Dale Watson’s ‘The Trucking Sessions Trilogy’ Inspired By American Truck Drivers

In his recently released, truck-driver inspired The Truckin’ Sessions Trilogy, singer-songwriter Dale Watson draws on the nostalgia of being raised by a truck driver and the appreciation he feels for their collective hard work hauling goods across the nation.

In an interview with Billboard Magazine, the Texas-raised American icon makes it clear that the genre of his music reaches beyond traditional country music into a fan-based category called”‘Ameripolitan,” “which are people that are roots-influenced, but not Americana, which is traditional music with folk and rock influence.”

Watson says from the beginning he’s seen his share of skeptics in the industry surrounding music for truck drivers, in particularly when working on the first disc of the 3-CD box set The Truckin’ Sessions Trilogy.

“When I did the first one, I brought it to (former record label) Hightone and they said, ‘Trucking albums are history.’ It ended up being the longest-lived record I’ve had. It still sells,” says Watson. “The audience I didn’t expect to have with it is women. They’ve bought it and like it. It surprises the heck out of me, but they will listen to it while they are driving.”

Besides overcoming the odds, the new CD set also contains something new for Watson – two duets with a female singer. “We’re Truckin’ Along,” and “I’m A Truckin’,” a waltz, both feature Texas favorite Amber Digby.

In the interview, Watson spoke about how truck drivers had the rare opportunity to assist with writing the song “Freewheelin” during a guest appearance at SiriusXM’s Road Dog show.

“They came up with the idea where people would call in and made suggestions on lines. So, we tried it,” he says. “Truck drivers are very creative. You’ve got a lot of closet singer-songwriters out there.”

He concluded the interview noting that music for truck drivers is constantly changing with the times, and how he enjoys catering music specifically to truck drivers.

To download Dale Watson on iTunes, click here or to follow this link to find his music on Amazon.

Source

Billboard