Generations of Shingleton men have played an amalgam of bluegrass and the Appalachian “hill country” music familiar in their area of rural West Virginia, but George Shingleton was the first to make the move from the local church choir to Nashville.
Despite a childhood spent with music at the forefront, Shingleton didn’t seriously begin writing songs until he was an adult. A number of years into making music his full-time job, it’s still Shingleton’s family, as well as his friends and fans, who drive him to go after this dream.
Shingleton’s second full-length album, 2020’s Out All Nighter, proved him “a skilled song craftsman and a talented vocalist… straddling the line between outlaw country and southern rock in his own original style” (Glide Magazine). His Shot or Two EP, released in January 2023, paired him once again with dear friend Dave Pahanish — who has co-written #1 singles for Toby Keith, Keith Urban, and Jimmy Wayne — as his producer, and Shingleton is working on more new material, to be released later this year.
Today Glide is excited to premire the standout track “Beer Drinkin’ Women.” Co-written with Justin Wilson, the rowdy tune is a “let-your-hair-down, have-a-good-time” track — a rarity for Shingleton, the artist admits.
“I don’t feel like I’m straying away from any of my roots, but I feel like these new songs are a little more accessible,” says Shingleton, whose music toes the blurry lines between Americana, country, blues, southern rock, and gospel. The man with the “rich baritone full of love and comfort” (Americana Highways) remains committed to maintaining authenticity and integrity within his stories and sound — a move that has, throughout his career, garnered him the respect of artists such as Bucky Covington, Charlie Daniels, John Michael Montgomery, Darryl Worley, and others who have invited Shingleton to share the stage. True to its name, this is a song for escaping the swelter Texas heat and posting up inside a dark saloon while the jukebox plays county hits. Shingleton definitely lends a classic country sound to the music while also inserting the kind of soul that would make Chris Stapleton smile.
Shingleton comments on the tune:
“I just want to be playing my music for people,” he asserts. “I want to make music that people can connect to in times of both celebration and sadness. Music brings us together in such a universal way.”
Listen to the track and read our interview wth Shingleton below…
What is the story behind this song? How did you come to write it? What is it about? What inspired it and what was the songwriting process like?
There’s not an extravagant story to “Beer Drinkin’ Women,” really. Justin Wilson was my co-writer, or technically I was his co-writer on this song. He came in that day with this one. This was our first time writing together, and he was excited about a particular idea for me, and I was right there with him when he told me the hook. I come from a background where women like to drink beer, so it made perfect sense to me. I’m not exactly sure how Justin was inspired, other than I think he came from the same type of place I did. The writing process was a fairly long process. We started the song in November of 2019 and finished it in the spring of 2021. We didn’t get to finish it the day we started, and Covid-19 kept us from getting back together on it for a while. Weird times…
Are you typically a lyrics-first or a music-first writer? How did this song come together?
I usually will start with some lyrics when writing, and the melody just kinda shows up. Since it was a co-written song and it wasn’t my idea, Justin already had the idea, melody, and some lyrics. All I had to do was join in with him, really.
Are there any lyric lines that you are particularly proud of or that really speak to you? What do you feel makes them resonate?
I like the lyric in the chorus that says, “a honky tonk neon Budweiser sign buzzing.. I’ve seen that picture in a bar and heard that buzzing sound so many times, it just fit perfectly, and when Justin spouted that line, I stopped him to make sure we got it in there.
If listeners can take away one thing from having heard this song, what do you hope that is?
I hope it reminds people of good and happy times. That’s what it does for me, and I imagine most folks want to feel that way, too.
How does this song fit in among the others in your repertoire? How is it similar or different?
“Beer Drinkin’ Women” fits in with the “Have A Good Time” and “Talkin’ Whiskey” type of songs we’ve put out there. It’s not always easy to write a feel-good, just-have-fun kind of song, but when you do, you want everyone else to hear it, too. I like being a part of music that makes people happy.
If you could use only three words to describe your music, what would they be?
Gospel, country, soul. Yeah man!
