake Hubbard   Composer,Programming
Jarrod Ingram   Composer,Programming
Forest Whitehead   Engineer,Producer,Drum Programming
Parker Welling   Composer
Gavin Slate   Editing,Composer,Engineer,Producer,Programming