Luke Bell Track “Jealous Guy” Gets New Release

Luke Bell has been one of the most authentic voices to emerge in country music in the last decade, and one of the most elusive performers over the past few years. He released a debut album on Bandcamp in 2014, then re-released it via Thirty Tigers in 2016, made us all big believers in a way that few if any other performers can fulfill, and then sort of faded off into the sunset.

But a little nugget of music was just released that may be new to some. First recorded in 2016 around the release of his self-titled album as a standalone acoustic performance for Amazon, Luke Bell’s cover of John Lennon’s “Jealous Guy” might not be the debut single from a new album many are hoping for, but anything with Luke Bell’s name on it is welcome. The track lived solely on Amazon as an exclusive for years, but now that the exclusive has expired, it’s available through all streaming and download platforms.

Originally released on John Lennon’s Imagine album from 1971, “Jealous Guy” was previously called “Child of Nature,” and had been demoed when Lennon was with The Beatles. The lyrics were originally inspired by a lecture given by a Yogi, and deal with the feelings of inadequacy felt by a lover. With Luke Bell singing it on a back porch though, it’s pure country.

Luke Bell caught national attention when he singed with WME and Thirty Tigers, and began opening shows for names like Willie Nelson, Hank Williams Jr., and Dwight Yoakam. But a tour set to occur after the release of his debut album never happened, and aside from some spotty shows here and there, Luke Bell has been mostly out of the spotlight, leading to much speculation and some concern about his whereabouts.

Saving Country Music published a deep dive into Luke Bell and his elusiveness in April of 2020. Luke then re-emerged in July of 2020 in an online performance with frequent collaborator and folk archivist performer Matt Kinman in North Carolina.

No word on when we may see or hear more from Luke Bell, but word is he’s alive and well, and just turned 31 on Wednesday (1-27).

Luke Bell’s version of “Jealous Guy” is now available through all streaming platforms.

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