Live Forever: A Tribute To Billy Joe Shaver was just released via New West Records & Pedernales Records. The 12-song set was co-produced by Charlie Sexton & Freddy Fletcher and features renditions of Shaver songs lovingly recorded by Willie Nelson and Lucinda Williams, George Strait, Miranda Lambert, Nathaniel Rateliff, Ryan Bingham and Nikki Lane, Steve Earle, Edie Brickell, Rodney Crowell, Margo Price (featuring Joshua Hedley), Allison Russell, and Amanda Shires.
 
The Texas singer-songwriter who died on October 28th, 2020 was an integral member of the Outlaw Country movement. A favorite among music legends, Johnny Cash once called Shaver “my favorite songwriter,” while Willie Nelson declared, “Billy Joe is definitely the best writer in Texas.” Upon the announcement of Live Forever: A Tribute To Billy Joe Shaver, Nelson said, “He was just real; there wasn’t one phony drop of blood in him.” AllMusic called Shaver’s songs “among the greatest in the whole history of the (country) genre” while the Washington Post said, “When the country outlaws were collecting their holy writings, Billy Joe Shaver was carving out Exodus.”
 
Today, Taste of Country premiered the album in its entirety, a day before its release saying "It's a fitting tribute to a true country music outlaw...The cross-genre and multi-generational roster of artists is a tribute to Shaver's broad influence, as well as the lasting qualities of his songs." Hear Live Forever: A Tribute to Billy Joe Shaver in full HERE.
 
From his album liner notes, co-producer Freddy Fletcher wrote of Shaver, “His influence on the greatest of artists is what inspired this project. The album is a testament to his words and their deep impact on wonderful songwriters and performers. He’s a hero to so many, and we are honored to pay homage to his legacy.”
 
On the topic of songwriting, Billy Joe Shaver once said “when you write songs, and you write good songs, people will always remember you. Words will always outlive us. And if your name is attached to those words, you’re gonna live forever.”
 
To further salute the figurehead of the outlaw country movement, Amazon Music will also reveal the never-before-heard demo of “Wacko from Waco,” tomorrow via their popular “Written By” playlist series. The song was written by Billy Joe Shaver and the studio version performed alongside Willie Nelson appears as a bonus track on Shaver’s 2012 Live at Billy Bob’s Texas. “Wacko from Waco” gives Shaver’s side of the infamous shooting at Papa Joe’s Saloon in Lorena, TX. He recorded this stripped down acoustic version of “Wacko” in a small Santa Monica, CA demo studio after the ink was dry on his 2011 acquittal and will be available for the first time.
 
Live Forever: A Tribute to Billy Joe Shaver is available NOW via NEW WEST RECORDS.