Dan Auerbach‘s Easy Eye Sound has released “Forever On My Mind”, the title track to a forthcoming posthumous Son House album, due out on March 18th. This latest Forever On My Mind single follows “Empire State Express” and “Preachin’ Blues” as the third song to arrive from the record.
Forever On My Mind will feature new versions of eight songs, including the title track which has never seen an official release despite being played live on several occasions throughout Son House’s career. Also on the album will be unheard renditions of “Death Letter”, “The Way Mother Did”, “Louise McGhee”, “Pony Blues”, and “Levee Camp Moan”.
Originally tracked during a November 23rd, 1964 performance at Wabash College in Crawfordsville, IN, the recordings laid dormant in the hands of Dick Waterman, one of the key figures in the 1960’s blues revival and the man who rediscovered Son House after the musician had receded from performing and recording for two decades. Nearly six decades after the Wabash performance, Auerbach got the tapes from Waterman and began producing the record.
“I always knew that I wanted this body of tape that I had to come out together, as The Avalon Collection or The Waterman Tapes, as sort of my legacy,” said Waterman in a statement. “They were just here at my home, on a shelf. I had made a few entrees to record companies, but nothing had really come through. I thought that Dan Auerbach would treat the material with reverence and respect.”
“I couldn’t believe my ears when I heard the song,” Auerbach told American Songwriter of finding the track. “To find out it was an unreleased song, it was a dream come true. I’m still pinching myself.”
“He sounds like he’s in a trance, and his singing is so nuanced here,” said Auerbach. “He’s very playful with his phrasing, just right on the money with his singing and playing. It sounds so right to me—top form Son House.”
“Forever On My Mind” arrives as a heart-wrenching tune that, in true Delta Blues fashion, borrows lyrics from Willie Brown‘s “Future Blues” and Son House’s own “Louise McGhee”. He sings somberly with some typical improvisation over his hallmark strumming style, taking the listener on a journey through love and loss that stretches for nearly six minutes.
“Upon hearing it, I was haunted by this particular Son House song and lyrics and thought about rumination, being a trace of one’s self lost in the eroded and overgrown lands of the past,” noted the video’s director Robert Schober.
Easy Eye Sound will release Forever On my Mind on black and orange vinyl, CD, and digital platforms. Check out the new single and music video for “Forever On My Mind” below and listen on the platform of your choice here. Furthermore, head here to pre-order the forthcoming album, due out on March 18th, and scroll down for a detailed tracklist.
Son House – “Forever On My Mind” [Official Music Video]
[H/T American Songwriter]