Head’s up, kiddos! Sunday, June 18, is Father’s Day (unless you’re reading this a year or further down the line from now, in which case it’ll still be a Sunday somewhere in mid-June, so stay vigilant), and that can mean only one thing: Time to fire up the ol’ Spotify and tuck into a brand new playlist thoughtfully curated by our team to help you and yours soundtrack the occasion Texas Music style!
Just a couple of notes on our selections before you proceed. Although we think all 21 of these songs play nicely together in terms of not veering wildly all over the genre map just for the sake of showing off, they are grouped into four rather distinct themes. The first batch — courtesy of Marcia Ball (with fellow good-rockin’ Texas blues mamas Lou Ann Barton and Angela Strehli), Charlie Robison, Jack Ingram, Jesse Dayton and the mighty Waylon Jennings — is for honoring dad with a cooler full of his favorite beers, steaks on the grill and however else your favorite right-man-for-the-job and certifiable badass likes to celebrate His Day with family.
Batch two — served up by David Beck and Paul Cauthen under their old, could-not-be-more-apt-for-the-occasion duo moniker Sons of Fathers, plus Beyonce and the Chicks, Slaid Cleaves, Jerry Jeff Walker, Dallas Burrow and Susan Gibson — takes a more earnest turn, with songs focusing on the invaluable life lessons fathers share with their sons and daughters alike, covering everything from instilling good values and a solid work ethic to the always important reminder to “Check the oil!”
From there, we shift the perspective around, with songs by George Strait, Jon Dee Graham, Cody Canada of Cross Canadian Ragweed and Lyle Lovett that convey the unconditional love that fathers feel for their children — even when the whole fatherhood thing tests them to their limit and sometimes even when father and child alike have to remind themselves, a là Billy Joe and his son Eddy Shaver, that “Blood is Thicker Than Water.”
As riotous as that father and son Shaver (R.I.P. to both of them) tune is, fair warning going into the home stretch, because the last four songs is where the waterworks start. Although only one of them was written in memoriam, both Terri Hendrix’s lovingly crafted “The Ring” and Guy Clark’s timeless “The Randall Knife” pay tribute to their respective fathers’ legacies through vividly detailed, deeply personal memories that nonetheless feel remarkably relatable. And if neither of those get your tears flowing, whether in memory of a father that’s passed on or in appreciation for one you can still call or hug, then the Amanda Shires-sung Highwomen heartbreaker “Cocktail and a Song” — a snapshot of a father and daughter at the end of their time together on earth — will surely do the trick. As will Kevin Welch’s “Till I’m Too Old to Die Young,” as beautifully sung here by his daughter, Savannah Welch, and the rest of the Trishas (Jamie Lin Wilson, Kelley Mickwee and Liz Foster.)
Of course, that one we could have just as easily slotted into the previous batch, but saving it for the very end just feels right. Feel free to shuffle if that’s more your style, but trust us: Your Texas Music Father’s Day playlist knows best.
- “Good Rockin’ Daddy,” Marcia Ball, Lou Ann Barton, Angela Strehli
- “Right Man for the Job,” Charlie Robison
- “Measure of a Man,” Jack Ingram
- “Daddy Was a Badass,” Jesse Dayton
- “Only Daddy That’ll Walk the Line,” Waylon Jennings
- “Sons of Fathers,” Sons of Fathers
- “Daddy Lessons,” Beyonce (Featuring The Chicks)
- “Welding Burns,” Slaid Cleaves
- “My Old Man,” Jerry Jeff Walker
- “My Father’s Son,” Dallas Burrow
- “Wide Open Spaces,” Susan Gibson
- “Love Without End, Amen,” George Strait
- “Soonday,” Jon Dee Graham
- “Bluebonnets,” Cross Canadian Ragweed
- “12th of June,” Lyle Lovett
- “Blood is Thicker Than Water,” Shaver
- “The Ring,” Terri Hendrix
- “The Randall Knife,” Guy Clark
- “Cocktail and a Song,” The Highwomen
- “Till I’m Too Old to Die Young,” The Trishas
