On March 14, Grammy-nominated golf western superstar Charley Crockett released his latest album “Lonesome Drifter,” his third album in a year since his smash hit, “$10 Cowboy,” which got him his Grammy nomination. While this entry into his discography isn’t as good as “$10 Cowboy,” it is nothing to pass up on. Charley Crockett, from San Benito, Texas, was raised by a single mother in a Los Fresnos trailer park. Crockett is also, in fact, related to Davy Crockett. He grew up in Dallas and spent time in the French Quarter.

At 17 years old, Crockett left home with a guitar, which his mother got him from a pawn shop to go busk. He is self- taught and didn’t know what a key was for 12 years of his career. He developed his career by busking from Deep Ellum, French Quarter, and New York City, where he signed his first music contract at 26 years old. But his first album, “A Stolen Jewel,” was self released, and he got his first award nod from the Dallas Observer. We are now ten years after his first album and a big studio behind him. 

“Lonesome Drifter” is his fifteenth album, featuring twelve songs produced by Crockett and Shooter Jennings. He credits Bill Withers as a big inspiration for this release, which was his first release on a major label. According to Crockett, this album is the first of a trilogy. Crockett writes the title track of the album, which is definitely the album’s highlight. It exemplifies all of Crockett’s excellent genre work. His mix of blues with country is a good return to the country music of old. The album, especially this song, captures the song’s sound and keeps the same brass as his live concerts.

Kullen Fox is a standout and is a large part of what makes these songs great. He also plays keys, and his solo parts are where you can feel the blues influence on this album. Soul is also a big genre that Crockett plays. He is excellent at writing these soulful tracks and adding them to the songs he covers, like “Never No More,” a fantastic track with a long history in the country-western genre. 

I like “Under Neon Lights.” Kullen Fox’s work on the Wurlitzer for this track reminds me of Ramsey Lewis and Billy Preston, comparable to the The Beatles’ “Get Back,” which Preston played the keyboard for. Dave Biller and Dave Marchese, the electric guitarist and the bassist, respectively, play hand in hand with Fox’s work and, amazingly, with Crockett’s vocal work. The mix of string, brass and keyboards on the album is the biggest standout of the album and is what makes this album so unique compared to other country albums that are coming out, which usually focus on rock or rap. This looks at the genre’s roots as a subgenre of blues and soul.

Overall, this album is a great start to what should be an excellent trilogy of albums when Crockett releases the next two installments in the coming years. This album might not be as strong as some of his other albums, but getting more tracks in Crockett’s style is always welcomed when mainstream country diverts more and more from blues and soul.