Country singer-songwriter Cory Cross has a new single out, and it’s everything you would expect and want from a slow-burning ballad. “I Would Stay” also features Dallas singer-songwriter Jenna Clark.
“I played a show with Jenna at The Post a little while ago,” Cross recalled, “and I was just really impressed with her voice. … I’m really happy with how [the single] turned out.
Recorded at Cloudland Recording Studio in August with Joe Tacke (Mean Motor Scooter, Uncle Toasty, Itchy Richie & The Burnin’ Sensations), who also mixed and mastered it, “I Would Stay” also features tasty steel guitar playing by Fort Worth’s Burton Lee. The single represents Cross’ second time working at Cloudland. His first effort was the three-song live EP Cloudland Single Mic Sessions earlier in May.
Cross says he’s always been a song-first guy. From playing coffee shops around town to sharing stages with Leon Bridges and Vincent Neil Emerson, Cross has never really wavered from his core song-first inspirations.
“When I first started writing music, it was Ryan Adams and Conor Oberst,” Cross said. “Those are the guys that I really listened to.”
Cross put out his first record, the four-song EP Holy Spirit, in 2020 and since then has released two singles, two live sessions, and another single, “Do You Ever?”
Like Cory Cross Live in Louisiana, the single was recorded at Steel Records in Shreveport, where Cross splits time with Fort Worth for work.
The new single was written “decades ago,” Cross said. “I wrote it when I lived in Austin when I was 21 or 22. It’s a specific type of song. It’s not just a duet but a conversational duet, but I wanted to get a foundation and traction of my work before I released it. I was also waiting for someone to fit the song, and … [Jenna] fit perfectly.”
For 2023, Cross said he’s working on music with a “honkytonk garage-rock”-type feel which will also be recorded with Tacke at Cloudland. Cross also hopes to put out another live-in-studio record at some point early next year.
“To be honest, if people are listening to my music, that’s my goal,” Cross said. “I want to play my music in front of as many people that I can and get my music out to as many people as I can.” — Juan R. Govea
Contact HearSay at Anthony@FWWeekly.com.
Photo by Brooks Burris
