In 2019, we got to hear Will Beeley‘s first album in forty years, namely Highways and Heart Attacks (released on Tompkins Square) which our reviewer, Glenn Kimpton compared to the late John Prine, sharing that similar dry wit and performed with a relaxed vibe. He concludes “if Highways and Heart Attacks is your first taste of Will Beeley, you will soon be seeking out the rest of the catalogue.”
Tompkins Square did well to coax Beeley back out of music retirement as after releasing his two albums, Gallivantin’ (1970) and Passing Dream (1979), which Tompkins Square reissued in 2017, he hung up his guitar and became a long-haul trucker.
While the San Antonio native never garnered the same attention of fellow Austin music scene giants Guy Clark, Townes, Willie, and Steve Earle there was no denying he had that magic. This Friday, 16th April, Tompkins Square are releasing the 1970 Sessions.
Beeley recorded ‘1970 Sessions’ as a follow up to his debut, Gallivantin’, in 1970 in San Antonio, TX. Never released until now, the album was used as an audition tape for interested labels. Beeley would eventually sign to Malaco Records.
Take a listen to Pitch Black Sky which is also our Song of the Day.
You can hear another track from the album in our latest show – Lost in Transmission No. 71
http://www.tompkinssquare.com/