Hailed as a “must-see live performer” by Rolling Stone, and a “force to be reckoned with” by CMT, Charley Crockett crafts his singular “Gulf & Western” sound — described as “very 21st century and very vintage” by NPR Music — by synthesizing country, blues, soul, Cajun, R&B and other pieces of American Roots music. And when his voice comes out of your speakers, there is no confusing him for any other artist. As the Wall Street Journal writes, “Mr. Crockett’s unique vocal style is one third Ernest Tubb honky-tonk with clipped-word diction, one third Bill Withers low-key, soulful crooning, and one third jazzy French Quarter second-line swagger.”
With his latest album $10 Cowboy, Crockett didn’t set out to make a themed record. He had released a concept album in 2022, the critically acclaimed The Man From Waco, propelling Crockett to new heights and establishing him as one of the leaders of a sparkling revival of traditional country and folk music.
For the follow up album, Crockett wrote freely, over a two-month period, as he wound his way across the United States on the back of a tour bus. The resulting songs—raw, personal, vivid portraits of a country in transition—ended up being connected after all.
“This material is written at truck stops, it’s written at casinos, it’s written in the alleys behind the venues, it’s written in my truck parked up on South Congress in Austin,” explains Crockett. “A ramblin’ man like me, a genuine transient, is in a pretty damn good position to have something to say about America.”
The album begins with the title track, a personal song that also offers a provocative idea about America. “A $10 Cowboy is a country singer who made himself on a street corner in America,” Crockett says. “But the cowboy way, the cowboy mindset, that applies to anyone who doesn’t feel free, who feels fenced in and bound to something.”
As the album unfolds, you begin to understand that a $10 Cowboy is anyone who has hustled to get by, who didn’t fit in, who has slept on other people’s couches, or the street, who has fallen down, gotten up, and ventured from home chasing a paying gig, or a new start.
The album was recorded at Arlyn Studios in Austin, produced by Crockett and his long-time collaborator Billy Horton. It was recorded live to tape, with anywhere from 6-12 musicians on each track, giving the songs the feel of a live performance. It’s a sound Crockett has been after for years. “The reason I cut it on tape is, when you get the right folks in the room, great players rise to the occasion. When that red light is on and the tape is rolling, you get the magic of a performance.”
Crockett released his last full-length album The Man From Waco - which Rolling Stone named the #2 best Country album of the year - in 2022, and the momentum he built continued into 2023. Crockett made his NPR Tiny Desk debut, was a guest on The Daily Show, and appeared on the June 2023 cover of Texas Monthly. Crockett performed at both nights of Willie Nelson’s 90th birthday celebration at the Hollywood Bowl in April 2023, and made his Bonnaroo debut last summer. Crockett also released The Man From Waco Redux, a companion to The Man From Waco featuring alternate versions of five songs, and Live from the Ryman, which documented Crockett’s sold out November 2022 debut at the Mother Church of Country Music.
