Charley Crockett has spoken about his decision to cut a George Strait Classic on his upcoming album.
Videos by Wide Open Country
The country singer is releasing his next album Lonesome Drifter tomorrow (March 14). In it, he'll be covering a classic from The King, "Amarillo By Morning."
Typically, no one thinks it's sensible to cover the classics, as everyone knows them. But this may not be the case anymore.
A recent conversation he had with a youth made him reconsider his perspective on the matter.
"We was working out in West Texas, and there was this young cowboy out there I was doing a scene with, and this old boy was like, 'Hey Charley, what are you listening to right now?'" he recalled.
"Well, I'm listening to Waylon. He's like, 'Waylon Jennings?' I'm like, 'Come on motherf--ker, you know who Waylon Jennings is.'"
"And he says, 'I think my grandpa used to listen to him.'"
That's quite the culture shock, right? The country fans of today may not be in touch with all the classics. Due to this, he had a conversation with his wife that ultimately led to him feeling justified in recording a cover of "Amarillo By Morning" for Lonesome Drifter.
Charley Crockett's Wife Encouraged Him To Cut The Classic
Following the conversation with the cowboy, Crockett spoke to his wife, Taylor, about recording classic songs.
"Taylor's always like, 'Baby, maybe you're getting old because these kids don't know this f--king song,'" he recalls her saying.
"And my producer was like, 'Nah man, it was over 40 years ago. Taylor's right. Young people don't know it. I really think you should put it on the record.'"
With all that encouragement, he cut "Amarillo By Morning." If you want to check it out, make sure to keep your eyes peeled tomorrow.
He also shared a little history of the song. Although "George Strait made it famous," it was originally written by Terry Stafford in 1973, which Crockett was surprised to find out. "I was surprised it was written by a songwriter with pop sensibilities," he admitted.
"They call him King George for a reason. I'm sorry, George, I sure do hope you like it though," he concluded with a smile.
