Mountain Fever Records has a new single for lonesome mountain bluegrass specialist Junior Sisk, a Rodney Crowell song called Long Hard Road (The Share Cropper’s Dream).
Fans of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band may recall their 1984 recording of this song, but Junior and his talented group give it a very different reading. As the title suggests, it tells of a man who earns his living tilling the soil, while he wishes that his music could take him away from the toil and the hot sun.
Sisk says that he’s had this one his radar for a while now.
“I’ve been thinking about this song for a long time and how it hits close to home for so many who find it is in fact a long hard road. It’s a well written song that makes for a perfect bluegrass tune.”
This new cut starts with Tony Mabe’s D-tuned banjo, followed by Junior’s voice and fiddle from Tim Crouch, before the whole band joins in. Sisk and Heather Berry Mabe are on guitar, Jonathan Dillon is on mandolin, and Curt Love on bass. Heather and Tony add harmony vocals. Altogether, they make this early Americana song feel like it was written for a bluegrass band.
It’s a good’n. Have a listen…
Long Hard Road (The Share Cropper’s Dream) is available now from popular download and streaming services online. Radio programmers will find the track at AirPlay Direct.
