Certified guitar player Tommy Emmanuel has a new single this week from his Accomplice Two album, a 16-track followup to his similarly titled 2018 project, consisting of collaborations with some of his favorite singers and instrumentalists. Guests on Two include Billy Strings, Molly Tuttle, Sierra Hull, Jerry Douglas, David Grisman, Del McCoury, and on this latest release, Sam Bush.
For their duet Tommy and Sam chose a Homer & Jethro classic, their innversion of the unofficial Texas state song, which they called Yeller Rose of Texas. In their remake Homer & Jethro sang of Rose’s unattractive features and qualities, which Sam and Tommy reprise for their cut, and despite the frivolity of the lyrics, they engage in some serious picking.
Emmanuel expressed his admiration for Bush, and their shared memories of Homer & Jethro.
“I have been a Sam Bush fan since the ’70s. I love Sam’s infectious playing on either fiddle or mandolin, and he plays guitar so well too. Son of a gun! When we are both on the same festival or event, we never pass up the opportunity to jam out some tunes together, it’s always big fun for us, AND the audiences!
When we got to know each other, we discovered we had grown up listening to the same Homer & Jethro records from the ’50s. We knew all the tunes, all the words, all the licks, and ALL the jokes! So, Yeller Rose of Texas was a must for us to do as a duet. Sam knew all the Jethro parts and led me through it like a taskmaster!
What a joy it was to play and sing this song with Sam— it was hard not to crack up too much! Hope the folks out there enjoy this gem!”
The pair was captured in the studio tracking this number, which you can enjoy in this video released today, shot and edited by Joshua Britt and Neilson Hubbard for Neighborhoods Apart.
Yeller Rose of Texas, and the full Accomplice Two album, are available from popular download and streaming services online. Downloads may also be purchased directly from the artist.
