New Homer Joy Album Features Duet With The Late Buck Owens

Posted Friday, March 9, 2007

On August 22, 2006, Country songwriter Homer Joy, received a heart-transplant at the Baylor Medical Center, in Dallas, Texas. Best known for his song "Streets of Bakersfield", recorded by Dwight Yoakam and Buck Owens in 1988. The song was the first #1 song for Dwight Yoakam and the first #1 song for Buck Owens in 16 years... "Streets of Bakersfield", sometimes referred to as the "Bakersfield National Anthem", has been covered over 30 times, in almost every musical style, by bands all over the world...

The Grammy nominated songwriter has made a fast and remarkable recovery. So much so, that on February 19, 2007, just six months after his heart transplant. He was in the Crystal Clear Sound Recording Studio in Dallas,Texas, finishing an album project he began with fellow songwriter, Country singer and friend, the late Buck Owens...

"My battle with heart disease put an end to the project", Joy said. "On March 25, 2006, when my friend (Buck Owens) lost his battle with heart disease, I thought at the time, I had surely lost mine."

The title of the album, SOMEDAY IT’LL BE COUNTRY, is reflective of the fact that both Homer Joy’s songs and Buck Owens recordings, were far ahead of their time and caused quite a stir in the Country Music industry for several years.

"I remember, when Buck recorded the Chuck Berry song, "Johnny B Goode", Joy recalls. "Even though it was a #1 song on the Country charts, a lot of Country stations wouldn’t play it and a lot of people in the industry criticized him for it... Now, we have Bon Jovi, Kid Rock, The Beach Boys, The Eagles and a lot of others, (God bless ‘um) getting air-time on every major Country radio station out there..."

The first single from the newly released album, is a Homer Joy/Buck Owens duet, of the Homer Joy song, "John Law"... Recorded by Homer Joy, this song rose to #1 in the top 300 Country markets in 1972, in spite of the fact that again, "it wasn’t Country". Buck Owens himself recorded the song on his last Warner Brothers album and it was the last song Buck Owens performed publicly, on "The Dean Martin Christmas At Sea World" television special, before his retirement in 1980.

"I have no axe to grind with Nashville or anybody else", Homer Joy said. "Buck Owens was, is and always will be, "The King of The Bakersfield Sound" . His vocal on "John Law" proves it. I think he would be proud to know, that the "sound" he created, as well as the freedom of expression he fought for, for all Country songwriters, singers and musicians, is still alive and doing very well".

The album, SOMEDAY IT’LL BE COUNTRY, will be available online, after the release date is announced. Watch Rodeo Attitude for more news and updates!

Contact:
First Stone Productions
580-367-0061
firststoneproductions@yahoo.com