Delbert McClinton Is Still Tall, Dark & Handsome After Six Decades In Music On New Album Out July 26
"Roots music visionary" (Rolling Stone) Delbert McClinton returns with a swaggering and swingin’ new album, Tall, Dark & Handsome, on July 26 via Hot Shot Records/Thirty Tigers. Featuring 14 new, original new songs - all written or co-written by Delbert - the album dives deep into the blues, Americana and beyond, bursting with horns, fiddle, accordion, blazing guitar work, back-up singers and McClinton’s charismatic rasp, proving Lyle Lovett’s claim that “if we could all sing like we want to, we’d all sound like Delbert McClinton.”
Listen to “If I Hock My Guitar” here: https://soundcloud.com/thirtytigers/02-if-i-hock-my-guitar/s-NoIyj
Tall, Dark & Handsome features Delbert’s band the Self-Made Men + Dana: Dana Robbins (saxophone), Jack Bruno (drums), Mike Joyce (bass), Bob Britt (guitar), James Pennebaker (guitar), Kevin McKendree (keyboards), Dennis Wage (keyboards). It’s evident from the first downbeat that McClinton and company had a blast making the record, shining a raucous light on the swinging, jazzy virtues of Texas blues. Opener “Mr. Smith” is a joyous shuffle. “If I Hock My Guitar” is sly and self-deprecating, the story of a down n’ out axe-man who weighs his craft with a visit to the pawn shop. The album hurtles forward with a red hot energy, with only a couple cool breaths along the way, like on “Any Other Way,” a ballad that starts with “Just another lovely day / a low-flying angel got in my way.”
McClinton has 3 GRAMMY Awards and his previous three albums have all reached # 1 or #2 on Billboard’s Blues chart. With over 60 years of recording and touring to his credit, McClinton is a true musical zelig: he toured with the Beatles, backed Bo Diddley and Howlin’ Wolf, helped to inspire The Blues Brothers, and performed everywhere from SNL to Austin City Limits (both multiple times) along the way. His songs have been covered by Buddy Guy, Bonnie Raitt, Garth Brooks, Vince Gill, Waylon Jennings, and Wynonna Judd - to name a few.
This “Godfather of Americana” (Rolling Stone) will keep on rolling in 2019, with a full slate of tour dates through year’s end, including a special album release show at on July 26 at City Winery in his adopted hometown of Nashville. See below for dates.
Pre-order the album here: https://orcd.co/talldarkandhandsome
Tall, Dark, and Handsome Track List:
1. Mr. Smith
2. If I Hock My Guitar
3. No Chicken On The Bone
4. Let’s Get Down Like We Used To
5. Gone To Mexico
6. Lulu
7. Loud Mouth
8. Down In The Mouth
9. Ruby & Jules
10. Any Other Way
11. A Fool Like Me
12. Can’t Get Up
13. Temporarily Insane
14. A Poem
Tour Dates:
5/17 - Bossier City, LA - The Stage
5/18 - Durant, OK - Choctaw Grand Theatre
5/31 - Murfreesboro, TN - WMOT Festival
6/28 - Kansas City, KA - Knuckleheads
6/29 - Fayetteville, AR - George’s Majestic Lounge
7/12 - Ann Arbor, MI - The Ark
7/13 - Lawrenceburg, IN - Whiskey City Festival
7/26 - Nashville, TN - City Winery
7/27 - Mt. Vernon, KY - Renfro Valley Center
8/2 - Dallas, TX - Granada Theater
8/3 - The Woodlands, TX - Dosey Doe
8/16 - Fairfield, CT - Stage One
8/17 - Hartford, CT - Infinity Hall
8/30 - Charlotte, NC - Neighborhood Theater
8/31 - Morehead City, NC - Crystal Coast Civic Center
9/14 - Nashville, TN - AmericanaFest
9/20 - Kalamazoo, MI - State Theatre
9/21 - Chicago, IL - Old Town School of Folk Music
10/11 - Helena, AK - King Biscuit Blues Festival
10/12 - Chattanooga, TN - The Walker Theatre
11/1 - Alexandria, VA - The Birchmere
11/2 - Durham, NC - Rhythms Live
12/6 - Knoxville, TN - Bijou Theater
12/7 - Rocky Mount, VA - Harvester Performance Center