In
Kay Starr's estimation,
Just Plain Country means practically pure pop music judging from her 1962 album. Although
Ken Nelson, one of the architects of the Nashville sound, handled the production duties, no one would mistake
Just Plain Country for
Kitty Wells or even
Patsy Cline. The 11 songs are country classics and recent hits with an emphasis on ballads. The repertoire is slanted toward songs like "Four Walls" and "Crazy" that enjoyed strong crossover sales in the pop market and/or were successfully covered by pop artists.
Starr's version of "Four Walls" was the album's only hit. The pop crowd may enjoy hearing
Starr interpret country songs in her palatably smooth style, but country fans have already heard these well-known songs sung at least a dozen different ways.
Starr made more traditional-sounding country music than this before and after
Just Plain Country and, like many veteran pop performers, increasingly gravitated toward the less youth-oriented country field later in her career. ~ Greg Adams