Sue Foley sings the praises of Southern Men in her sultry new single and video — showcasing today on Tinnitist.
A preview of the Canadian blues singer-guitarist’s upcoming album Pinky’s Blues, Southern Men is Foley’s revamp of Southern Women, a deep cut by Tommy Brown from an obscure compilation album called Blues in D Natural. “I was obsessed with this song almost my whole life and wanted to put a unique spin on it,” Foley says. “The result is a sexy groove to go with the retro vibe created by video director and producer Tim Hardiman.”
Like the rest of the oustanding Pinky’s Blues, the track features Chris ‘Whipper’ Layton on drums, Mike ‘The Drifter’ Flanigin on B3 and Jon Penner on bass. Due Oct. 22 and featuring several Foley originals as well as songs from some of her favourite blues and roots artists, the album was recorded at Fire Station Studios in San Marcos. Foley and producer Flanigin decided to make the album in the middle of the COVID lockdown in 2020.
“Mike, drummer Chris Layton and I had just finished making Mike’s album, West Texas Blues, and we needed another challenge to keep us busy,” Foley says. “And because we’d been hanging out together we were comfortable in each other’s presence, and this would be a very low-key closed session.
“I brought in Jon Penner to play bass, who was my first bass player and had been on all my early records. So just the four of us along with engineer Chris Bell went into the studio and recorded the entire album in three days. What you’re hearing is live, off the floor, in the moment the music was played totally spontaneously and, mainly, improvised. And, we wanted to make something representative of the Texas blues that we had been schooled on in Austin. So, we picked great songs and I wrote a few of my own to round things out. Everything on it is a labor of love.
“I’ve been on the road for over 30 years. You could call that paying my dues. I’ve made over a dozen albums of my own. I’ve raised a child. I’ve bought and sold homes. I’ve had great successes and great failures. And all of this just makes my life richer and more colourful. It’s funny; I keep coming back to the same 30 or 40 albums as my place of inspiration. I keep studying the same artists, over and over again. Freddie King, Muddy Waters, Memphis Minnie, T-Bone Walker, Howlin’ Wolf, etc … You never really get there. You’re just always going. But it’s a great trip and I never get tired of playing a slow blues. That’s the ultimate.”
Watch Southern Men above, hear more from Sue Foley below, and keep up with her on her website, Facebook and Instagram.
