Parsons' work with both the Byrds and the Flying Burrito Brothers, specifically Sweetheart of the Rodeo (1968) and The Gilded Palace of Sin (1969), respectively, inspired the artist to explore other acts country acts such as Merle Haggard and the Louvin Brothers. He played country rock songs during his time with the pub rock band Flip City in the mid-1970s and recorded the country tracks "Radio Sweetheart" and "Stranger in the House" during the sessions for his debut album My Aim Is True (1977); he originally intended to include the latter on the album but it was removed by his record label for being "too country". At the suggestion of Columbia Records' executive Greg Geller—who signed Costello to Columbia in America in 1977—Costello sang "Stranger in the House" as a duet with country musician George Jones in 1979, which appeared on the latter's My Very Special Guests album the same year. Costello first met Jones' longtime producer, Billy Sherrill, during an initial session in Nashville, Tennessee a year earlier, when Jones failed to show up, and the two hit it off, with Costello proclaiming: "If we are going to do a record of ballads and country music, I want to do it properly and go to the heart of it and do it with Billy Sherrill." The weaker commercial performances of both Get Happy!! (1980) and Trust (1981) following the successful Armed Forces (1979) made Costello question where he was at in his career. He was unable to express his current thoughts in his own music and proclaimed that he "just wanted to sing other people's songs". Intending to explore his capabilities as a performer of cover versions, he recorded acoustic demos of "Gloomy Sunday" (1933), Cole Porter's "Love for Sale" (1930) and other classic popular songs. His initial vision was not limited to country music but rather "a collection of melancholy songs of many styles", similar to Frank Sinatra's Only the Lonely (1958). In an interview with Nicky Campbell, the artist explained: Development Released in January 1981, Trust featured the country pastiche song "Different Finger", which Costello wrote when he was 20. Shortly after its release, Costello and his backing band the Attractions—keyboardist Steve Nieve, bassist Bruce Thomas and drummer Pete Thomas (no relation)—were in Nashville on tour and taped covers of Hank Cochran's "He's Got You" (1962) and Bobby Bland's "I'll Take Care of You" (1959) at CBS