Charley Crockett

One Liner: If Hank Williams Sr. liked to get soulful and bluesy every once in a while.

Wikipedia Genre: None, going with Americana, classic country, Texas blues
Home: Dallas

Poster Position: 22
Day: Saturday at Noon.
Weekend Two Only.

Thoughts: Dude sounds like Hank Williams Sr. with a little soul.  Like someone turned "Jambalaya (On the Bayou)" into a human being who liked to sing.  Got a little rockabilly swing sometimes, got some straight blues other times, a little cajun swagger other times.  Pretty cool sound.  According to Rolling Stone, the guy claims that he can trace his ancestry back to Davy Crockett.  Which is kinda rad.  Originally from San Benito, a tiny chunk of the Valley (home of Freddy Fender and this water tower that I used to pass all the time when going to Harlingen).

But since leaving home, he has apparently wandered the erath for several years, including stints in Europe, busking on the streets of New Orleans and the subway platforms of New York City, and then in both Austin and Memphis.

Four albums, 2015's A Stolen Jewel, 2016's In the Night, 2017's very cool Lil G.L.'s Honky Tonk Jubilee, and 2018's Lonesome as a Shadow.  I started at the top and have played my way through here a few times now, and I'm enjoying it each time.  Especially that 2017 album, which is all covers, and all cool old classic tunes like "The Lost Highway" and "I Saw the Light."  The new album is also very good.  Although it got critical love back in the day, I won't say that the first album is great - more bluesy than the later stuff.  And not as tight, sounds self-produced.  But that's all good, right?  Start basic and then level up.

Another odd note from his Rolling Stone profile, he grew up dirt poor in a trailer park, but says he grew up listening not to roots music or country, like you might expect, but instead to chopped-and-screwed hip hop.  Weird that this would be a thing in the Valley.

First, I'll give you a shot at his most streamed tune - "I Am Not Afraid," which has 724k streams.

Pretty chilled little love ditty.  That is a live version, which loses a little bit of the warmth of the original, which has a deeper, more solid bass line going underneath it all.  His second most streamed tune comes from that covers album, this is "Jamestown Ferry," which has 278k streams.

Apparently a Tanya Tucker song.  I'm not familiar with it.  Beyond the great pedal steel-work, I'm not sure that is my favorite of his tunes.  Every time "I Wanna Cry" starts up, I think its gonna be "Live Forever" from the Highwaymen.  Totally rings a bell.  Fine song, but not old Billy Joe Shaver's classic.  "Goin' Back to Texas" is cool as well.

Its too bad this guy is at noon on Saturday, because he's actually pretty damn good.