The Kentucky Headhunters Dip Into The Vaults To Re-Release ‘Big Boss Man’

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The Kentucky Headhunters have reissued Big Boss Man, a one-of-a-kind project originally recorded in partnership with Sony/ATV Music Publishing two decades ago.

Long considered a hidden gem within the band’s catalog, Big Boss Man returns as a newly remastered, fully restored project, released on the band’s own Practice House Records label. The origins of the project go back to 2005, when then Sony/ATV President Donna Hilley, compilation supervisor Jack Jackson and creative director of new music Tom Long, approached The Headhunters with an idea to take 12 classics from the Sony/ATV catalog and “Headhunterize” them, infusing each song with the group’s signature energy. The purpose behind the project was to breathe new life into iconic songs to offer producers refreshed, sync-ready versions of timeless hits.

“In 2005, I traveled to Sony to pick up CDs of the catalog and came home with two very large boxes of music,” recalls Headhunters guitarist Richard Young. “The whole process was so much fun, but as the rest of the band will tell you, we probably spent more time in the Practice House just listening to the catalog and entertaining ourselves than it took to actually record the album! Sony’s catalog is so vast, it was a challenge narrowing it down to twelve songs.”

When the album, christened Big Boss Man, was completed, a small independent label issued a limited run of records before dissolving shortly thereafter. For nearly 20 years, the original recordings remained available only digitally and under a different title until Kathy Scobey, current head of Sony/ATV Publishing, worked with Young to strike a new agreement allowing the Headhunters to remaster and re-release Big Boss Man on Practice House.

“We’ve always been about honoring where we come from while pushing things forward,” adds Young. “This record captures that better than ever. It’s loud, raw, honest, and pure Headhunters.”

Big Boss Man is in select record stores now, and to help celebrate the album’s release, The Headhunters will return to the Grand Ole Opry on Nov. 6, performing as the Spotlight Artist for the Opry’s Country Classics show.

Lorie Hollabaugh
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