Lipstick Promises
George Ducas
1994
Peak: #9
Written by George Ducas and Tia Sillers
One hit wonders were once an anomaly in country music. The nineties changed that, as the massive commercial success of the genre inspired more labels to get into the game. The result was more artists than country radio could ever play regularly, so even a breakthrough top ten hit was no longer enough to get radio to automatically give the next single a shot.
George Ducas was one of the earliest casualties of this new era. With a voice like Dwight Yoakam with a touch of Raul Malo, Ducas showed tremendous promise as a singer-songwriter. There’s a beautiful melancholy to his performance of “Lipstick Promises.” It’s the tale of a man who has been blinded by beauty and ends up being burned by his unfaithful lover.
It still sounds great today, and it’s a shame that radio didn’t give a fair shot to the singles that followed. “Hello Cruel World” and “Every Time She Passes By” were both on par with the better single releases of their day. Ducas exited his label after two projects, but has gone on to have some success as a songwriter, penning hits for Garth Brooks (“Beer Run)” and Sara Evans (“A Real Fine Place to Start.”) He’s also had songs recorded by Trisha Yearwood, Dixie Chicks, and Gary Allan.
Tia Sillers, co-writer of “Lipstick Promises”, went on to win major awards for “I Hope You Dance”, the peak of a songwriting career that has also included hits by Pam Tillis (“Land of the Living”), Trisha Yearwood (“Heaven, Heartache, and the Power of Love”), Dixie Chicks (“There’s Your Trouble”), and Alan Jackson (“That’d Be Alright.”)
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOJMHVciR2o
An excellent candidate for the second piece in this new recurring feature. Definitely forgotten today. That’s an impressive pedigree of hits the songwriters have contributed to. I remember liking this one (and the accompanying video) a lot. I also remember “Every Time She Passes By” quite fondly.
Good artist who deserved better treatment at the hands of radio
…a good portion of talent in many departments but perhaps not edgy enough given the competition around at the time. i still like his album “where i stand” quite a bit.
He sounds JUST like Clay Walker…He’s definitely more Walker then Yoakam.
I vaguely remember this. Listening again, this is the same kind of sound that Kevin Sharp hit with a few years later.
George Ducas is one of those great singers that never got the breaks. I discovered his music on my aunt’s old MP3 player. I was instantly hooked. He is now my friend on Facebook.