Chris Stapleton Announces New Album & Song “Starting Over”

photo: Becky Fluke

As those of us on the independent side of the country music world were laser focused on this Friday’s insane lineup of new releases, Chris Stapleton announced the long-anticipated release of his new album called Starting Over, and debuted the title track (listen below). The record will be released by Mercury Nashville on November 13th, and once again will be produced by Dave Cobb. It was recorded at Studio ‘A’ in Nashville, with additional recording work done at Muscle Shoals Sound and Compass Sound Studio.

The new record will include 14 new songs, 11 of which Stapleton wrote or co-wrote himself, along with a few notable covers, specifically John Fogerty’s “Joy of My Life,” and two covers of Guy Clark songs—“Worry B Gone” and “Old Friends.” Also interesting to note from the track list is that two songs Stapleton had been regularly featuring in concert lately don’t make the cut—namely one called “Bad Side of The Blood,” and a bluesy song called “Minimum Wage” co-written with Mike Campbell of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers fame.

However Mike Campbell did make the list of special guest musicians appearing on the record, as did fellow Heartbreaker Benmont Tench on Hammond B3 organ, along steel guitar legend Paul Franklin, and the “All Voices Choir” appearing on the song “Watch You Burn,” which was the backdrop for the recorded recent teaser video. They will join the core of Stapleton’s recording and touring crew of J.T. Cure on bass, Derek Mixon on drums, and Morgane Stapleton on background vocals and tambourine.

The title track to Starting Over co-written with Mike Henderson has also been sent to country radio as a single. A bit mild-mannered and mid tempo, it’s centered around folkish acoustic guitar strums and a story about pulling up stakes to start life anew. We’ll have to see how excited radio gets about it, as well as the public who continue to buy and stream Stapleton’s 2015 record Traveller to the tune of making it a perennial Top 10 in the albums charts, even as his more recent records From ‘A’ Room Vol. 1 & 2 lag behind.

Starting Over is now available for pre-order.

Starting Over Track List: 

1. “Starting Over” (Chris Stapleton & Mike Henderson)
2. “Devil Always Made Me Think Twice” (Chris Stapleton & Al Anderson)
3. “Cold” (Chris Stapleton, Dave Cobb, J.T. Cure & Derek Mixon)
4. “When I’m With You” (Chris Stapleton)
5. “Arkansas” (Chris Stapleton & Mike Campbell)
6. “Joy of My Life” (John Fogerty)
7. “Hillbilly Blood” (Chris Stapleton)
8. “Maggie’s Song” (Chris Stapleton)
9. “Whiskey Sunrise” (Chris Stapleton & Tim Krekel)
10. “Worry B Gone” (Guy Clark, Gary Nicholson & Lee Roy Parnell)
11. “Old Friends” (Guy Clark, Richard Dobson & Susanna Clark)
12. “Watch You Burn” (Chris Stapleton & Mike Campbell)
13. “You Should Probably Leave” (Chris Stapleton, Ashley Gorley & Chris DuBois)
14. “Nashville, TN” (Chris Stapleton & Morgane Stapleton)

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