Signature song from Texas To Tennessee album goes to adds next month
Show Dog Nashville recording artist Clay Walker doesn’t want to be cornered into picking a favorite track from his new album Texas To Tennessee, but that hasn’t stopped others. While there’s room for debate, “Catching Up With An Ol’ Memory” has been widely hailed as the nexus of the collection’s themes and Walker’s strengths as a writer and vocalist. To that point, the song has been selected as his next single, going for airplay in February.
Well before the national rollout, the song is already in rotation at major market country stations KSCS/Dallas and WSOC/Charlotte, with strong listener feedback at both. The tune has also received airplay at KILT/Houston; WKML/Fayetteville, NC; WDAF/Kansas City and WEZL/Charleston, SC. Written with Jaron Boyer, George Birge and Lalo Guzman, the song flips the familiar “drinking alone” idea on its head.
“We had the opening and melody, but just couldn’t hit the hook,” Walker says of the writing session. “I said, ‘He’s not sad. This is a good moment for him. He’s just catching up with an old memory.’ I told them it was just paying homage to an old Keith Whitley song … ‘Between An Old Memory And Me.'”
In addition to writing that echoes one of Walker’s heroes, the production is the pinnacle of the album’s balance between contemporary and classic sounds. The fresh sonic bed and steel guitar frame an out-front vocal that reveal Walker’s pipes are stronger than ever.
“Singing well is important to me,” he says. “Having integrity in my vocal cords, continuing to take voice lessons and working on my tone – hey, if you’re not trying to get better you never will.”
“Catching Up With An Ol’ Memory” follows the album’s first single, “Need A Bar Sometimes,” which returned Walker to the airplay charts. As the focus track for early 2022, the song will surely be front-and-center at his co-headlining tour with Tracy Lawrence. In the meantime, Walker’s solo dates resume January 22nd.
