AMERICAN SONGWRITER: Shannon McNally Covers Waylon With an All-Star Cast by Rick Moore
American Songwriter catches up with Shannon McNally to talk about her upcoming new album which covers Waylon Jennings songs and features an all-star cast.
Available on May 28th, The Waylon Sessions includes Waylon Jennings songs from Compass Records, such as “Only Daddy That’ll Walk the Line,” “I’ve Always Been Crazy,” and the current lead single, “Ain’t Livin’ Long Like This” – which you can watch the video below.
McNally got a little help from her friends on the album. Rodney Crowell, Buddy Miller, Lukas Nelson, and Jennings’ widow Jessi Colter join McNally, as well as a top-notch band assembled by guitarist Kenny Vaughan of Marty Stuart’s Fabulous Superlatives.
Before Shannon McNally signed with Blue Rose Music she already had several releases of her original material under her belt. But rather than release another album of her own songs, she chose to do an album of covers featuring an iconic country legend.
“Waylon Jennings was the cornerstone of my record collection forever,” McNally said. “What appeals to me is what appeals to most people about Waylon—it’s just that very cool sense of self. It just seems like Waylon was an artist that is so important to American music, and I just thought, I can do that. And so, why not?”When Shannon McNally signed with the artist collective Blue Rose Music, she was given the option of recording … well, whatever she wanted. Which would be a dream come true for most of us, corporate backing with no demands on our artistic output. But where many singer/songwriters would choose to record their own material, McNally—who already has several releases of original material under her belt going back nearly two decades—chose to record not only an album of covers, but an album of songs originally cut by one of the most iconic country legends ever, and a male legend at that.
McNally will be appearing Saturday, February 13 at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville as part of the Allman Betts Band’s Allman Family Revival.