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). Sharing producer credits, Vince and Paul recorded the album in two days at Vince’s home studio with Vince playing all the acoustic and electric guitar fills and solos. The iconic Merle Haggard writes the album’s liner notes and says “Vince and Paul offer a great new touch on a great old sound. It was great, certainly to hear my music done with the great touch of Vince and Paul. I feel highly complimented. But it was especially great to hear what they did with Buck’s stuff. Some may not notice, but I for one knew how great Buck really was, first as a musician, then as an artist.”

Vince says the right time to release the album was now. “I think everything happens for a reason,” says Vince. “The hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of people I’d sung with and played with all these years, I’d never made a real duet record. It just made sense for me to reach out to a fellow musician – that’s where I started; that’s where I really cut my teeth. I was a musician long before I had the guts to open my mouth and sing.”

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)

Vince Gill (why it was time for this record) OC: …musician. :46
“I think now, it all works out for the right reasons. I think that, I often think back to my career. Had I had hits in 1982, 83 when I was getting started, would it have turned out the way it should have had that happened then? I think everything happens for a reason. Paul and I have been friends since those days, since the early ‘80s. I’d never done a duet record before. The hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of people I’d sung with and played with all these years, I’d never made a real duet record. It just made sense for me to reach out to a fellow musician – that’s where I started; that’s where I really cut my teeth. I was a musician long before I had the guts to open my mouth and sing. I think doing this with Paul honors what I was first and foremost was a musician.”