Stay There 'Til I Get There is Lynn Anderson's first album for Columbia Records following a successful stint on the independent Chart label. Since Anderson's crossover smash "Rose Garden" was released several months later, Stay There 'Til I Get There sounds just like one of her Chart albums, down to the banjo picking on the hit title track. The one departure from her earlier records is the poverty of compositions by Anderson's mother, Liz Anderson. Producer Glenn Sutton takes her place to an extent, but Anderson also covers the underrated Sonny James song "True Love's a Blessing" and Bobbie Gentry's hit "Fancy." "Rose Garden" gave Anderson's sound a strong push toward pop music, so those who enjoy her early straight country recordings will also enjoy this first album for Columbia.

Cry continues Lynn Anderson's trend toward pop music and away from songs written by her gifted mother, Liz Anderson. In their place are songs written by producers Glenn Sutton and Billy Sherrill, including songs they originally wrote for other artists in some cases. The title track, a 1951 hit for Johnny Ray, became a Top Three country hit for Anderson and is emblematic of the direction her career took in the wake of her crossover hit "Rose Garden." Other pop covers include very recent hits by the Addrisi Brothers ("We've Got to Get It On Again") and Sonny & Cher ("When You Say Love"). Anderson turns in an ace version of Sherrill and Sutton's "Tonight My Baby's Coming Home," another recent hit this time a country one for Barbara Mandrell.

In many ways, Tammy Wynette deserves the title of "the First Lady of Country Music." During the late '60s and early '70s, she dominated the country charts, scoring 17 number one hits. Along with Loretta Lynn, she defined the role of female country vocalists in the '70s.