Charley Crockett Shares Song “Crucified Son” Off New Album

Charley Crockett is a regular artist we cover here at The Dallas Observer.

Crockett won Best Blues Act at the Dallas Observer Music Awards in 2016. Since then, he has skyrocketed as a country star, picking up his first Grammy Award nomination for Best Americana Album for $10 Cowboy this year. We’ll always remember the days when he was writing for us, sharing a story of when he met Dolly Parton and connected with her as a gospel artist.

Crockett, born in the Lower Rio Grande Valley town of San Benito, was raised in Dallas by a single mother. His desire to become a musician took him everywhere, from performing on the streets of New Orleans’ French Quarter to busking in New York City subways and platforms. There are a few success stories like Crockett, who could defy the odds of poverty at every turn, traveling across the country, playing his songs to become an iconoclast in country.

He’s been known to release frequent albums. Last year, he dropped $10 Cowboy and $10 Cowboy Chapter II: Visions of Dallas. He followed those with The Sagebrush Trilogy, beginning with Lonesome Drifter and now, Dollar a Day, set to release on Aug. 8 via Island Records. Check out the tracklist below:

1. “Dollar a Day”
2. “Crucified Son”
3. “Woman in a Bar”
4. “Ain’t That Right”
5. “Lonestar”
6. “El Paso to Denver”
7. “Santa Fe Ring”
8. “Age of the Ram (Theme)”
9. “I Stay Ready”
10. “All Around Cowboy”
11. “Tennessee Quick Cash”
12. “Die With My Dreams On”
13. “Ballad of a Lonesome Drifter”
14. “Destroyed”
15. “Alamosa”

Joined by Crockett’s co-producer Shooter Jennings, it was recorded in Sunset Sound Studio 3 in Hollywood.

“With Shooter, I’ve never felt more like myself in the studio,” Crockett explains in a press release. “I don’t feel judged. At all. It’s truly a partnership. Hell, I’d say he’s my best friend, and you can’t aspire to greatness without that kind of trust. With Lonesome Drifter, it felt like we opened the portal. With Dollar a Day, we stepped through and came out the other side.”

The first single off Dollar a Day is “Crucified Son.” The song is played in the style of music he calls “Gulf & Western,” a blend of the blues, folk, soul and country influences he absorbed growing up between South Texas, Dallas and New Orleans. He sings on the hook, “Crucified Son, I was born the lucky one / They can’t tell me what I’ve done / I’m a crucified son.”

The song mentions to stay clear of Crystal City, Texas, if you “love your wife” because the women there are pretty and would make you “lose your mind.” Noted.

You can stream it below. Crockett will co-headline a tour with Leon Bridges called The Crooner & The Cowboy Tour. Special guests include Noeline Hofmann, Reyna Tropical, Dave Alvin and Jimmie Dale Gilmore. The Texas dates are Sept. 21 in The Woodlands and Sept. 23 in Austin.