The First Word in Memory is a studio album by American country music artist Janie Fricke.

The disc was the ninth studio project of Fricke's career and her third highest-charting album on the American country LP's chart.

When Janie Fricke began focusing on ballads in the early 1980s, her singles led to a breakthrough in country music.

[2] She would further adapt by implementing up-tempo country pop into her music with the releases It Ain't Easy (1982) and Love Lies (1983).

[7] In its original release, The First Word in Memory made America's Billboard country albums survey.

[11] The song reached the top ten of the Billboard country list in 1985, peaking at the number seven spot in the spring.