Rick Marshall salutes his (and your) heroes with his new single and video Classic Country (Rocks My World) — showcasing today on Tinnitist.
No offence to contemporary country, but to the true, dyed-in-the-wool connoisseur, nothing beats the original formula. And Marshall is nothing if not a connoisseur, as he proves on this heartfelt (and, not incidentally, utterly butt-kicking) tribute track.
In a tight 192 seconds, Marshall namechecks 33 of the music’s immortal giants, from Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson to Kris Kristofferson, George Jones and Tammy Wynette. Against the backdrop of an appropriately thwacking snare drum and a swooping slide guitar, he makes it clear that when you’re riding with him, you’re riding with the masters:
“When I’m on the road driving through your town
I got my windows open and the music loud
I’m paying my respects to all the greats
All their music and the hell they raised.”
And if you want to know just how deeply the spirit of classic country runs in his blood, Marshall says he wrote the song from behind the wheel of a truck. For real. “Back when I was working construction in Ontario, one of my jobs was driving a bin truck to various sites,” he explains. “With not much on the radio, I would be left to my own devices.”
Having a lot of time to himself plus no distractions meant that when a tune started to come to him, he could hone it one phrase at a time until it was just right. “I would sing the lines to myself over and over, waiting for the next one to arrive. By the end of a week’s driving, I had pretty much finished the song.”
Marshall’s obsession with salt-of-the-earth roots music had been gestating for far longer than a week. Growing up in Newfoundland, he would listen in rapt attention at kitchen parties while relatives and their friends played and sang traditional songs. The turning point in his evolution from listener to performer came at a 1994 Chicago gig by the great Johnny Cash. “The songs, the stories, the persona, the whole vibe hit me: ‘This is what I want to do,’ ” he remembers. “Johnny Cash was a hero of mine. I was lucky enough to meet him and shake his hand at that show.”
Marshall spent years fronting the band Covered In Cash, performing the songbook of the Man In Black. When he wasn’t on stage, he was busy amassing his own repertoire of original tunes. Eventually, he received a phone call from producer Dean Miller (son of the legendary Roger Miller) inviting him to Nashville’s Sound Emporium to lay some down.
For Marshall, the deal was only sweetened by the prospect of working with an all-star cast of backing musicians whose collective résumé has included session work with some of the titans of the genre. Plus, there was the prospect of simply witnessing Miller doing his thing behind the board, which to hear him tell it was almost reward enough in itself: “Watching him in action was like taking a master class in production,” Marshall says. “My songs are my life story, and Dean got it so it shows in these tracks. I am thrilled and honoured to be able to release them to share with my friends and future fans.”
The core band on the recordings is made up of keyboardist Billy Nobel and drummer Shawn Fichter (Tim McGraw and Faith Hill), plus bassist Sam Hunter (Willie Nelson, George Strait, Ronnie Milsap) and electric guitarist Troy Lancaster (Academy of Country Music’s Guitarist of the Year).
Also appearing are Tim Galloway (ACM’s 2023 Acoustic Guitar Player of the Year), steel guitarist Steve Hinson (Trace Adkins, Dolly Parton, Randy Travis), acoustic guitarist Pat McGrath (a 25-year veteran of more than 100 releases) and backing vocalist Tania Hancheroff (McGraw and Hill, Sheryl Crow, Carrie Underwood). “It was almost surreal,” Marshall says. “The opportunity to meet all of these famed studio musicians, who were all so very kind and talented— as well as having a chance to chat and trade stories with them — made the dream come alive.”
Watch the video for Classic Country (Rocks My World) above, hear more from Rick Marshall below, and share the dream on his Facebook page.
