Rhonda & Daryle go "Above And Beyond" - Duet Album "American Grandstand" out in July

Late August last year, "Queen of Bluegrass" Rhonda Vincent announced on her Facebook page that she's recording a duet album with 90's traditionalist Daryle Singletary and posted the above picture of them both in the recording studio.

Singletary, a mid 90's traditionalist, who had Rhonda singing background on his debut album on Giant and later on his indie releases was all excited “If you love traditional country music, and remember songs originally sung by well-known duet partners like George Jones and Tammy Wynette, Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn, and Merle Haggard and Bonnie Owens, this is a must-have CD that we are extremely excited about.”

Rhonda, who branched out from Bluegrass to traditional Country Music before, like on her 2014 album "Only Me" praised Singletary as one of the best singers in this generation of country music and went on to praise him even more: “It’s so fun to sing with someone who challenges me as a singer. The songs were given great thought, along with one that was totally unexpected. It’s one of the best projects I’ve ever been part of. I am so proud of this recording, and I cannot wait for the world to hear our wonderful creation, American Grandstand.”

Now about a month (release date is July 7th) before "AMERICAN GRANDSTAND" is hitting the stores, Daryle and Rhonda are heavily promoting it during CMA week (formerly Fan Fair) in Nashville with several shows. Being one of 20 acts not to miss according to music magazine "Rolling Stone," one of the shows they performed together at, was the "Music City Roots - Live From the Factory" Show hosted by Jim Lauderdale on June 7th, where the opening track of "American Grandstand," the Harlan Howard penned classic "Above And Beyond" was then shared to YouTube. First recorded by Wynn Stewart as a single in 1960, then by Buck Owens later that year, and then Rodney Crowell in the '80s, who celebrated his fifth number one song with the classic, it's nice to see that timeless song done as a duet.



Besides "Above And Beyond" and their current single "One" the list below reveals the full tracklist of "AMERICAN GRANDSTAND," the title track actually a new song actually written by Rhonda Vincent as part of their collaboration.

American Grandstand Track Listing:
1. Above and Beyond
2. One
3. After The Fire Is Gone
4. American Grandstand
5. Slowly But Surely
6. As We Kiss Our World Goodbye
7. Can’t Live Life
8. Golden Ring
9. We Must Have Been Out of Our Minds
10. Louisiana Woman Mississippi Man
11. A Picture of Me Without You
12. Up This Hill and Down

If you would like to pre-order the "American Grandstand" and get an immediate download of their current single "One," you can click here.

For more information about Music City Roots - Live From the Factory in Franklin, Tennessee, for a schedule of upcoming artists performing on the show and a direct link to see a streaming video, visit their official website - you may also find information on their facebook page


Sources: YouTube; musiccityroots.com; Webster PR; rollingstone.com; rhondavincent.com; darylesingletary.net

Clay Blaker's "What A Way To Live" resurfaces on iTunes

As of today singer/songwriter Clay Blaker finally has his own facebook page.

After retiring from the music biz over a decade ago, "Slick" as he is also known, spends most of his time catching the surf off Panama. Yes he had a group where dedicated fans and friends would post a video or memories from his shows in the US or his many tours in Europe. But these fans and friends kept bugging him to at least interact with them from time to time.

And that's exactly what Clay will try to do, as he stated in his first post on his new page: "I promise I’ll try hard to answer all messages and inquiries … at least until it starts cutting in on my surfing time, lol."

Also announced today: Clay's debut album "What A Way To Live" from 1981 which he cut during his second tour in Europe with an A-list of European pickers from the Netherlands and Denmark (list see below) is now finally available in a digital format and can be downloaded on iTunes or 300 other internet sites.

On his first album Clay pretty much stuck with the traditional Honky Tonk and Western Swing sound, he used to be playing at the Broken Spoke, the Split Rail, Cheatham Street or Gruene Hall in Central Texas. He wouldn't start featuring some of his songwriting that then would be recorded by other artists until his second album "Sooner Or Later." Of that album "Lonesome Rodeo Cowboy" and "The Only Thing I Have Left" were both recorded by George Strait.

Besides the title song, Willie Nelson also wrote "Darkness On The Side Of The Earth." Two Johnny Gimble swing tunes - "Under The 'X' In Texas" and "Playin' Around (Fiddlin' Around)" as well as the Leon Rhodes, Buddy Charleton instrumental "Rhodes-Bud Boogie" showcase the excellent musicianship, sometimes with twin steel guitars of the European pickers.
They also shine on Red Steagall's "Lone Star Beer And Bob Wills Music" (a co-write with Glenn Sutton). Another Honky Tonk treat is a medley of Ray Price tunes:  "Touch My Heart" (Johnny Paycheck; Aubrey Mayhew); "The Other Woman" (Don Rollins)  and "Another Bridge To Burn" (Harlan Howard).

Clay Blaker, Vocals
Koos Biel, Steel Guitar
Nils Tuxen, Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitars, Steel Guitar
Bob Kelly, Steel Guitar
Maurits Hitijahubessy, Steel Guitar
Ton Trussel, Fiddle
Robert Kramer, Harmonica
Dolf deVries, Piano
Knut Henriksen, Six String Bass, Guitars
Peter Kreynen, Upright Bass, Electric Bass
Steve Mendell, Electric Bass
Dik Boer, Drums
Jelle Biel, Producer
Recorded at Flowertree Studio, Groningen, Holland

But that's still not all, Clay now also have his own YouTube channel, where he presents some of his videos. Besides some live Texas Connection videos (albeit a bit grainy) from the show of the same name, which aired on TNN, and a cut of his second album "Sooner Or Later" there is a superb acoustic version, just Clay and his guitar of the title track of his 2001 album "Rumor Town," a song he co-wrote with Tommy Connors and which was recorded by a TV station in Gothenburg, Sweden.