Jeremy Parsons

Traditional - adjective; relating to the passing down of elements of a culture from generation to generation, especially by oral communication. Today’s exploration is in the area of traditional country music. If you perform country music and you wish to call it traditional, there must be an element of culture that is evident of being passed down from generation to generation. Well, how about the pure channeling of the spirit of Hank Williams in Jeremy Parsons’ voice on the opening cut, “The Night Hank Williams Died.” Or perhaps you might accept the example of “..when stores were closed on Sunday, and food was cooked with lard…” in the track “When My Old Man Was Young.” Try this one, “…she’s lookin’ for a new pup to play her cruel tricks on…” from the title cut. Jeremy Parsons has written each track himself, each one steeped in tradition, and with his youth taken into consideration, you have to believe he has been a study of country music from an inordinately young age. The bonus track reprises the title with a Victrola feel. Somehow you can hear the record spinning at 78 r.p.m. You’ll hear Parsons’ spiritual side on several cuts as well. If you enjoy Hank Williams, Bob Wills, or any of the early Texas sounds, you’ll take quickly to this album and its country, swing, and gospel tones. Expertly produced and masterfully performed, Parsons has created one of the best themed albums of the year. Perfectly packaged, including an LP styled disc, this record follows all the rules, making Parsons one of the few who hit a homerun with their debut offering. Many artists might be poised to be the next big thing in Texas, but Parsons is poised to be the next really big thing in Texas music. - MyTexasMusic- Lucky Boyd

PCG Nashville Records recording artist Jeremy Parsons is more than happy to be labeled “too country”. This young singer/songwriter hails from San Antonio, Texas, where old-timey country music roots run deep. Recently transplanted to Nashville soil, Parsons has recorded and released “Doggondest Feelin”, an 11-track homage-to-our-classic-past kind of album, produced by Bernard Porter. All of the songs are written by Parsons, and they are as old-school traditional as they could get.

With a vocal sound reminiscent of another era, Parsons almost recreates the atmosphere of the Grand Ole Opry of the 40’s and 50’s, clearly inspired by some legends of that stage back then, like Hank Williams, Webb Pierce and Faron Young. He’s backed by seasoned musicians playing the usual, but oh-so-modern-commercial-radio unusual banjo, harmonica, upright bass, fiddle and steel, as well as acoustic and electric guitars.

“I Could Be Your Pick Me Up” is a singing cowboy song, while “Since My Baby Left Me” has a catchy folky/pop flair of the early 60’s. But most of the songs invoke the haunting lonesome sound of Hank, Sr., with a little more vibrato to boot. Stand-out track “Out Comes The Sun” has already been cut by bluegrass band The Grascals; it’s a beaut that would be a smart soundtrack choice for a motion picture based on this historic time of our country music heritage. It tells the story of a doomed relationship: “When the rain falls down it reminds me of my baby/It reminds me of the tears I cried for her/And when the lightning strikes it reminds me of her anger/Oh, her anger and her hurtful, hateful words/Why does my baby do what my baby does/Then when my baby’s gone, out comes the sun”.

Parsons saves the best for last: his bonus and title track “Doggondest Feelin” is produced like a scratched-up 78 rpm vinyl record playing on my grandma’s old Victrola. The song has an outstanding low-down, bluesy dobro and shuffle groove. Its vintage charm of yesterday is really found throughout Parson’s CD, and we don’t even have to close our eyes to imagine we’re there – he makes it that easy for us. - Music News Nashville- Janet Goodman

Twenty-two year-old Texan Jeremy Parsons is a young crooner with an old soul. His debut Doggondest Feelin’ combines the earthy sentiments of Conway Twitty with the timelessness of Johnny Cash. The album is chock full of fiddle, steel guitar and well-worn stories of heartbreak, religion and hopelessness. Having relocated to Music Row in 2009, Parsons has made a dent, becoming a fixture at open-mic nights, a must-see in songwriter rounds and a backstage guest at the Grand Ole Opry. To date he’s befriended Little Jimmy Dickens, Jean Shepherd and even opened for George Jones. To boot, it is said that his personal catalog (ASCAP) has more than 700 songs and the bluegrass group The Grascals have cut his song “Out Comes the Sun.”
Doggondest Feelin’ has a swagger and shimmy that is equal parts refreshing, intoxicating and invigorating. Each cut hearkens back to the golden age of traditional country and possesses a charisma and a panache that country music would be remiss to embrace. Songs such as “Hide Her Angel Wings,” “Since My Baby Left Me,” and “The Night Hank Williams Died,” have an effortless precision that’s far too hard to ignore and even harder to forget.
For those that miss the days of Waylon and Lonnie Tillis, give Doggondest Feelin’ a spin and let history come alive. - Resident Media Pundit

Parsons’ young years, rosy complexion and boy-next-door good looks hardly prepare you for the similarity his voice holds to that of Hank Williams Sr. on the opening track. It’s no accident, as his debut pays tribute to the country music of Williams’ era, and his grassroots marketing includes Little Jimmy Dickens pitching the CD in a spot airing on RFD-TV. Parson’s is loyal to what he considers the golden era of the Grand Ole Opry and sings with a vibrato in his voice that harkens back to country music’s roots in the late 1920s and early ‘30s, his falsetto notes ranging into the same place as Jimmie Rodgers’ yodels. He reaches back to a time before to a time before country music had to be “saved” from its repeated entreaties to the pop charts. Though he fashions himself a country classicist, his vocals occasionally favor the folk tones of John Denver and Phil Ochs in his less strident moments.

Parsons writes of Hank Williams’ final night on the album’s opener, sings of his faith in “Passenger Seat,” and imagines what it was like “When My Old Man Was Young.” But mostly he writes of relationships in various states of decay and dissolution. With his chipper voice, however, the sadness and misery, particularly in the upbeat “Since My Baby Left Me” isn’t particularly teary. There’s a bit of Haggard in the guitar figures of “I Could Be Your Pick Me Up,” and producer Bernard Porter’s done a fine job of giving this record a clean sound that plays up the twang of guitars, banjos, dobros (courtesy of guest Randy Kohrs) and steel (courtesy of guest Smith Curry). As a bonus, the title track is repeated at CD’s end, but equalized to sound like a 78 with surface noise added as a patina. - Hyperbolium

Jeremy Parsons just released his new CD “doggondest feelin’” and the songs are really just that! He is a young artist who loved the veteran song masters like Johnny Cash, Hank Williams Sr., Faron Young, Johnny Horton and the all-American favorite George Strait. He has collected vinyls for years and grew up listening to the old-time music where his dad worked at a radio station in San Antonio, Texas.

Jeremy has over 750 songs in his personal catalog (ASCAP) and has opened for country music greats George Jones and has been a frequent backstage guest at the Grand Ole Opry where he can call Little Jimmy Dickens and Jean Shepard friends of his.

His debut album is full of traditional sounds of music. “The Night Hank Williams Died” is yet one more tribute song to the legend of Hank Williams Sr. His voice is country twang and his acoustic guitar lends a true sense of what Hank would enjoy if he were to hear the song himself! If you enjoy traditional country this is an excellent rendition of the story of the loss of Hank.

“Doggondest Feelin’” has the beat and twang of what you might have found at the Opry many years ago, and sometimes even now when the veteran artists pull out their guitars and perform. Jeremy talks about coming home and the key not fitting in the door and what a doggondest feelin’ this was! He thinks that his baby “wants this dog gone” and that she’s “lookin’ for a new pup to play her cruel tricks on”. This song is cute and the beat is an upbeat toe-tapping tune that makes you happy even though it’s about being kicked out of his house!

“When My Old Man Was Young” was about my favorite on the CD. It’s fast paced and quick and the story told is something that brings back some good old memories. It’s a toe-tapper about when his old man was young. The story tells about when the stores used to be closed on Sunday and we all cooked with lard! This was back when folks’ lives were simpler than they are today. There’s a lot of banjo licks in this song and the fiddle will just make you want to get up an jiggity-jog around the room!

The album is riddled with the sounds of the dobro, harmonica, fiddle, banjo and is filled with quick old timey guitar licks throughout. This young man is indeed an old soul in this day’s new music genre and I think he can re-introduce the love of traditional country music to many new followers and bring back wonderful sounds to many traditional country lovers. I enjoyed this CD tremendously as I do love the sounds of Hank Williams, George Jones and many other veteran artists in country music.

You can find Jeremy at www.myspace.com/jeremyparsonsmusic as well as follow him on Twitter (JMParsonsMusic) and Facebook (jmpickinfool) and his album can be purchased on his web at www.jeremyparsons.com. OH! And his CD is made to look like a vinyl!! Too cute!! - Country Music Tattle Tale- Calamity Annie

Without even listening to Doggondest Feelin’ one can get an interpretation of just the type of artist Jeremy Parsons wants to be. From the Manuel jacket and the powder blue polyester outfit to the song titles, what we’ve got here is a traditionalist. Taking a listen to the album we know that Jeremy Parsons isn’t just trying to look like a 50’s country artists but he’s completely immersed in the sounds of the past, which is quite interesting given the fact that he’s in his early 20’s and looks like he could still be a High School student. All of that aside, fans of traditional and Honky Tonk will certainly enjoy everything about Doggondest Feelin’.

The album starts off with the haunting “The Night Hank Williams Died” and instead of being a song that just invokes the King of Country music himself, it is as intense as many of the classic songs Hank did himself. The same can be said for the title track, “Doggondest Feelin’" (listen here). It showcases the American roots music with Randy Kohrs’ Dobro and banjo and Mike Douchett’s harmonica accenting the song about the end of a relationship. Cash’s influence not only permeates the melody of “Hide Her Angel Wings,” but also in the lyrics as well. Vocally Parsons has quite a bit of vibrato and that is showcased on “Out Comes The Sun,” a song about the kind of relationship we all hope we never get in. It’s also a song that was just cut by the Grascals for their upcoming album.

“Can’t Recall The Fall” sounds like it is a song from years gone by and features some great female harmony vocals from Molly Smith while. Lyrically depressing, “Since My Baby Left Me” has an upbeat melody that showcases how much fun the musicians had in making this ‘old-timey’ record and it is the kind of country music that makes these musicians blood boil. Romantic and recalling the 1960s and 1970s ballads, “I Could Be Your Pick Me Up” finds a man singing to a woman about all the ways he would treat her better. Like all classic country albums, there is a spiritual song on the record in “Passenger Seat.”

While fans of music from artists like Taylor Swift or other stars of the mainstream aren’t likely to find anything they like about Jeremy Parsons’ Doggondest Feelin’, if you like your music country, traditional and love the stuff from Hank Williams, Ernest Tubb, and other classic artists like them then you’re sure to enjoy everything about Jeremy Parsons and his music.

I may personally lean towards the mainstream when I chose music to listen to but you can Mark my words when I say this, I have the doggondest feelin’ that people will be hearing from Jeremy Parsons for many years to come. - Roughstock- Matt Bjorke