VIA PRESS RELEASE | Tony Joe White’s The Real Thang Deluxe Edition unearths more gems from a country-leaning, Waylon Jennings-collaborating era of the legendary Louisiana recording artist’s career.
Over the last few years, the late, great Tony Joe White’s output has been as prolific as ever, thanks to his son and de facto archivist, Jody White, who spends his free time digging through The Swamp Fox’s treasure trove of lost, rare, and mostly-unreleased material. Earlier this year, Jody re-released one of his father’s forgotten albums, The Real Thang, which included not only the original album but a heaping helping of never-before-heard recordings from that era. And, with the release of The Real Thang Deluxe Edition, even more has been unearthed. For the digital-only deluxe release, two new songs are included with the original eighteen tracks: “Fine Country Woman” and “Gringo.”
The former is an ode to White’s wife, Leann, with White’s guitar sounding more ’90s country than any of his previous work. The latter, “Gringo,” is a rare instrumental written by White and his friend Waylon Jennings. Replete with the iconic Waylon Jennings phase-shifted telecaster tone and delicate acoustic lead playing from White, “Gringo” is a prime example of the pair’s musical friendship. “Nobody really knows the story behind this song, as these two men took it to their graves,” says Jody. “Apparently, it was recorded one night while they were just hanging out and buried deep in the archives of the Tony Joe White audio tapes.”
Fans can stream or purchase The Real Thang Deluxe Edition here. For more information or to purchase a physical copy of The Real Thang on vinyl or CD, please visit tonyjoewhite.com. To hear more stories about the project and Tony Joe White, be sure to check out Jody White’s recent interviews with Otis Gibbs.
