Hear Randy Rogers Band, Radney Foster Salute Pat Green With ‘Three Days’
When Pat Green released his major label debut album Three Days in 2001, it introduced the singer-songwriter to a national audience, with its follow-up, 2003’s Wave on Wave, raising his profile even higher via the hit title track. But in his native Texas, Green was already a star, adored by a dedicated fan base built by playing the dancehall circuit and respected by fellow musicians. Now, some of the artists he influenced are saluting the Lone Star State hero on Dancehall Dreamin’: A Tribute to Pat Green.
Due April 5th – Green’s 46th birthday – the record features renditions of his songs from artists like Jack Ingram, Josh Abbott Band and Aaron Watson. Randy Rogers Band performs the title track to Green’s essential Three Days, enlisting Radney Foster – who co-wrote the song about the grueling life of a touring musician with Green – for an assist.
“I remember picking up Pat from the tour bus and he had the title,” recalls Foster. “Pat looked completely exhausted from the road. I think he’d had to do early morning radio interviews. We walked in the house and I pointed to the couch in my home studio. I said, ‘Hey Pat, you want a nap before we get started?’ He looked incredibly grateful. He kept telling me, ‘Yeah, just 15 minutes…well, maybe 20, half hour, tops.’ He slept three hours. I tinkered with the idea, mostly playing with lyrics while he slept. He woke up a new man, had a cup of coffee and we finished the song in 45 minutes. And he wrote his ass off in that 45 minutes. He really was a new man.”
For Rogers, it was an easy decision to cut “Three Days,” which sums up his own experiences on the road, trying not only to play music, but also pay the bills.
“It has long been one of my favorite Pat Green songs. My close relationship with Radney Foster and my love for Radney-penned songs made this collaboration an easy fit for our band,” he says. “I can also relate to the lyric, as I still tour practically every week to support my family.”
Green draws a connection between Rogers and Foster, who produced some of Rogers’ albums, in one of 10 additional spoken-word tracks on the album that detail his writing process. “I think Randy is one of the most soulful melody makers in the Texas music scene,” he says. “He obviously has the power of a million freight trains rolling down the line. Everybody knows who Randy Rogers is, and that’s because of his amazing voice.”
Here’s the track list for Dancehall Dreamin’: A Tribute to Pat Green, including the “story behind the song” tracks.
1. “Wrapped” – William Clark Green
2. “Three Days” – Randy Rogers Band featuring Radney Foster
3. “Nightmare” – John Baumann
4. “Wave on Wave” – Jack Ingram
5. “Take Me Out to a Dancehall” – Josh Abbott Band
6. “Crazy” – Aaron Watson
7. “Washington Avenue” – Walt Wilkins
8. “Adios Days” – Cory Morrow
9. “Dancehall Dreamer” – Drew Holcomb
10. “Southbound 35” – Kevin Fowler
11. “Wrapped”: Story Behind the Song
12. “Three Days”: Story Behind the Song
13. “Nightmare”: Story Behind the Song
14. “Wave on Wave”: Story Behind the Song
15. “Take Me Out to a Dancehall”: Story Behind the Song
16. “Crazy”: Story Behind the Song
17. “Washington Avenue”: Story Behind the Song
18. “Adios Days”: Story Behind the Song
19. “Dancehall Dreamer”: Story Behind the Song
20. “Southbound 35”: Story Behind the Song