COLD AND BITTER TEARS: THE SONGS OF TED HAWKINS

COLD AND BITTER TEARS: THE SONGS OF TED HAWKINS 
CELEBRATES LEGENDARY VENICE BEACH STREET PERFORMER
Tribute album due October 23 features James McMurtry, Kasey Chambers, Mary Gauthier, Tim Easton, Shinyribs and an unheard Hawkins original hidden track
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 7, 2015

AUSTIN, Texas — Cold and Bitter Tears: The Song of Ted Hawkins, due October 23, 2015 on Austin-based Eight 30 Records, marks the first tribute album to the soulful Venice Beach
street performer, a legend overseas later in his lifetime but a
songwriter largely overlooked in the States. Hawkins simply sang like
songs were stamped on his heart at birth. Evidence: High watermarks on
the new record such as “Big Things” (James McMurtry), “Cold and Bitter Tears” (Kasey Chambers), “Sorry You’re Sick” (Mary Gauthier), “Who Got My Natural Comb” (Shinyribs)
and several other classics. Hawkins himself backs the point with the
album’s hidden track, the moving unreleased demo “Great New Year.”
The
Mississippi native, who died January 1, 1995 after a hardscrabble life
and brief autumnal rise in popularity, might be gone but he’s clearly
not forgotten. Local Americana power trio including singer-songwriter Kevin Russell (Shinyribs, The Gourds), artist manager Jenni Finlay (James McMurtry) and writer Brian T. Atkinson (author of I’ll Be Here in the Morning: The Songwriting Legacy of Townes Van Zandt) have lovingly co-produced Cold and Bitter Tears over the past year with sessions mostly at Austin’s Wire Recording.
Russell has been particularly enthusiastic about the endeavor. “Ted Hawkins
songs and his voice were infectiously uplifting to me upon first listen
twenty years ago,” he says. “His unique style, both soulful and folkie,
has haunted me and taught me — so much that I have been on a personal
mission to tell the world about this national musical treasure. The
opportunity to steward this tribute record is a ‘go tell it on the
mountain’ moment for me that I hope can bring greater attention to the
songs and recordings of Mr. Hawkins himself.”
Hawkins
earned a following as a longtime busker on the Venice Beach boardwalk
but his unpredictable lifestyle prevented widespread notice. He made
minor critical waves with his debut Watch Your Step (1982), an album that failed commercially but earned a five-star review in Rolling Stone. Hawkins scarcely recorded between Watch Your Step and his major label debut The Next Hundred Years (1994).
Boardwalk
passersby always noticed the singular singer belting his songs. They
stopped cold. Listened. Amazed. “A lot of street musicians are really
good, but there was something about him that was just pure presence,”
says Jon Dee Graham, who witnessed Hawkins on the beachfront
while recording in Los Angeles three decades ago. “Also, his songs
aren’t like anybody else’s. He’s singing in this huge, soulful voice,
‘What do you want from the liquor store? Something sweet? Something
sour?’ What? So wholly original.” Imagine blues and country and folk having no dividing lines.
He
died at 58 years old the following New Year’s Day as his star finally
threatened to rise. “At the time of his death, Hawkins remained the
greatest singer you’ve never heard,” the Los Angeles Times
obituary read. “Hawkins clearly was transported somewhere else as he
sang, and when he became aware of the audience, he seemed dazed:
[Everyone] applauding wildly, some in tears from the sheer, sad beauty
of his songs.” “When somebody plays in a way you’ve never heard anybody
else play, that’s singularity,” echoes Dave Marsh, the iconic
author and rock critic. “You might be able to imitate it, but you
couldn’t copy it. It would be like trying to sing like Ray Charles. You can’t do that.”

Track listing:
“Big Things” • James McMurtry
“Cold and Bitter Tears” • Kasey Chambers and Bill Chambers
“One Hundred Miles” • Tim Easton 
“Sorry You’re Sick” • Mary Gauthier
“Strange Conversation” • Jon Dee Graham
“Happy Hour” • Sunny Sweeney
“I Got What I Wanted” • Randy Weeks
“Baby” • Tina-Marie Hawkins Fowler with Elizabeth Hawkins
“I Gave Up All I Had” • Gurf Morlix
“Bad Dog” • Danny Barnes
“Bring It on Home Daddy” • The Damnations
“My Last Goodbye” • Ramsay Midwood
“Who Got My Natural Comb” • Shinyribs
“Whole Lotta Women” • Steve James
“Peace and Happiness” • Even Felker 

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