With his stunning new album 100 Summers, James Lee Baker reaffirms the fact that he’s one of the most gifted singers and songwriters on Americana’s musical horizons. Recorded in one-take recordings at Blue Rock Studios in Wimberly, Texas, 100 Summers (due out September 4th) finds Baker working with an exceptional group of collaborators — among them, Chris Bell (the man behind the boards for the Eagles, Don Henley and Christopher Cross), Doug Pettibone (John Mayer, Jewel, Lucinda Williams), Roscoe Beck (Leonard Cohen, Eric Johnson), Paul Simon’s Grammy winning accompanist Joel Guzman, Americana Songwriter of the Year nominee Mark Erelli, and Laurie MacAllister from the famed folk group Red Molly.
Indeed, his efforts paid off. Brandishing an easy and accessible folk-rock sound, Baker traces echoes of Gordon Lightfoot, Jackson Browne, Tom Rush, and any number of other tenured balladeers whose narratives found a universal bond. Not surprisingly then, the album’s flush with soothing melodies.
At the same time, the message that accompanies the music rings with reassurance and resolve, stocked with emotions that strike a universal chord. It’s poetry at its purest — tender, touching and flush with sweetness, sadness and sentiment in equal measure
Today Glide is excited to premiere the song “18-Wheeler (I’m Coming Home)” along with its accompanying in-studio video. With a shuffling groove that is accentuated with a harmonica to give it that real trucking song vibe, Baker delivers direct and highly visual lyrics that portray a trucker on his way back to his love. Baker sticks to many of the staples that we know with classic country trucking songs, but layers in his own folksy, roots rock approach.
Baker describes the inspiration behind the song:
“My uncle Don was a career truck driver, piloting a big rig all across the country for decades. During some of those years, my aunt would hit the road with him and they would take turns manning the 18-wheeler through most of the states of the U.S. Between the two of them, they have many cool stories from the road. Inspired from a childhood experience of listening to Heywood Banks sing his tune ’18 Wheels’ on the Bob & Tom Show, I wrote this tune—counting down from 18 as a way of saying ‘I’m coming home, darlin, gonna hang these keys up for a while and be with you’—a homage to the lovable, gritty man that my uncle Don is and the tender, kind angel that my aunt Alice is.”
WATCH:
James Lee Baker’s 100 Summers is out September 4.
Photo credit: Delaney Gibson
