Billy Ray Cyrus Covers Don Williams’ ‘Tulsa Time’ With Aeromsith Guitarist Joe Perry
Billy Ray Cyrus has teamed up with an all-star cast on his upcoming album, including Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry for a cover of the Don Williams classic, "Tulsa Time."
The album's first single, "Hey Elvis," features Bryan Adams and former Deep Purple singer Glenn Hughes, while Shelby Lynne, Shooter Jennings, Lee Roy Parnell and more join in for some of the other 15 tracks on Thin Line, an album that Cyrus began recording years ago as a tribute to the Outlaw movement.
Cyrus and Perry transform Williams' strutting but laid-back country classic into a more aggressive track, with a decidedly edgier stance than the hit from 1978. The electric rhythm guitars are more pronounced and further forward in the mix, and the drum parts include a heavier, more insistent back beat, with Cyrus adding a high harmony part during the verses as well as the choruses.
The track actually draws from the swagger of the Rolling Stones — a prime Aerosmith influence — with Perry contributing wah-wah inflected guitar fills in the verses, and switching off between electric slide and down-and-dirty bar blues riffing for the solo break in the middle, while acoustic slide and electric wah-wah licks color the outro fade of the song.
Thin Line includes covers of “Loving Her Was Easier (Than Anything I’ll Ever Do Again)," “My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys,” "Sunday Morning Coming Down,” “I’ve Always Been Crazy” and more. Cyrus says the album is a reflection of “how I live my life; it’s a balance between art and reality.” It's set for release via Blue Cadillac Music on Sept. 9.
Perry has also been touring with his side project, the Hollywood Vampires, which includes Johnny Depp and Alice Cooper. He was hospitalized on July 10 after collapsing onstage during a live show in Brooklyn. The tour is set to continue on, though his status in the band is currently unclear.
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