Michael Ray is continuing his tribute to some of his favorite country hits, as part of his The Bootlegger Sessions, this time with a cover of one of Trisha Yearwood‘s early hits. Ray put his own spin on Yearwood’s “Walkaway Joe” single, from Yearwood’s sophomore Hearts in Armor album. The song was first released in 1992, and featured Don Henley on the track.
Ray spoke out about the song on social media, praising both the story and Yearwood’s delivery of the iconic tune.
“‘Walkaway Joe’ is everything I love about classic Country music,” Ray said. “The story. The pain. The truth. Trisha Yearwood, I hope I did you justice. Y’all check out my version in the #bootleggersessions.”
Ray has already covered Tracy Lawrence‘s “Time Marches On,” and Randy Travis‘’ “Three Wooden Crosses,” and vows to continue to perform songs by country artists who inspired him, and influenced his own career.
“I just feel like it’s part of our job, to continue to shine a light when you can on the men and women who have paved the way for the rest of us, the men and women that inspired us,” Ray previously told MusicRow. “There are kids hearing me on the radio that maybe didn’t grow up with Alabama, Tracy Lawrence, or Joe Diffie, but if I can make that kid find ‘The Weekend’ by Steve Wariner, now, all of a sudden, he’s downloading all of [Wariner’s] stuff.”
Ray’s current single, “Holy Water,” is nearing the Top 30 on the charts. The song follows his platinum-selling, multi-week No. 1 hit, “Whiskey and Rain.” Both songs are from his 2021 Higher Education EP,. The “Holy Water” video features his own friends and family, and was shot in the very church that his family has attended for generations.
“The church dates back to 1889,” Ray tells Everything Nash. “I remember seeing this photo … the years go by and your family misses and loses stuff. People pass. I wish we could find this photo, but there’s a photo of my great-great-grandparents sitting on the pews in that same church where we shot that music video, in the same room, except at that time, the pews were, if I remember right, they were like a board, or like cinder blocks. It was just an old country church. They rode horses down there to it, at the end of this dirt road. So it dates back to family members years beyond me, all the way up to, my little niece, she goes there. That church really means a lot to me, and it means a lot to the community.”
Ray’s cover of “Walkaway Joe” is available here. Find music and tour dates at MichaelRayMusic.com.