Every great song starts with a songwriter and a blank slate. Every big hit, meticulously self-penned or gracefully covered, was once a little song in a little room with big hopes and dreams. Good comes from repetition, great comes from inspiration, and hits come with validation. And in Nashville, home to hundreds and thousands of musicians and songwriters, the mutually admired trio of Luke Laird, Lori McKenna, and Barry Dean sit at the head of the songwriters’ table with hundreds of cuts to their names and too many number-ones and awards to count; all from their own blank slates.
A simple idea that started as a group text thread between these three writers has recently blossomed into an all-new collection of their works, together and apart. On March 3rd, the first of three volumes of Laird, McKenna, and Dean’s ‘The Songwriter Tapes’ will be released by CN Records.
Each volume includes brand new recordings of three songs that even part-time country music fans will be familiar with, if not already fans of, and one tune that has yet to see the light of day. Choosing the four songs for each of the songwriters to sing was a collaborative process. And while it may have been difficult to narrow it down to 12 tracks after more than 65 collective years in country music, the result is a timeless anthology of career-defining songs from as far back as 2004 and as recent as 2020.
Today, Laird, McKenna, and Dean shared a track from Volume 1, ‘Diamond Rings and Old Barstools.’ Originally made popular by Tim McGraw on his 2014 album ‘Sundown Heaven Town’, ‘Diamond Rings’ was penned by Dean and Laird, co-written by Jonathan Singleton and spent time on the Billboard Hot 100 while simultaneously hanging well into the top ten of the Country airplay chart. Written over the course of a mere forty minutes, Dean and Laird demoed the song the following week just to hear Singleton’s voice on the track, but then rumors started flying around that George Strait might cut “Diamond Rings,” though they turned out to be only rumors.
“We assumed that might be the end for this song, then Tim McGraw made it his,” remembers Dean. “It was nominated for a Grammy and remains a song that people bring up all the time. I think it might be because there is nothing better than country music when you’re trying to make peace with moving on.”
The Songwriter Tapes Vol. 1 Tracklist:
“Diamond Rings and Old Barstools” performed by Barry Dean (recorded by Tim McGraw, 2014)
(Barry Dean, Luke Laird, Jonathan Singleton)
“Humble & Kind” performed by Lori McKenna (recorded by Tim McGraw, 2015)
(Lori McKenna)
“American Kids” performed by Luke Laird (recorded by Kenny Chesney, 2014)
(Luke Laird, Rodney Clawson, Shane McAnally)
“Settling In” performed by Lori McKenna
(Lori McKenna, Barry Dean, Luke Laird)
Fans can check out the Songwriter Tapes version of ‘Diamond Rings and Old Barstools’ today at this link and pre-order or pre-save The Songwriter Tapes Vol. 1 ahead of its March 3rd release right here.
For more information, please visit creativenationmusic.com.
