The Crow is Martin's first full-length bluegrass CD.
Nope, it’s not an April Fool’s prank. The headline’s correct: Steve Martin, comedic megastar and movie actor, will be taking his banjo prowess to the stage of country music’s Mother Church, the Grand Ole Opry, come May 30, 2009.
Joining the Emmy-winning Martin on the stage of all country stages will be some of country music’s heaviest hitters; namely, Vince Gill, along with his missus, Christian-music superstar Amy Grant, as well as bluegrass-musician extrodinaires John McEuen, Stuart Duncan and Tim O’Brien.
At Nashville’s Opry, Martin is slated to perform tunes from his newly unleashed a full-length, debut album titled The Crow—New Songs for the Five-String Banjo, which is a 15-song offering that comes with a 24-page booklet wherein Martin describes the inspiration behind each of the original songs.
Critically acclaimed artist/picker McEuen—a founding member of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and longtime pal of Martin’s—produced the 63-year-old performer’s foray into the country/bluegrass world; hence, McEuen’s slot on the May 30 performance bill.
According to composer/multi-instrumentalist David Amram, who took part in The Crow’s making, the disc was 45 years in the making.
“After playing on the Grammy Award-winning ‘Foggy Mountain Breakdown’ with Earl Scruggs, Martin began writing a string of new banjo songs, some with lyrics and some as instrumentals,” shared Amram, who noted Dolly Parton, Gill, Mary Black, O'Brien, Earl Scruggs, Pete Wernick and Tony Trischka also take part on the CD, which was cut in Dublin, Hollywood, Nashville and New Jersey.
For those familiar only with Martin as an award-nabbing comic and actor, he’s actually quite a multi-talented fellow. In addition to his banjo playing that’s nothing to sneeze at, his essays frequently are published in The New Yorker magazine. (Come on, you didn’t think the now-married actress Bernadette Peters dated him so long just because he was funny, did you?)
Those who’ve scratched Martin—a one-time writer for The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour—beyond his funny-guy surface know the man’s got talent. Call him just another silly face, if you will, but Martin’s always been more than just a “wild ‘n’ crazy guy” who dons light-colored suits, sometimes wears a fake arrow-through-the-head prop and performs his comic hit, “King Tut,” now and again on Saturday Night Live. He is, in fact, quite an accomplished banjo player, so this writer and country fan suspects his upcoming Opry debut will be a real treat.
Born in Waco, Texas, and reared in Southern California, Martin’s new CD is available online via Amazon and is expected to expand to additional retailers later in the year.
Music Video: Below is a triple-banjo performance of 'The Crow," penned by Steve Marin and performed on David Letterman in 2007, with help from Bela Fleck and Tony Trischka. Related reading: Hollywood's Jack Black explores country music,
Comments