Campbell covers Clint Black, Randy Travis, Travis Tritt and others
Last year was an ambitious time of music for country hitmaker Craig Campbell, releasing the 16-song The Lost Files: Exhibit A and the 17-song Exhibit B, the second of which landed on the first ballot of the ACM Awards. He has now announced one of the most passionate projects of his career, Class of ’89 for April 19th via Grindstone Records. The six songs represent the core influences that helped mold his desire to pursue a career as an artist and songwriter.
“I have been dreaming of recording this album for as long as I can remember,” Campbell says. “These songs are some of the reasons I fell in love with country music in the first place. Every song on this album has a story, and each one of those stories shaped me into the country singer I am today. There will never be anyone that can do these songs as good as the originals, but at the very least I hope I made them proud.”
A cover of Clint Black’s “Killin’ Time” kicks off the collection. “Killin’ Time was the first album (cassette) I ever bought with my own money. That album changed my life!” Campbell shares.
The album also includes a Craig’s take on Mark Chesnutt’s “Too Cold At Home,” Restless Heart’s “Bluest Eyes in Texas,” Randy Travis’ “On The Other Hand,” John Michael Montgomery’s “Be My Baby Tonight,” and Travis Tritt’s “Anymore.”
In a move unique in the Nashville music scene, Craig enlisted his friends to hunker down in the studio to record all of the tracks. “These are guys I spent years with on the road. When it came time to go into the studio, I knew there was no other band that could play these songs the way I wanted better than my boys. Thank you David Black, Shawn, Aaron, David Karns, Jamie, Tyler and David Spires!”
The Class of ‘89 album cover was a photo taken by a local photographer in Craig’s hometown of Lyons, Georgia after he won his first talent show singing “Be My Baby Tonight.” The photo is the perfect representation of where he was when all of this music came into his life.
Craig dug deep into his catalog of songs recorded during two label deals and gems he cut for his own label, when he released The Lost Files: Exhibit A in February and Exhibit B in August.
In 2022, Craig and his wife Mindy opened Grindstone Cowboy in their adopted hometown of Eagleville, TN. The coffee shop, restaurant and music venue has become a popular gathering spot for locals and visitors alike and received Ruthies Awards for best Local Coffee Shop and Live Music/Concert Venue. They are currently building out their second location in Shelbyville, TN.
The 9th Annual Craig Campbell Celebrity Cornhole Challenge was held during CMA Fest week and raised over $27,000 the Kenny Campbell Foundation, a nonprofit organization founded by Craig to honor his father who lost his battle with Colorectal Cancer at age 36.
