| JERRY CASTLE |
| SHARES THE NEW TRACK ‘WITH THE BAND’ FEATURING THE LEGENDARY SAXOPHONIST BOBBY KEYS LISTEN HERE“Booze-drenched, high-energy country rock.” – The Boot “Castle’s potential breakthrough album.” – Wide Open Country “A sound completely unique to him.” – American Songwriter |
| Having recently released his acclaimed Appalachian soul album ‘Midnight Testaments’, Jerry Castle today shares a brand new track with a fascinating backstory. His new song ‘With The Band’ features the legendary saxophonist Bobby Keys, who is best remembered for his work with The Rolling Stones. The late musician’s work with the band spanned 1969 to 2014, with highlights including the famous sax that features on ‘Brown Sugar’ and numerous world tours. His countless other credits include John Lennon, Marvin Gaye and Eric Clapton. The story starts in 2013. Jerry was at the height of his Stones fandom, constantly playing ‘Exile on Main St.’, rewatching the ‘Stones in Exile’ documentary and reading Keith Richards’ autobiography ‘Life’. It also inspired his admiration for Bobby. As Jerry notes, “Southern, boisterous, animated and rocking, what wasn’t to like?” Jerry chanced upon a Facebook post from his friend Dan Baird (Georgia Satellites), who was playing in Bobby’s band The Suffering Bastards. Realising that Bobby also lived in Nashville, Jerry asked Dan to put them in touch. Which resulted in Jerry booking Bobby for a session, despite not having written anything specifically for them to record. While Bobby’s performance was everything that Jerry hoped it would be, the actual recordings didn’t turn out as hoped. For years, Jerry had been frustrated by the experience. “I had one of the most colourful musicians in rock ‘n’ roll history on my songs, and they were nothing more than half-assed demos.” In the autumn of 2019, however, Jerry revisited the recordings. He effectively wrote a new song from scratch, with Bobby’sevocative sax being the one element that remained from the original. The result is ‘With The Band’, a soul-inflected country rock soulburner that brings the spirit of 1969 to 2020. It has been released today to commemorate what would’ve been Bobby’s 77th birthday (coincidentally, he was born on the same day as Keith Richards). ‘With The Band’ pays tribute, says Jerry, “to Bobby and all of those that try to navigate a life of love while being on the road.” ‘With The Band’ showcases another element to the rich tapestry of Jerry Castle’s creativity. It’s something that’s reflected throughout the ‘Midnight Testaments’ album, on which he revisited the pedal steel guitar and soul music of his roots in the Appalachian Mountains. The songs were all written in a tumultuous time in his life and see’s Jerry reflecting on his life’s journey. It’s the strongest statement to date from an artist who was raised in rural Virginia, worked as a songwriter in the heart of Nashville, and who has played thousands of shows. |
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