The official video for Michael Ray‘s cover of Tracy Lawrence‘’s “Time Marches On” video is out! The song is the inaugural release from Ray’s The Bootlegger Sessions, sharing his love of ’90s country music.
“As long as I’m blessed enough to do what I love and write and sing my music, I will honor this genre and all the legends who have come before me,” Ray said when announcing the new series. “That’s what the #BootleggersSessions are about to me!”
Ray works hard to honor the artists he grew up admiring in all of his music, but especially in the video for his multi-week, No. 1 hit, “Whiskey and Rain,”
“One thing we really wanted to make sure we captured was a feeling similar to what artists in the ’90s did with their videos,” Ray tells CMT. “You know, like Tracy Lawrence and Travis Tritt. They were doing something different. When those videos came out, you made sure you saw it because they were taking the music video game to the next level. It was really important … to have as much of that influence as we could. So hopefully people get a nostalgic feeling and it makes them think about those guys.
Ray’s love of that era of music is what inspired his own career, which is why it’s important for him to honor those that paved the way for him.
“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 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.”
Download Ray’s version of “Time Marches On” here. His latest single, “Holy Water,” is quickly climbing up the charts. Ray is currently serving as the opening act on Lee Brice‘s Label Me Proud Tour. Find all of Ray’s music and tour dates at MichaelRayMusic.com.