survey. Capitol then issued Spears's second studio album of the same name, which reached the Billboard Top Country Albums top 30. The disc featured several new recordings that followed similar storylines to her top ten single and included a cover of Tammy Wynette's "Stand by Your Man". Capitol released several follow-up singles by Spears that discussed social issues. Among them was 1969's "Stepchild", which told the story of a boy who murders his abusive stepfather. It only reached number 43 on the Billboard country chart. Another follow-up single was 1970's "Marty Gray", a song that told the story of a teenage girl who becomes unexpectedly pregnant following a sexual encounter with a high school football player. It reached number 17 on the Billboard country chart. Her third Capitol studio album, Miss Sincerity, was her second to make the Country Albums chart. With her new success, Spears toured in the United Kingdom for the first time as part of the "Capitol Country Caravan". She would later find her greatest success overseas. Critics and writers also took notice of Spears's music for the first time. Alan Cackett of Country Music People called her "a fine singer" with "emotional styling". In reviewing her second album, AllMusic's Richie Unterberger praised Spears's assertive vocal style and song choices: "It's a quite strong set of material, hewing to the gutsier side of late-'60s country-pop, with Spears proving herself as one of the tougher, harder-edged, commercial country singers of the era." In 1970, Spears began working alongside Capitol producer George Richey. He attempted to move her music in an orchestrated pop direction. Studio albums like With Love, Billie Jo Spears (1970) and Country Girl (1971) featured remakes of Johnny Bond's "Your Old Love Letters" and Cole Porter's "True Love". Through 1971, the singles "I Stayed Long Enough" and "It Could 'A Been Me" made the Billboard country top 40. When her next releases failed to prove successful, Capitol Records dropped Spears from their roster. Following her departure, Spears was forced to have vocal chord surgery which set her career back as well. After recovering, she returned on the independent Brite Star and Cutlass labels. However, the label made poor business choices. "Everyone involved with them should be behind bars, and some of them are," she later commented. 1974–1981: Comeback, international success and peak years In 1974, Spears returned to United Artists Records. She was signed by producer