Steve Earle & the Dukes' New Record JERRY JEFF Out May

On JERRY JEFF – set for May 27 release via New West Records – Steve Earle pays tribute to influential cowboy troubadour Jerry Jeff Walker, who passed away on October 23, 2021. After performing in Texas at a concert celebrating Walker’s life, Steve took his band, The Dukes, to Electric Lady Studios in New York, where they recorded 10 of Walker’s songs.

Today, Steve shares their freewheeling rendition of “Gettin’ By,” the album’s opening track. Adding a few personal twists to the lyrics, he admits to his greatest boyhood ambition: to be Jerry Jeff Walker.

“This record completes the set, the work of my first-hand teachers,” Steve writes in the liner notes, referencing 2009’s TOWNES and 2019’s GUY, which he made after the deaths of Townes Van Zandt and Guy Clark.

“The records were recorded and released in the order in which they left this world. But make no mistake – it was Jerry Jeff Walker who came first,” Steve says.

Steve was 14 when he first heard Walker. His high school drama teacher gave him a copy of “Mr. Bojangles,” Walker’s classic ballad about an unforgettable character he met in a New Orleans jail. After Steve moved to Nashville in the 1970s, he had the opportunity to get to know Walker, who enlisted him as his designated driver.

“There’s a tendency to think of Jerry Jeff around a relationship to one song,” Steve says, referring to “Mr. Bojangles,” which was covered by everyone from Bob Dylan to Sammy Davis Jr. “He was also such a great interpreter of other people’s songs. But my main purpose in recording this album was to remind people that he wrote a lot of fucking great songs.”

Earle delivers a gorgeous, soulful “Mr. Bojangles” on JERRY JEFF, but also covers some of Walker’s lesser-known classics – meditative ballads like 1969’s “Old Road” and 1973’s “Wheel.” Other highlights include joyful takes of “Charlie Dunn,” Walker’s endearing tribute to the bootmaker, and “Gypsy Songman,” a stomping busking anthem.

In support of the new record, Steve Earle & the Dukes embark on a nationwide tour with support from special guests The Whitmore Sisters.

To listen to "Gettin' By," as well as pre-order options, visit: http://newwst.com/jerryjeff