It’s always a gutsy move for a singer to cover a George Jones song, but that hasn’t deterred Water Tower’s Kenny Feinstein, who has dialed up a bluegrass version of the Possum’s 1976 hit, Her Name Is.
The song was a sensation when it was first released, both for the fact that this Bobby Braddock number didn’t actually reveal what her name was, and because Jones had just recently been divorced from fellow country star Tammy Wynette. The chorus begins with the line, “Her name is…”, but instead of singing it, a guitar lick fills the space where the name would go. Ol’ George allowed fans to believe that he had simply omitted the name “Tammy,” to help popularize the song.
Feinstein makes this classic into a traditional grass cut, which he says helps the lyrics stand out.
“The question wasn’t if I would record a George Jones song, but how. We took Her Name Is off the honky-tonk floor and brought it to the front porch. The bluegrass treatment puts the story right out in the open, and gives a different kind of urgency to that last line.”
Kenny sings lead and plays fiddle – which stands in for the electric guitar in the chorus – with help from Ron Stewart on banjo, Jake Eddy on guitar, Josh Gooding on mandolin, and Carter Eddy on bass.
Check it out.
Her Name Is is available now from Sound Biscuit Records at popular download and streaming sites online. Radio programmers will find the track at either AirPlay Direct or Get It Played.
