Canton musician Christian Parker to release new album Friday

BY PAUL MITCHELL
North Country This Week

CANTON – Canton musician Christian Parker is releasing a Byrds-themed album on Friday, Aug. 18

Called Sweethearts, the album is Parker’s unique take and loving tribute to the Byrds’ iconic album Sweetheart of the Rodeo.

“I was sixteen when I learned about the Byrds and their music’s different facets. Many folks think of Mr. Tambourine Man or Turn, Turn, Turn, their very early hits. These songs use a Rickenbacker 12-string electric guitar with a bell-like tone, or what has been called ‘jangle or chime.’ In early 1968, they took a left turn with the help of Gram Parsons. They recorded ‘Sweetheart of the Rodeo,’ which included country, bluegrass, gospel, and folk—essentially giving birth to a new genre called country rock, or ‘cosmic-country.’ which also has roots in today’s Americana,” stated Parker.

He said originally the idea was to record one Byrds Tribute Album spanning their entire catalog.

“In early 2022, I released my solo album ‘Every Passing Mile,’ and my friend Phil Hurley contributed. He lives in Austin, Texas, and knew Earl Poole Ball, one of the original session players on ‘Sweetheart of the Rodeo.’ He asked Earl if he would record a track, and Earl said he would be happy to. We recorded a song by Merle Haggard called ‘Life in Prison.’ It was a blast working with Earl, and when asked if he would do some more recording, he said, ‘Why don’t we do the entire SOTR album?”

Parker noted. “Everyone involved in the project was thrilled to have him. We put the Byrd’s’ tribute we had been tracking on hold to record ‘Sweethearts.’ our tribute to the 1968 classic, with fourteen songs, eleven from the original recording, plus three additional ones.”

Ball played with Johnny Cash for 20 years.

Work on Sweethearts began in May 2022 and resumed in the fall. In January, additional players joined the recordings.

“I’ve been working closely with pedal steel player Gary Jacob on the project, and he asked…