Lask week for Bandcamp Friday, singer-songwriter Dawn Landes reached into her archive for a recording of her cover of Dolly Parton‘s “Do I Ever Cross Your Mind” with the late Justin Townes Earle. The recording was made nearly a decade ago at Landes’ Brooklyn studio while the two were on tour in 2010-2011.
The cover was originally released as a free download 10 years ago, according to Rolling Stone, during the two musicians’ tour that frequently saw them perform the song together each night. Given Earle’s passing in August 2020, Landes chose to re-release the cover for Bandcamp Friday in an effort to raise funds for Earle’s widow Jenn Marie and three-year-old daughter Etta St. James Earle.
“We recorded this song just for the fuck of it,” Earle said onstage in 2010.
Parton wrote the song and first released “Do I Ever Cross Your Mind” as a duet with Chet Atkins in 1976 on his album, The Best of Chet Atkins & Friends. It would be another six years before Parton released a solo version of the song, placing it on the B-side of “I Will Always Love You” in 1982.
In this cover, Earle and Landes tap into the duet energy of the song as they trade verses back-and-forth. All the while, the Americana sound that Earle fostered throughout his career permeates the track. The final few seconds of the song hears Earle and Landes joking around in the studio, displaying the tender side of the late musician who struggled with personal demons throughout his life.
Listen to Justin Townes Earle and Dawn Landes cover Dolly Parton’s “Do I Ever Cross Your Mind”. Consider purchasing the song on Bandcamp in order to assist Earle’s family with his end-of-life costs and fund his daughter’s education.
Justin Townes Earle, Dawn Landes – “Do I Ever Cross Your Mind” (Dolly Parton)
[H/T Rolling Stone]