Vince Gill and his buddy, famed pedal steel player Paul Franklin, are set to release Bakersfield, a tribute to two of Bakersfield’s sons – Merle Haggard and Buck Owens — on Tuesday (July 30th). The legendary Merle wrote the liner notes for their new album, which came as a bit of a shock to both Vince and Paul.

“He said, ‘I like what you did with my songs, but I especially like what you did with the Buck Owens songs.’ And then he said so many people overlook what a great guitarist, what a great musician Buck Owens was, and then he comments on all of that,” says Paul. “You could tell that he really got what we were trying to do, and he said, ‘West Coast takes a bow.’ It was really amazing.”

“Just the most important thing for me to convey to him was how much reverence, how much respect I have for him,” says Vince. “He’s been a huge part of what I’ve tried to do. A great mentor and a great…you talk about building the house that you want to go, ‘Okay, I’d like to have a house like that. How’d he build that?’ That’s a great teacher.”

BAKERSFIELD TRACK LISTING:

1. Foolin’ Around/Buck Owens (Written by Harlan Howard and Buck Owens)

2. Branded Man/Merle Haggard (Written by Merle Haggard)

3. Together Again/Buck Owens (Written by Buck Owens)

4. The Bottle Let Me Down/Merle Haggard (Written by Merle Haggard)

5. He Don’t Deserve You Anymore/Buck Owens (Written by Arty Lange and Buck Owens)

6. I Can’t Be Myself/Merle Haggard (Written by Merle Haggard)

7. Nobody’s Fool But Yours/Buck Owens (Written by Buck Owens)

8. Holding Things Together/Merle Haggard (Written by Bob Trotten and Merle Haggard)

9. But I Do/Buck Owens (Written by Tommy Collins)

10. The Fightin’ Side Of Me/Merle Haggard (Written by Merle Haggard)

AUDIO: Paul Franklin and Vince Gill talk about Merle Haggard writing the liner notes for their new album, Bakersfield.

Paul and Vince (Merle’s involvement) OC: (Vince) …great teacher. 1:35
VINCE: “Paul came up with the best idea of the whole project was to ask Merle to write the liner notes, and he did.”

PAUL: “And, yeah. Of course, we’re sitting on pins and needles. It’s like, ‘Oh my God…’

VINCE: “What were you guys thinking?” [LAUGHS]

PAUL: “Yeah, what was his response? But his liner notes were, well, it made me cry when I did because he got it. His comments per song, and just you could tell he really listened over and over before he sent it back. It was a few days, and we’re sitting there going, ‘Okay, I hope he does.’ But he saw the musical side of it. He comments. He said, ‘I like what you did with my songs, but I especially like what you did with the Buck Owens songs.’ And then he comments about what a great, he said so many people overlook what a great guitarist, what a great musician Buck Owens was, and then he comments on all of that. You could tell that he really got what we were trying to do, and he said, ‘West Coast takes a bow.’ It was really amazing.”

VINCE: “I think that for me, just the most important thing for me to convey to him was how much reverence, how much respect I have for him. In the past years, I’d done a song that was a loose tribute to him called ‘Real Mean Bottle,’ and I wanted more than anything in the world just to hear it. I don’t know if he ever did. I hope he did, but he’s been a huge part of what I’ve tried to do. A great mentor and a great…you talk about building the house that you want to go, ‘Okay, I’d like to have a house like that. How’d he build that?’ That’s a great teacher.”