Honky Tonk Angel

Honky Tonk Angel is her third studio album, released in late 1988. Five of its tracks reached the Billboard top ten, two of them at number one, and it was her highest-charting album on the country albums chart, at number seven. Shortly after its release she married Emory Gordy Jr. It was produced by Tony Brown and described as a neotraditional country and honky-tonk record. It was later certified platinum.

The lead single was Blue Side of Town, co-written by Hank DeVito, and it reached the top five, as did a cover of Lone Justice's Don't Toss Us Away, which featured Rodney Crowell on backing vocals. Then came Timber, I'm Falling in Love, her first number one. Tony Brown found it while looking for material, and its writer, Kostas, went on to write more songs for her. Kostas wrote three songs on the album, among them The Lonely Side of Love, which peaked at number six. The last single, Chains, became her second number one in early 1990.