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8th November 2024Charley Crockett’s stories are an indicator of his hard work ethic, shrugging off any critics who might dismiss them as overly-extended stories.
His music videos depict dreamlike desert landscapes with mysterious characters and an iconic, symbolic rotary phone. His lyrics draw on big band-era crooners as well as swamp pop and hot jazz genres.
Born in San Benito
Crockett’s music transcends genres, reflecting his refusal to conform to predetermined categorizations. Talking with him can feel like taking an intensive musical history class; he makes references to B.B. King and Townes Van Zandt without ever losing interest.
After making his name busking in Dallas, New Orleans and Brooklyn – and becoming known for it – this artist now tours around filling dream venues around the country. Backstage before one such performance in Brooklyn he explained how Bay Area music had an important part in shaping his idiosyncratic perspective and that Gulf Coast Boogie-Woogie might best describe his musical genre – it combines mournful ballads, folk songs and toe-tappin’ country licks that would fit right in at Texas dancehalls!
Raised in Dallas
Crockett learned this skill from James “Slim” Hand, an experienced Texas honky-tonker and mentor.
After 10 years of traveling and performing around Europe and America – including Paris, Copenhagen, Morocco and California – Crockett returned home. He began releasing albums that blended Texas country and Louisiana blues influences; critics were quick to take notice.
Crockett discusses his early days in Dallas and what keeps him touring, in this episode of Walking the Floor. Additionally, he details what led to the creation of Lonesome as a Shadow album.
Busking in New Orleans
Crockett’s life reflects that of a Western or Highwaymen song: from his early years spent in rural San Benito to Dallas with a single mother before roaming across the United States and busking in New Orleans.
His first taste of success came when he picked up a guitar and started performing blues licks in a park, mistaking himself for an actual musician and giving out change as tips.
Experience convinced him of his talent worth cultivating, from street corners and subway platforms to concert hall stages – his hard work ethic paid off, and since then it has snowballed.
Signing with Thirty Tigers
Charley Crockett is one of America’s most captivating new musicians, telling captivating tales with his band in Austin and onstage to his growing legion of fans; some may dismiss his stories as salesman’s bunkum, however.
Crockett’s music has attracted some powerful partnerships. Nashville-based Thirty Tigers (distributors for Sturgill Simpson and Patty Griffin among others) is now helping him market Welcome to Hard Times, Music City USA and his tribute album for James Hand. Additionally, Thirty Tigers produced an energetic live album from Ryman Stadium that shows his constant drive and creativity.
Recording his first album
Though his songs feature yearners and burners, beer-soaked bouncers, and heartbreakers, Crockett’s aesthetic doesn’t stop there. Jukebox Charley provides fourteen gems from obscure or shoulda-woulda-coulda hits that were ahead of their time or too cool to be forgotten by Lucinda herself.
Since 2015, he’s released albums featuring batches of covers based on country and blues music he learned as a street musician in Texas. The end result is an authentic style that remains clean without being oversanitized; analog without alienating. NPR’s World Cafe hosts an in-studio session with this artist.
Touring the world
Charley Crockett stands out in an age when music-industry moguls appear to dominate more of our listening choices than ever, by forging her own path with busking, train hopping and an insightful understanding of self-reliance.
At each concert, she creates a troubadour who approaches it as an engaging dialogue and draws freely from Americana culture. His sound blends country, Louisiana blues and Tex-Mex in ways that pay homage to classic influences while reinventing them for modern audiences.
His songs connect people from diverse musical backgrounds.
