Travis Tritt Guests on Jerry Douglas CD

Jerry Douglas photo courtesy of JP Cutler Media.

June 30, 2008 — Dobro ace Jerry Douglas, best known for his 10-year tenure in Alison Krauss + Union Station, has a new album on the way with Travis Tritt among several guests on the CD.

Travis sings lead on "Marriage Made In Hollywood," a song about celebrity relationships written by Irish singer-songwriter Paul Brady, who also wrote the Brooks & Dunn hit "The Long Goodbye." Jerry could have enlisted just about anyone to sing on the CD — after all, he’s recorded with just about everyone in the country music business, including Reba McEntire, Brad Paisley, Alan Jackson, Martina McBride, Garth Brooks and Little Big Town. But a chance radio spin of one of Travis’ songs lined up both the singer and the song in Jerry’s mind.

"I was driving back to Nashville after taking my family on holiday to the Gulf Coast, and the radio played Travis’ ‘Great Day To Be Alive,’" Jerry recalls. "I was thinking about what a great track record Travis and I have together, and the song ‘Marriage Made In Hollywood’ flooded over me at the same time. It was a revelation, and it turned out better than I had even hoped. Travis is such a wonderful, natural singer."

Jerry has previously backed Travis on the hits "Drift Off To Dream" and "Modern Day Bonnie And Clyde." Jerry also played on "The Devil Comes Back To Georgia," a song that earned a Grammy nomination for Travis, Johnny Cash, Marty Stuart and Charlie Daniels. And he supported Travis and George Jones when those two artists paired up for a remake of "The Race Is On" for the 1994 album The Bradley Barn Sessions.

Travis "gives the song the perfect reading and is spot-on every word," Jerry says of the new recording. "I am thrilled that the stars all lined up for us to get this one down for everyone to hear."

"Marriage Made In Hollywood" will be on Jerry’s new Glide album, targeted for release Aug. 19. That same day, Jerry begins a series of four shows at the Country Music Hall of Fame as an Artist in Residence. The shows, including two dates in August and two in September, are part of an recurring showcase at the Hall that has previously recognized such acts as Guy Clark, Kris Kristofferson and Tom T. Hall.

Glide will feature several other guests, including singer-songwriter Rodney Crowell, guitarist Tony Rice, banjo legend Earl Scruggs, multi-instrumentalist Sam Bush and upright-bass player Edgar Meyer.