Aaron Watson Tips His Hat To Female Country Stars On New Album ‘Cover Girl’

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Aaron Watson. Photo: Chrissy Nix

Texas country maverick Aaron Watson released a unique passion project today (Oct. 27) with a selection of cover songs by female artists and songwriters who have inspired him. Honoring artists such Taylor Swift, Sheryl Crow, Rosanne Cash and more, Watson is also collaborating with female artists that he believes to be the next generation of country music’s superstars.

Reimagining iconic songs that span several different genres, Watson worked with rising female artists to create fresh new takes on each track. For Dolly Parton‘s “9 To 5,” Watson features Kylie Frey, while Jenna Paulette lends her voice to Cash’s “Seven Year Ache.”

“This record was about teaching my daughter about all the wonderful, truly talented musicians in the world. I wanted to show her that her dreams are achievable,” shares Watson. “As we were sitting there talking about music and how so many of these artists we were covering got their start, it showed her that those dreams that she is chasing, they’re not so far off.”

A special moment on Cover Girl happens on the last track of the album, when Watson’s daughter Jolee Kate, a huge Swift fan, sings with her dad on “Never Grow Up.”

“If you don’t write it, it has to be something that you believe in and for me, I write 99% of my songs but after 25 years, I am making an album of songs I didn’t write. It’s different but at the same time I really enjoyed it. I can sing these songs and I truly feel it. After countless hours of listening to Taylor Swift with Jolee, I told her ‘Your old man can’t pull off singing ‘Reputation’ but when we listened to ‘Never Grow Up’ I told her that was exactly how I felt as a dad watching my daughter growing up far too fast.”

Tracklist For Cover Girl:
1. “Seven Year Ache” feat. Jenna Paulette – (Rosanne Cash)
2. “Million Reasons” feat. Morgan Myles (Stefani Germanotta, Hillary Lindsey, Mark Ronson)
3. “Back On the Chain Gang” feat. Twinnie (Christine Hynde)
4. “Love at the Five and Dime” feat. Jamie Lin Wilson (Nanci Griffith)
5. “Can’t Cry Anymore” feat. Bri Bagwell (Bill Bottrell, Sheryl Crow)
6. “All Through The Night” feat. Leigh Nash (Jules Shear)
7. “9 To 5” feat. Kylie Frey (Dolly Parton)
8. “You’re The Reason God Made Oklahoma” feat. Kimberly Kelly (Boudleaux Bryant, Felice Bryant, Larry Collin, Sandy Pinkard)
9. “Grandpa Tell Me About The Good Ole Days” feat. Courtney Patton (Jamie O’Hara)
10. “Two More Bottles of Wine” feat. Alyssa Micaela (Delbert Ross McClinton)
11. “Never Grow Up” feat. Jolee Kate Watson (Taylor Swift)

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