MCA NashvilleJosh Turner describes his upcoming album, Country State of Mind, as the “Mount Rushmore of Country Music,” and for good reason: The new project features a wide variety of special guests, including a landmark performance from Randy Travis.
Country State of Mind includes Josh’s take on Randy’s 1987 classic, “Forever and Ever, Amen,” and the legendary artist joined him on the new version of the song. It marks the first recording session for Randy since a devastating stroke severely hampered his ability to speak and sing in 2013.
“Randy has always been my hero. He was the reason I wanted to become a country singer,” Josh explains. “He’s an inspiring figure, not just to me but to a lot of people, so to have him sing on this record is pretty special.”
But Randy isn’t the only high-profile country act who helped Josh make his new album. Kris Kristofferson and John Anderson also lent their voices to the album, as did Chris Janson, Runaway June, Maddie & Tae and Allison Moorer.
In addition to collaborating with a diverse and impressive roster of collaborators, Josh shows off his country music history expertise with his solo performances on Country State of Mind. The track list features his renditions of Johnny Cash’s 1959 gospel tune, “The Caretaker,” as well as Hank Williams’ 1955 original, “Alone and Forsaken.”
On Wednesday, Josh shared the album’s title track, in which he and Chris duet on a Hank Williams Jr. classic. Country State of Mind will drop in full on August 21.
By Carena Liptak
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