Before Bobbie Nelson passed away in March 2022, longtime fan Amanda Shires recruited her to collaborate on the upcoming album Loving You. Ahead of its release on June 23rd via Silver Knife/ATO, Shires has shared their spin on George Gershwin’s “Summertime,” featuring none other than Nelson’s brother Willie Nelson.
Loving You comprises 10 beloved classic tunes reimagined by Shires and Nelson, including “Dream a Little Dream of Me,” “Over the Rainbow,” and of course, “Loving You.” Recorded in Austin, the record is billed as Shires’ “mission to pay respect to the only woman she saw working in a band and pursuing a career as a sideman.”
“I first saw Bobbie playing when I was 16 or so at some festival somewhere in Texas where I grew up,” Shires explains of the iconic pianist in a press release. “I saw her perform many times over the years and always admired the way she played so effortlessly and with so much strength and confidence. She radiated music. Much of my path seemed possible because I saw a woman working and making a career of music at a young age, and that woman was Bobbie Nelson.”
On “Summertime,” Shires gives the jazz standard a southern twang with her fiddle over Bobbie’s piano, her bright soprano juxtaposed with Willie’s instantly-recognizable deep vocals. Listen to the track below, and then keep scrolling to see the album art and tracklist for Loving You.
Shires’ last album was 2022’s Take It Like a Man.
Loving You Artwork:
Loving You Tracklist:
01. Waltz Across Texas
02. Always On My Mind
03. Old Fashioned Love
04. Summertime (feat. Willie Nelson)
05. Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground
06. Dream a Little Dream of Me
07. Tempted and Tried
08. La Paloma
09. Loving You
10. Over the Rainbow
