Anyone suffering from 2020-related fatigue might do well to give the handful of tunes on Margie Singleton’s breezy and entertaining Never Mind a spin, if only for some much-needed perspective. Although the swinging title tune offers the two-word punchline to the lyric, “I was born in Coushatta, Louisiana, in 19-never-mind,” the fact is that the singer-songwriter who charted in the ʼ50s and ʼ60s with several of her own hits, as well as with duets featuring George Jones and Faron Young, was born in 1935, making her a spry and tuneful octogenarian. 

Lingering in the hallowed vocal space between Loretta Lynn’s boldness and Tammy Wynette’s tear-stained pathos, Singleton’s sound is vintage country but there are touches of blues, soul and pop throughout this five-track gem. Nowhere is that blend used to greater effect than on the sizzling closer, an updated rendition of the 1962 Brook Benton hit, “Lie to Me,” which Singleton wrote with the pop-R&B legend.  

Married at 13, to future producer and record-label executive Shelby Singleton, Margie was a mother for the first time at just 14. After divorcing Singleton, she would wed fellow entertainer and songwriter Leon Ashley, co-writing his 1967 country chart-topper, “Laura (What’s He Got That I Ain’t Got)”. Following Ashley’s death in 2013, she was urged to write and record again by eldest son Steve, who was himself 70 years old and retired from Nashville’s performing rights organization, BMI. The mother and son would collaborate three of the tunes fromNever Mind, including the title cut, as well as the gutsy “Who’s Gonna Love You (Too Late For Sorry),” and the wistful “Wonder What She’s Doing.” Steve Singleton, who co-produced the EP with Shreveport native Derrick Dexter Mathis, also penned the pop-flavored and poignant“Missing You,” which mom Margie delivers, as she does throughout the EP, with an ageless quality that belies her 85 years.

Never Mind is due out November 20th anywhere music is sold!

Album review provided by and credited: Austin Carlyle