New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Grammy-nominated acoustic guitarist extraordinaire, composer and global touring artist TOMMY EMMANUEL has today released the video for his musically virtuosic and exhilarating cover of the 1988
Little Feat classic "Cajun Girl," featuring
Little Feat and Sam Bush. The song arrives digitally tomorrow as the second single from EMMANUEL's much-anticipated full-length collaborations album ACCOMPLICE TWO (see the track listing below), due out April 28 via CGP
Sounds as the follow-up to his Accomplice One album (2018).
Watch the "Cajun Girl" video, filmed by Joshua Britt and Neilson Hubbard for Neighborhoods Apart Productions as it was being recorded at Ocean Way
Studio B in Nashville. The video was premiered yesterday by Relix which called "Cajun Girl" a "joyous collaboration."
Quotes from TOMMY:
"I have been a fan of
Little Feat since I first heard them back in the 70's. They are a powerful band with great songs and tight, funky arrangements. I'm so honored to be on this track with these legends, to play with them, sing with them, and to find a common love of good music that brings the best out in all of us. I am also thrilled that Sam Bush came and played a great fiddle part which makes this track unique and shows his love for
Little Feat too! The youngest member of the band, Scott Sharrard, is doing such brilliant work on slide guitar that I had to feature him on the last solo of the track. Lowell
George would be smiling down at him, playing his ass off! Lend "Cajun Girl" your ears and your heart, and you'll smile from my crazy intro to Scotts' mojo-dripping finishing touches of the song. ENJOY!"
Quotes from
Little Feat's Bill Payne:
"Great thanks to Tommy Emmanuel for bringing new life to
Little Feat's "Cajun Girl." To be in his orbit is always fun and relaxed. He is the consummate musician and a warm and open host. Looking at the array of artists on Accomplice 2, many of whom the band know, gives us a tangible joy to be in Tommy's extended family. We're pleased to say he is part of
Little Feat's family, too. Tommy Emmanuel is one of the finest musicians in the world. He lives and breathes music. What else could one want? "Cajun Girl" also has an extra layer of brilliance added to it from our dear friend Sam Bush. Sometimes you just have to say, life is good!"
Track details for "Cajun Girl" featuring
Little Feat & Sam Bush:
Written by Bill Payne and
Martin F. Kibbee for Feat Publishing (ASCAP)
Recorded at Ocean Way
Studio B in Nashville, TN
Rory Rositas - engineer
Bill Payne - piano and lead vocals
Kenny Gradney - bass
Fred Tackett - mandolin and backing vocals
Scott Sharrard - guitar and backing vocals
Tony Leone - drums and backing vocals
Sam Bush - fiddle and backing vocals
Tommy Emmanuel - guitar and backing vocals
With a press release is announcing the ACCOMPLICE TWO album and its first single/video, "White Freight Liner Blues," TOMMY's collaboration with Grammy-winning guitarist and singer
Molly Tuttle on this cover of the Townes Van Zandt classic. The video was premiered by Guitar Player which described the collaboration as "spectacular."
"My accomplices on this album are all in a league of giants to me," says TOMMY. "They all inspire me to reach for the stars; to give my best while supporting them as they give their best. We all have a chemistry and electricity together when we play music. I wanted to capture this power in songs and performances that will stand the test of time."
Produced lovingly by EMMANUEL, regarded by guitar great Chet Atkins as "one of the best guitar players I've ever seen," the 16-track ACCOMPLICE TWO is a spirited mix of new takes on indelible classics and brand-new originals from TOMMY. His collaborators are some of the most remarkable musicians on the planet—an "A" list of musicians including Billy Strings,
Molly Tuttle, Michael McDonald,
Jamey Johnson and Raul Malo.
The album is alive with the electric spirit of spontaneous, timeless joy created by inspired virtuosos. The combined artistry contained on these tracks is stunning, as is TOMMY's cheerful ease at connecting naturally with this vast spectrum of musicians. Like the first volume, he merges the presence of beloved, legendary musicians—such as Jorma Kaukonen,
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band,
Little Feat, Sam Bush, the Del McCoury Band and Jerry Douglas—with the bright spirit of acclaimed young artists breaking through with deep artistry and true reverence for the power of song.
Look for TOMMY's concert special "Accomplice LIVE!"—featuring such guests as Emmylou Harris, Rodney Crowell,
Sierra Hull and
Yasmin Williams—airing now on PBS during pledge drive. Known to deliver shows that are truly a head-spinning experience, TOMMY will be on the road throughout 2023 in America,
Europe and Australia. His tour dates are HERE.
Here's the track listing for ACCOMPLICE TWO:
1. Doc's Guitar
Black Mountain Rag Featuring Billy Strings
2. White Freight Liner Blues Featuring
Molly Tuttle
3. Daddy Frank (The Guitar Man) Featuring Jamey Johnson
*4. Precious Time Featuring
Sierra Hull
5. Cajun Girl Featuring
Little Feat & Sam Bush
6. Another Man Done A Full Go Around Featuring Jorma Kaukonen
*7. Son Of A Gun Featuring Richard Smith
8. Someone Like You Featuring Michael McDonald
*9. Mombassa Featuring
Yasmin Williams
10. Everybody Loves You Featuring Larry Campbell & Teresa Williams
*11. Mama Knows Featuring Jerry Douglas
12. Sweet Temptation Featuring The Del McCoury Band
13. Yeller Rose Of
Texas Featuring Sam Bush
14. Tennessee Stud Featuring
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
15.
Seven Come Eleven Featuring
David Grisman
16. Far Away Places Featuring Raul Malo
*Original TOMMY song
TOMMY EMMANUEL has achieved enough musical milestones to satisfy several lifetimes. At the age of six, he was touring regional Australia with his family band. By 30, he was a rock n' roll lead guitarist burning up stadiums in Europe. At 44, he became one of five people ever named a CPG (Certified Guitar Player) by his idol, music icon Chet Atkins. Today, he plays hundreds of sold-out shows every year from Nashville to Sydney to London. He's piled up numerous accolades, including two Grammy Award nominations, two ARIA Awards from the Australian Recording
Industry Association (the Aussie equivalent of the Recording Academy); repeated honors in the Guitar Player magazine reader's poll including a cover story for their August 2017 issue; a cover feature for Vintage Guitar's July 2020 issue; and was
Music Radar's reader's poll #1 winner of the Ten Best Acoustic Guitarists in The World (December 2019). A noted fingerstyle guitarist, EMMANUEL frequently threads three different parts simultaneously into his material, operating as a one-man band who handles the melody, the supporting chords and the bass all at once. His talents, which translate in any language, carry him to the far corners of the globe, but EMMANUEL never plays the same show twice, and he improvises big chunks of every date. That leaves him open to those technical imperfections, though they also provide some of the humanity to an other-worldly talent. On May 8, 2020, he released a newly recorded career-spanning double album, THE BEST OF TOMMYSONGS, via CGP Sounds/Cruzen Street Records).
Watch the album trailer which focuses on TOMMY's unique ability to tell stories without words: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-SOQEMWYAQ4
EMMANUEL subsequently released three EP's with different collaborators, Accomplice Series Vol. 1, 2 and 3, the last of which was in 2022.