Tony Ramey The Spirit Of Hank And The Heart Of James Dean (CD)

(2016/Rhyme Heart Records) 13 tracks.
Tony Ramey grew up in West Virginia on Bluegrass and Bill Withers; found Willie, Waylon, Cash, and Kristofferson at 11, who compelled him to write songs; then heard Steve Earle who made him move to Guitar Town to hone his craft; and he left for Texas when the road called him out again... Somewhere in the middle of all that he acquired a Masters, taught at a university while working on his PhD, and garnered gold and platinum Records as a songwriter in Nashville. Tony admits that Spirit of Hank and the Heart of James Dean is coming at a strange time. He says of contemporary music and the state of the industry, 'We live in an age when the album is obsolete, the song is incidental to the artist's brand, and artists seem only as popular as their pockets are deep. But I still make music the way I want to make it. There are awesome opportunities out there for Indie's these days- Kickstarter, crowd funding, Indy Labels, etc.-so all is not lost in big business; we just have to work a little harder for a little less. Nobody told me this life would be easy, and I don't mind the sweat.' The album is chalk full of powerhouse songs that will continue to turn heads and wow audiences everywhere.