A smattering of A-listers from across roots music will pay tribute to country great John Anderson on the upcoming covers album, Something Borrowed, Something New. Out on August 5th via Easy Eye Sound, the Dan Auerbach-produced tribute features contributions from Sturgill Simpson, Tyler Childers, Sierra Ferrell, the late John Prine, and many more.
The album announcement comes alongside the first preview for Something Borrowed, Something New, courtesy of Gillian Welch and David Rawlings. Together, the pair turn in a hauntingly beautiful rendition of “I Just Came Home to Count the Memories”. The stoic melancholy of the track from Anderson’s 1981 studio album of the same name brings the composition from the tail-end of country’s golden era into the modern age with help from contemporary luminaries.
Artists across the Americana spectrum traveled far and wide to pay homage to Anderson, literally. Auerbach required all the participating musicians to travel to his Nashville studio to lay down their tracks in person.
“We weren’t trying to piddle around and make the normal tribute record,” Auerbach said in a statement. “It had to be the best singers with the best songs and the best arrangements, and they all had to come into the studio. This wasn’t like, ‘Mail me the song, and we’ll put it together.’ Everybody had to come here and do their thing.”
Related: Watch John Prine Tell The Story Behind “You Never Even Called Me By My Name” [Video]
Also featured on Something Borrowed, Something New are Nathaniel Rateliff, Eric Church, Luke Combs, Brothers Osborne, Del McCoury and Sierra Hull, Jamey Johnson, and Ashley McBryde.
“Listening to everybody do their own takes on the songs shows how the songs really come through,” Anderson said of the tribute. “And I thought to myself, ‘You might have been young and foolish back then, but you sure did pick some good songs.’ It’s very gratifying to know that some things really do not change, and a great country song remains a great country song. Any one person on the record would be a real tribute, but all of them together? It’s a pretty big deal for me personally.”
Over 40 years into his career, Anderson remains one of the most prolific country singer-songwriters still working today. Most recently, the 67-year-old musician cut his 22nd studio album, Years, in 2020 with Auerbach as he was in the midst of a serious health crisis.
“It was a great experience and, for me, a healing experience,” Anderson told Rolling Stone in 2020. “Working with Dan and working through the tracks on these songs and writing these songs originally was maybe one of my biggest accomplishments in my career after what I’d been through.”
Check out Gillian Welch and David Rawlings’ cover of “I Just Came Home To Count The Memories” from the upcoming John Anderson tribute Something Borrowed, Something New, available here for pre-order. Scroll down for the full tracklist and album artwork.
Gillian Welch & David Rawlings – “I Just Came Home To Count The Memories” (John Anderson)
