The Louvin Brothers, Ira & Charlie, were successful gospel and country singers from the 1940s-60s. I know them from their 1959 album Satan Is Real, with its bonkers cover and excellent gospel harmony songs. Despite the heavy-handed preaching of the album’s lyrics, Ira was known as a womanizer and alcoholic, traits that led to the brothers’ break-up in 1963 (Ira died in a car crash 2 years later).

Hey Daddy, Charlie Louvin’s 7th solo album, follows a trend of eschewing the Louvin’s religious content, but it is no less wholesome. The title track finds the singer trading in the “bars and blondes” for fatherhood. Less wistful than the album cover might imply, “Hey Daddy” is instead a precious meditation on the simple joys children provide (though written by one Gene Chrysler, Louvin’s own son would have been about 13 at the time). The Louvins’ “Are You Teasing Me” rounds out side 1, a classic honky-tonk number.

Louvin’s voice is strong throughout the album – despite the lack of Ira, there are some great harmonies with the background vocals (I don’t have album credits for this one, unfortunately). He finishes with the Cindy Walker ballad “Born to Love You”. Charlie Louvin would continue to record and perform up to his death in 2011.

Listen to Hey Daddy here.