Discovered in a Beaumont area bar by noted producer and head of Giant Records James Stroud (Toby Keith, Tracy Lawrence, Tim McGraw, Kenny Rogers), Walker was in his early twenties when he started rattling off a string of smash hits. Many of the country fans behind the almost 20 million on-demand and video streams for his latest single 'Need A Bar Sometimes' – who may also be among his 750,000 TikTok followers – are wholly unaware of Walker's history. In a storied career dotted with smash singles, platinum albums and countless honors and acclaim, maybe the connection between country's timeless themes and music-of-the-moment timeliness has been there all along. But don't mistake those dualities for dichotomy – and certainly not polarity. There's also a mix of songwriting and production approaches, evident and more nuanced relationships between the songs themselves, and the overarching presence of a naturally gifted vocalist who relentlessly pursues his own development as a singer.
Certainly, the realities of place are as central as this comeback album's name implies: Nashville busily working toward the next fresh hit Texas moving at its inimitable and familiar pace. There's more to the duality of Clay Walker's debut Show Dog Nashville album Texas To Tennessee than the title.
