John McEuen To Release Spoken Word Album The Newsman – A Man Of Record On April 12
First Track “Fly Trouble” Premiered by Bluegrass Today
McEuen Adds Music To Stories With Each Composition On His New Album, Which Contains Poetry Spanning Nearly 200 Years
Country, bluegrass, and Americana legend John McEuen will release his latest album, The Newsman – A Man Of Record, on April 12 through Compass Records. In a groundbreaking project for McEuen, the album consists of ten spoken word tracks and one instrumental, each creating a theatrical masterpiece that no listener will forget, featuring John’s distinctive musical style throughout. Starting with the title track, recounting the real-life tale of a newspaper vendor who profoundly impacted the young musician in Los Angeles, and concluding with “Jules’ Theme,” inspired by Jules Verne sharing the story of his recently departed young wife in a French cemetery to a friend, the album leaves no stone unturned. Premiered by Bluegrass Today, the first track available, “Fly Trouble,” is a talking blues number originally from Luke the Drifter, better known as Hank Williams.
To read Bluegrass Today’s premiere of “Fly Trouble,” visit HERE.
To pre-save The Newsman: A Man Of Record, visit found.ee/newsman
“I have been around the world playing music and collecting stories for… a long time,” McEuen acknowledges. “As a teenager, well before the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, I loved Meredith Wilson’s ‘The Music Man.’ Before I started playing, I must have recited ‘Ya Got Trouble’ 2,000 times! Later, when performing became part of the life I picked, every now and then, I would do one of these ‘stories’ (often a Hank Williams talking blues) on stage, always happy about how well they went over. I did ‘The Mountain Whippoorwill’ with the early Nitty Gritty Dirt Band for many years. Then, another story would come along, be learned, and ‘filed away’ for a future date. ‘The stories’ soon tired of waiting to ‘get done,’ so, I did them.”
The album features a mix of tracks from different eras and genres. The collection spans various literary themes from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s Civil War-era poem “Killed at the Ford” to Robert Service’s “The Cremation of Sam McGee” about a Yukon prospector. Other tracks include Stephen Vincent Benét’s “The Mountain Whippoorwill,” Hank Williams Sr.’s “Fly Trouble,” and Walter Brennan’s “Old Rivers.” Thomas Monroe’s Vietnam War reflection “Nui Ba Den” contrasts with more recent compositions like John Carter Cash’s “The Guitar of Pineapple John,” Hans Olson’s “I’ll Be Glad (When They Run Out Of Gas),” and Thaddeus Bryant’s “Red Clay.”
‘The Newsman’ Album Track Listing:
The Newsman
Fly Trouble
The Cremation of Sam McGee
Old Rivers
The Guitar of Pineapple John
Killed at the Ford
Nui Ba Den
Red Clay
I’ll Be Glad (When They Run Out Of Gas)
The Mountain Whippoorwill
Jules’ Theme
John McEuen’s Upcoming Tour Dates
MAR 26 – The Tin Pan / Richmond, Va.
MAR 27 – Elkton Music Hall / Elkton, Md.
MAR 28 – My Father’s Place / Roslyn, N.Y.
MAR 29 – The Linda – WAMC’s Performing Arts Studio / Albany, N.Y.
MAR 30 – Opera House at Boothbay Harbor / Boothbay Harbor, Maine
APR 25 – Ponce De Leon Center / Hot Springs Village, Ark.
APR 27 – Merlefest at Wilkes Community College / Wilkesboro, N.C.
MAY 01 – Eddie Owen Presents: Red Clay Music Foundry / Duluth, Ga.
MAY 12 – Coconino Center For the Arts / Flagstaff, Ariz.
MAY 14 – Musical Instrument Museum / Phoenix, Ariz.
MAY 16 – Almost Famous Wine / Livermore, Calif.
MAY 17 – The Center For the Arts / Grass Valley, Calif.
MAY 18 – Sweetwater Music Hall / Mill Valley, Calif.
MAY 19 – Nashville Social Club Carson City / Carson City, Nev.
MAY 24 – McCabe’s Guitar Shop / Santa Monica, Calif.
MAY 25 – Palm Springs Cultural Center / Palm Springs, Calif.
MAY 29 – Lincoln Theatre (1926) / Mount Vernon, Wash.
MAY 31 – Hult Center for the Performing Arts – Soreng Theater / Eugene, Ore,
JUN 02 – Tower Theatre / Bend, Ore.
JUN 05 – Country For A Cause – 3rd & Lindsley / Nashville, Tenn.
JUN 09 – Sunday Mornin’ Country – The Grand Ole Opry House / Nashville, Tenn.
AUG 03 – Blueberry Bluegrass & Country Music Society Festival / Stony Plain, AB -Canada
AUG 04 – Blueberry Bluegrass & Country Music Society Festival / Stony Plain, AB -Canada
AUG 10 – Podunk Bluegrass Music Festival / Goshen, Conn.
AUG 17 – Big Mouth Bluegrass Festival at the Caverns / Pelham, Tenn.
SEP 06 – Watermelon Pickers Festival / Berryville, Va.
OCT 12 – The Franklin Theatre / Franklin, Tenn.
NOV 02 – Thrasher Opera House / Green Lake, Wis.
NOV 09 – Fox View / Nashville, Mich.
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More About John McEuen:
Born in Oakland, California, in 1945, John McEuen relocated to Orange County for high school, where he began his musical journey at sixteen while working in a magic shop alongside Steve Martin. Co-founding member of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, McEuen’s departure after fifty years marked a shift towards solo endeavors and new creative paths. Notably, he orchestrated the groundbreaking “Will the Circle be Unbroken” album, boasting collaborations with bluegrass legends and earning multiple accolades. With over forty albums (six solo) that have earned four platinum and five gold recognition awards, multiple Grammy, CMA, and ACM awards, IBMA Record of the Year, and performed on another twenty-five albums as a guest artist and a prolific career spanning nearly six decades in live entertainment including concerts, television, and production, John shows no signs of slowing down.
John’s Steve Martin – The Crow production won the 2010 Best Bluegrass Album Grammy. The Music of the Wild West CD- produced by McEuen, was honored with the Western Heritage Award. A Grammy nomination for String Wizards II preceded the 1994 Uncle Dave Macon Award – for excellence in the preservation and performance of historic music. John’s popular Acoustic Traveller show is now in its 16th year on Sirius/XM’s The Bridge. McEuen produced and directed the 1990s documentary film The Dillards – A Night In the Ozarks, which captures his early mentors at their best. His recent ventures include producing albums, writing books, and exploring spoken-word projects, epitomizing his enduring passion for storytelling and music exploration. McEuen has a new album, a brilliant spoken word project he has been working on for years, ‘The Newsman,’ is set to release on April 12, 2024. It’s a brilliant spoken-word project with music underlying fascinating stories and poems spanning over 100 years. For more information, visit johnmceuen.com.