Southern Fried

Anderson had left MCA Records in 1981 following a series of unsuccessful singles issued in the early 1980s. Instead, Anderson focused more on songwriting, but decided to go back into the studio in 1982.[2] Southern Fried was recorded in two separate venues. First it was recorded at the label's own Southern Tracks Studio, located in Atlanta, Georgia. Additional sessions were recorded at the Grand Ole Opry house, located in Nashville, Tennessee. It was Anderson's first album in which he self-produced a project. He shared production credits with musician Mike Johnson as well. Johnson was the bandleader of "The Po' Folks Band", Anderson's backing band that received equal credit on the project[3] The album only consisted of 6 tracks, one of the shortest album track listings among Anderson's albums.[4] Three songs were penned by Anderson, including the title track. He also acquired material from other songwriters for the project, notably Bobby Braddock, who penned "Son of the South".[3]

The release of Southern Fried was announced a year before its release. In a 1982 issue of Billboard Magazine, the album was categorized under the title "mini LP" due to its short track listing.[5] The album was released in 1983 on Southern Tracks Records, making the record his 31st studio recording.[3] The album was issued as a vinyl LP, with only three songs on each side of the record.[4]

It was Anderson's second studio album not to make the Billboard album charts. The album did however did include four singles. All of the singles became minor hits between 1982 and 1983.[6] The title track was released as the lead single in July 1982.[6] It reached number 42 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart.[7] "Laid Off" was issued as the second single in November 1983, reaching number 82 in January 1983.[6][8] "Thank You Darling" was released as a single in February 1983,[6] peaking at number 70 by April.[9] "Son of the South" was released in conjunction with its B-side, "20th Century Fox", shortly afterwards, becoming a minor hit as well.[6]

All credits are adapted from the liner notes of Southern Fried.[3]

Musical personnel

• Bill Anderson – lead vocals
• Judy Felts – background vocals
• David Gould – harmonica
• Herman Harper – background vocals
• Yvonne Hodges – background vocals
• Dirk Johnson – keyboards
• Mike Johnson – steel guitar, dobro, background vocals
• Bev Porter – background vocals
• Les Singer – guitar
• Mike Streeter – drums, background vocals
• Bruce Watkins – guitar, fiddle, mandolin, banjo

Technical personnel

• Bill Anderson – producer
• Al DeLory – string arrangements
• Mike Johnson – producer
• Mike McCarty – art direction
• Bev Porter – vocal arrangements
• Bergen White – arrangement
• Kris Wilkinson – arrangement