Something Borrowed, Something New: A Tribute to John Anderson, a new tribute album celebrating the songs and career of legendary country artist John Anderson, is out now via Easy Eye Sound. Stream/purchase HERE. In celebration of the release, Anderson was featured on “CBS Mornings” earlier today speaking with correspondent Anthony Mason, alongside the album’s producers Dan Auerbach and David Ferguson. Watch the full profile HERE.
Produced by Auerbach and Ferguson, the record features new versions of some of Anderson’s most beloved songs, performed by Brothers Osborne, Tyler Childers, Eric Church, Brent Cobb, Luke Combs, Sierra Ferrell, Sierra Hull, Jamey Johnson, Ashley McBryde, Del McCoury, John Prine, Nathaniel Rateliff, Sturgill Simpson and Gillian Welch & David Rawlings.
In celebration of the release, Anderson and several special guests from the album—including Tyler Childers, Gillian Welch & David Rawlings and Sierra Hull—will perform this Saturday night at the Grand Ole Opry. More info and tickets available here.
Already receiving critical acclaim, Billboard praises Cobb’s version of “Wild and Blue,” saying, “Cobb’s worthy rendition veers slightly from Anderson’s banjo-inflected original, leaning more heavily on relaxed acoustic guitars and a fiddle-laced, jam band groove, helmed by Cobb’s warm, unhurried vocals,” while Wide Open Country calls Ferrell’s version of “Years,” “phenomenal,” and Brooklyn Vegan proclaims, “Sierra’s voice shines on the cover, and she subtly reinvents it.” Additionally, Americana Highway praises, “Something Borrowed, Something New does a remarkable job of highlighting Anderson’s music across decades…all of these songs – even those dating back more than 30 years ago, still resonate today and hold up remarkably well.”
Reflecting on the record, Anderson shares, “Listening to everybody do their own takes on the songs shows how the songs really come through. And I thought to myself, ‘You might have been young and foolish back then, but you sure did pick some good songs.’ It’s very gratifying to know that some things really do not change, and a great country song remains a great country song. Any one person on the record would be a real tribute, but all of them together? It’s a pretty big deal for me personally.”
Additionally, Auerbach shares, “We weren’t trying to piddle around and make the normal tribute record. It had to be the best singers with the best songs and the best arrangements, and they had to come into the studio. This wasn’t like, ‘Mail me the song, and we’ll put it together.’ I think it makes this record unique. I don’t think most tribute records are done like this. I think that's why it sounds like a cohesive album. It feels like an amazing mix tape.”
Something Borrowed, Something New further celebrates a triumphant career for Anderson, who is one of country music’s most respected and beloved figures. Most recently, Anderson released his 22nd studio album, Years, in April of 2020 (stream/purchase here). Also produced by Auerbach and Ferguson, the record was created in the midst of a serious health crisis and is the testimony of his remarkable recovery.
Released to overwhelming critical acclaim, Rolling Stone praised, “Years finds Anderson at his most convincing, and moving, since his hit-making heyday. It’s the type of record that should cast his entire discography in a new light, an inspired offering that shows a forgotten legend pulling off a new trick just as effectively as his old ones,” while Billboard declared, “Years is putting Anderson firmly in the spotlight again” and The Tennessean proclaimed, “With his warming baritone—familiar to four decades of country music listeners—Years plays like a soundtrack to creative deliverance; sincere messages that often sounds resilient and at times tender-hearted.”
A Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee, Anderson has enjoyed 60 charting singles in four consecutive decades including five No. 1 songs: “Wild and Blue,” “Swingin’,” “Black Sheep,” “Straight Tequila Night” and “Money in the Bank.” Originally from Apopka, Florida, Anderson now lives outside of Nashville with his wife of over 25 years, with whom he shares two daughters.
SOMETHING BORROWED, SOMETHING NEW: A TRIBUTE TO JOHN ANDERSON TRACK LIST
1. “1959” performed by John Prine
2. “Years” performed by Sierra Ferrell
3. “Wild and Blue” performed by Brent Cobb
4. “Low Dog Blues” performed by Nathaniel Rateliff
5. “Mississippi Moon” performed by Eric Church
6. “I Just Came Home to Count the Memories” performed by Gillian Welch & David Rawlings
7. “Shoot Low Sheriff!” performed by Tyler Childers
8. “Seminole Wind” performed by Luke Combs
9. “When It Comes to You” performed by Sturgill Simpson
10. “You Can’t Judge a Book (By the Cover)” performed by Brothers Osborne
11. “Would You Catch a Falling Star” performed by Del McCoury feat. Sierra Hull
12. “Straight Tequila Night” performed by Ashley McBryde
13. “I’m Just an Old Chunk of Coal (But I’m Gonna Be a Diamond Some Day)” performed by Jamey Johnson
