Johnny Rodriguez was an exciting development in the world of country music: a Hispanic artist with a classic country voice like
Merle Haggard, who expressed his ethnic heritage within the context of traditional country music.
All I Ever Meant to Do Was Sing has two of
Rodriguez's three number one hits from 1973, "That's the Way Love Goes" and the country radio favorite "Ridin' My Thumb to Mexico."
Rodriguez sings the country standards "Release Me" and "I Really Don't Want to Know" half in Spanish -- a trick he would return to again and again in his career.
Rodriguez co-wrote the title track with
Tom T. Hall and, unlike most of his later albums, composed fully half of the songs by himself, which makes
All I Ever Meant to Do Was Sing a particularly revealing and personal album. ~ Greg Adams