Hear Mark Chesnutt’s Steel-Drenched ‘Oughta Miss Me By Now’
It’s been eight years since Mark Chesnutt released his last full album of original material, yet the traditionalist has lost none of the honky-tonk edge that turned his 1990 major-label debut Too Cold at Home into a million-seller. Tradition Lives features 12 all-new tunes, including the Beaumont, Texas native’s self-penned “Never Been to Texas,” and “Is It Still Cheating,” written by powerhouse trio Jamey Johnson, Jerrod Niemann and Randy Houser. Also included on the LP is a tribute to the late Merle Haggard and famed songwriter Red Lane called “There Won’t Be Another Now.” Tradition Lives is the singer’s 15th studio album and was produced by Jimmy Ritchey.
Dripping with fiddles and steel guitar, the LP’s first single “Oughta Miss Me By Now” was written by Tony Ramey and Trey Matthews and finds the singer lamenting his former love, musing that keeping out of sight — that is, driving by her house undetected instead of writing, calling or sending roses — should have brought her to her senses already. “Don’t go to places that she goes, I’ve moved on for all she knows/ That should make her want me more,” he sings, with the same distinctive yearning that made Number One hits out of tunes like 1992’s “I’ll Think of Something” and the following year’s Almost Goodbye.”
In all, Chesnutt topped the country singles charts eight times, from the rousing 1990 smash, “Brother Jukebox,” to his 1998 cover of Aerosmith’s “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing.” The 1993 CMA Horizon (Best New Artist) Award winner will be on the road for more than 175 concert dates this year.
Tradition Lives will be released July 8th by Row Entertainment. Here’s the LP’s track listing:
“I’ve Got A Quarter In My Pocket”
“Is It Still Cheating”
“Lonely Ain’t The Only Game in Town”
“Oughta Miss Me By Now”
“Neither Did I”
“So You Can’t Hurt Me Anymore”
“You Moved Up In Your World”
“Look at Me Now”
“Losing You All Over Again”
“Never Been to Texas”
“What I Heard”
“Hot”
“There Won’t Be Another Now (Tribute to the Hag and Red Lane)” (Bonus track)