2022 was a very good year for Charley Crockett. It was another prolific period for the Texan artist, who is mostly known as a country musician, although the breadth and depth of his music cannot be grasped with just that one handle. His first collection of 2022, Lil' G.L. Presents: Jukebox Charley found Crockett in his covers mode, which he has employed often since he burst on the scene in 2018 with his albums Lonesome As A Shadow and Lil' G.L.’s Blue Bonanza.

The Man From Waco, his 2022 album of originals, is a revelation. Listening to it for the first time on a road trip, I was a bit stunned because even though I loved his music before, I was not prepared for a record this diverse, for songs this good. It was like Charley Crockett found another gear, and it was well before the whole 44 minutes and 50 seconds of it played that I knew it was my likely favorite of the year. It was not just my favorite; it was a lot of people’s favorite, including WNCW listeners and staff, whose votes vaulted it to the overall number one spot in the Top 100 of 2022.

With a holiday break in between our last, Christmas themed episode and our next episode on banjo icon Earl Scruggs, it seemed like an ideal time to revisit our conversation with Charley Crockett from late summer 2020. You can reference the original article accompanying that podcast here. - Joe Kendrick