SONS OF THE PALOMINO TO MAKE GRAND OLE OPRY DEBUT ON SATURDAY,
JULY 29th
July 24, 2017 – Sons of the Palomino, lead by
Nashville Songwriter Hall Of Fame member Jeffrey Steele, released their debut
album recently to rave reviews and will now make their Grand Ole Opry
debut on Saturday, July 29th.
Sons of the Palomino, made up of some of the most talented
instrumentalists around, is a nod to the Palomino Club in North Hollywood circa
the 60’s and 70’s era and the old school country music that was played there.
Following their performance at the Grand Ole Opry Sons of the Palomino will
sign copies of their album, which includes duets with some of country music’s
greatest voices including Emmylou Harris, John Anderson, Gretchen Wilson, Vince
Gill and Jamey Johnson.
“This is my first appearance at the Grand Ole Opry since Boy Howdy
debuted "She'd Give Anything" in 1994, so to say that I'm honored and
filled with pride to be back with Sons of the Palomino on the Opry stage after
23 years is an understatement – it’s an absolute thrill,” said Jeffrey Steele.
Fans have been praising the lead track from the album, “Countryholic,”
a fun up-tempo song with John Rich adding his trademark swagger. Sons of the
Palomino, who recently taped a SiriusXM Primetime special, is made up of group
members that include steel guitar legend Paul Franklin, fiddle player Larry
Franklin, Jerry Roe on drums, pianist Tony Harrell, guitar player James
Mitchell, bassist Brad Albin and of course Steele. Steele wrote or
co-wrote all of the songs on the album with a vast array of hit makers
including Mac Davis, Chris Stapleton and Chuck Cannon, all dedicated to honoring
the classic country music that the Palomino Club championed. The Palomino Club
closed down long ago but even after making his mark in Nashville, Steele never
forget how those shows affected him as a writer, player and singer.
In Brief: The project took Music
Row by storm with guest artists flocking to the sessions that include John Anderson ("Authentic"), Emmylou Harris (“Out of this Town”), Jamey Johnson ("Whiskey
Years"), Vince Gill, Gretchen Wilson ("Used to be a
Country Town") and from Big and Rich fame, John Rich who appeared on the first single "Countryholic"
and makes a guest showing in the video as well.
Background: Every songwriter dreads these
words; “Nobody is going to cut this song.”
Everybody, that is, except
Jeffrey Steele. Make no mistake: This Nashville Songwriter Hall Of Fame member
has written more than his share of hits, including No.1 singles for Rascal
Flatts (“These Days”, “What Hurts the Most” and “My Wish”), Tim McGraw (“The Cowboy in Me"; songwriters
Tom Douglas, Jaren Johnston, and Jeffrey Steele), Steve Holy (“Brand New Girlfriend”) and Keith Urban (“Raise Em Up”). Jeffrey also co-wrote Tim McGraw and Faith
Hill's “Meanwhile Back at Mama’s” with Tom Douglas and Jaren Johnston, which
peaked at #2 on Country Airplay and was nominated for a CMT Collaborative Video
of the Year in 2015.
This album was not created to
dominate the charts. Steele’s collaborators expressed bafflement or disbelief
at the way he was steering the session. “You can’t play this for Luke Bryan!
You can’t play this for Kenny Chesney! They’re gonna laugh you out of town!’
was the reaction.
Which is why his latest project
triggered so much head-scratching up and down Music
Row.
“Songwriting vet Jeffrey Steele is among the performers
who, early in his career, graced the stage of the Palomino Club, the legendary North Hollywood venue that was a haven
for country fans for decades.
Circa late 1980s/early 1990s it
is described a in the nicest sense of the word, a dive: dark, dingy, low
ceiling, red stools lining a long bar, duct tape patching a carpet worn by
decades of artists dragging gear in from the alley, lugging it through the crowd toward the room in the back
where they could change before their show. Only the photos that cover the walls
— shots of Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Linda Ronstadt, Emmylou Harris, each
one taken as they played on this venue’s cramped stage.
Steele wrote or co-wrote every
track on the album paying homage to the traditional country music that
the venue championed.
In a nod to the club, which
helped launch Dwight Yoakam into superstardom, Steele is the front man of
outfit Sons of the Palomino, a band
that comprises A-list sessions musicians Paul
Franklin (steel guitar), Larry Franklin
(fiddle), Jerry Roe (drums), Tony Harrell (piano), James Mitchell (guitar) and Brad Albin (bass). The group’s new
single and video for “Countryholic” is a potent mix of old-school honky-tonk,
sparkling with clever, rapid-fire wordplay (with crafty shout-outs to Merle
Haggard and Hank Williams) and a guest shot from John Rich.”
Review: Drenched in steel guitar and
fiddle the light-hearted opener “Running Around”, a terrific up-tempo
dance hall cut, reaches out to a female protagonist bored with the dance hall
lies and neon lights and chasing a 6ft faded blue jean dream! After heels have
cooled and tears have been shed an olive branch is tentatively offered for a return
to her everyday Joe.
There’s nothing to prove and
trying to be cool when Wall Street brands are dismissed on the masterful
honky-tonker “Authentic” on which John
Anderson lends his distinctive vocal. A track laced with fiddle and heaps
of twang. “He made "Authentic,”
well....authentic! said Steele referring to the age 62-year old Florida
native singer-songwriter.
With its gentle piano opening there’s
a beautiful quality to the heartbreaker and soul searcher “When Lonely Calls” which
soars and builds. With the additional strings in the mix and a standout vocal offering
a necessary hurtful vibe this sounds like a modern-day classic, as good times
come and drift away and bad times take a hold. This is a track Steele gravitates
to and is “the most real” sharing “These are pages of my life. Losing my son,
battling addiction and demons, and somehow still standing here with a smile”
John Rich (Big
& Rich) guests on the pre-grat and lead-off old-school single "Countryholic"
(writers Jeffrey Steele, Ira Dean, Shane Minor). This infectious raucous, high
energy throwback number which may be habit-forming! Its self-explanatory message
delivers a toe-tapping stomper deserving of a dance smash. “There ain’t no cure for a Countryholic,”
sings Steele, cautioning:
“If you
see him in a boot store, get him on home / Don’t leave him in the truck with
the radio on / Don’t tell him ‘bout the county fair, corn dog, tractor pull and
all the dosey-doin’ goin’ on down there”.
Country greats Haggard, Willie,
Waylon, and Hank Williams Sr. are suitably name-checked on the barnstorming track
which musically recalls Dwight Yoakam and BR549.
"'Countryholic' is a 100 proof honky-tonk song that will make you want
to holler yee-haw!" shared Steele. "That song is icing on the cake of a project three years in the making
with an all-star cast of musicians and guests who are all helping to capture an
era in music that seems to have vanished." With a mission statement to
create good, honest and fun country music this ticks all the boxes!
Official music video for Sons Of
The Palomino's debut single "Countryholic":
The slowly cinematic Outta
This Town rocks some nostalgic dreamy storytelling (stealing innocent
kisses, weddings and a funeral) with Emmylou
Harris adding a delicate, haunting and tasteful harmony – Wonderful stuff.
The penning of the magnificent “Lie”
tips a classic nod to iconic country songs. An observational song, it’s inspired
by the love of Steeles’ life lying on a bed. It captures a
beautiful moment of a guy realizing he is powerless over his girl’s mere
presence” with closing words: Don’t give
up, don’t go nowhere, don’t do nothing, just lay right there and lie, I love it
when you lie. Don’t change the story don’t change the tune, your bodies a temple
and I see the truth, when you lie, I love it when you lie.
The pace quickens on the entertaining
down-home chug-a-long Independent Truckerdepicting the life on the road which allows
a crack band to break free.
Sons of The Palomino performing
"Independent Trucker" at Music City Roots Live From The Factory on Oct
2, 2016: The laidback bluesy “Whiskey
Years,” features Jamey Johnson
accompanied by Steele on piano. Squeezing out the hurt this acoustic
guitar-driven hardcore full on country ballad hits the emotional jackpot recallinga
man looking beyond crazy wild ways and mistakes: But who am I trying to fool / I’m still going through my whiskey years
Where the beers ice cold and the lights
are low, Hole In The Wall with its beachy easy style is something you
could easily imagine gracing a Jimmy Buffet record.
The slowly “Unbroken People” a social
commentary score, oozes pain when trying to come to terms with loss underpinned
by a weeping steel.
Gretchen Wilson joins in the fun (with a humorous dig at Music City) on the Friday
night honky-tonk fuelled "Used to be a Country Town" that
should have country lovers hitting the dancefloor to burn it up all night long!
Woo!
With signature licks Vince Gill empathises with Steele on
the classy last-call lament “Nobody Does Lonely” and the 47 minute
countryholic journey ends with Old Roads and Lost Highways as a
steel gently drifts across the landscape.
Summing up the project, which I personally
hope is the first of many, Steele shares: I think ultimately the hope is that the
music captures the period and that the songs hold up as great songs. To sum it
all up, that it inspires a little bit of, ‘do it for the joy’ and watch what
happens!
He is not wrong there! For those
who have tired of the bland, samey Nashville Pop/Rock sausage machine sheen
this welcome gem is exactly what the doctor ordered and more. There are no
fillers, unearth it and lap up the country goodness.
What others are saying: "I think this will go down a storm,
admit it how many of you would call yourself a
Countryholic?. Heard that thought got to play that, excellent – Marie Crichton
BBC Radio Shropshire.
