On the forthcoming album ‘J.T.’ Steve Earle & The Dukes pay tribute to Steve’s late son, Justin Townes Earle (J.T.), who passed away on August 20th, 2020 in Nashville. The album will be released digitally on what would have been Justin’s 39th birthday, January 4th, 2021, via New West Records.
“The record is called J.T. because Justin was never called anything else until he was nearly grown. Well, when he was little, I called him Cowboy,” explains Steve Earle. “For better or worse, right or wrong, I loved Justin Townes Earle more than anything else on this earth. That being said, I made this record, like every other record I’ve ever made… for me. It was the only way I knew to say goodbye.”
As the album pre-order launched, Steve shared the track ‘Harlem River Blues’ which you can listen to below. Fans who pre-order J.T. in digital format will instantly receive the track which is one of Justin’s best-known compositions and took Song of the Year honours at the 2011 Americana Music Awards ceremony following Justin’s win in the Emerging Artist of the Year category in 2009. The CD and vinyl editions of the album will follow on March 19, 2021.
J.T. finds Steve Earle & The Dukes covering 10 of Justin’s songs – from ‘I Don’t Care,’ which appeared on his 2007 debut EP, Yuma, and a trio of selections from his full-length debut album, ‘The Good Life’ (‘Ain’t Glad I’m Leaving, Far Away In Another Town’ and ‘Lone Pine Hill’) to later compositions like 2017’s “’Champagne Corolla’ and 2019’s ‘The Saint Of Lost Causes,’ which was the title track of Justin’s eighth and final studio album. J.T. closes with ‘Last Words,’ a song Steve wrote for Justin.
100% of the artist advances and royalties from J.T. will be donated to a trust for Etta St. James Earle, the three-year-old daughter of Justin and Jenn Earle. While sombre in parts, the album is described as “ultimately a rousing celebration of a life lived with passion and purpose.” The recording features the latest incarnation of Steve’s backing band, The Dukes – Chris Masterson on guitar, Eleanor Whitmore on fiddle & vocals, Ricky Ray Jackson on pedal steel, guitar & dobro, Brad Pemberton on drums & percussion, and Jeff Hill on acoustic & electric bass.
Steve Earle – J.T. Track Listing:
I Don’t Care
Ain’t Glad I’m Leaving
Maria
Far Away In Another Town
They Killed John Henry
Turn Out My Lights
Lone Pine Hill
Champagne Corolla
The Saint Of Lost Causes
Harlem River Blues
Last Words
