
On Nov. 25, Norah Jones and Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong will team up to release “Foreverly,” a modern-day reworking of the Everly Brothers’ 1958 country folk covers album “Songs Our Daddy Taught Us” via Reprise.
The original album was praised for its (then) contemporary take on traditional ballads and standards from country singers like Gene Autry and Tex Ritter. Armstrong and Jones, both Everly Brothers fans themselves, decided to reinterpret the album’s 12 songs and indulge their love of rootsy harmonies and country music.
Listen to album cut “Long Time Gone” here:
For the sessions, Armstrong and his engineer Chris Dugan traveled to Manhattan studio the Magic Shop to record with Jones, along with bassist Tim Luntzel and drummer Dan Rieser.
“A couple of years ago, I discovered ‘Songs Our Daddy Taught Us’ for the first time, and I fell in love with it,” remembers Armstrong. “I was playing it every day and thought it would be a cool idea to re-do the record, but with a female singer. I thought of Norah because she can sing anything, from rock to jazz to blues, and I knew her harmonies would be amazing… she has a really good ear for arrangements.”
Says Jones, “Billie Joe’s enthusiasm about the songs and his low-key, open approach to the music was very inviting. He wasn’t set in his ideas, which made it fun for us both to sort of discover what felt right for us, musically.”
“Foreverly” contains the same 12 tracks as its 1958 counterpart, though in a different order. Here is the track listing, according to iTunes, where the album is available for preorder:
“Roving Gambler”
“Long Time Gone”
“Lightning Express”
“Silver Haired Daddy Of Mine”
“Down In The Willow Garden”
“Who’s Gonna Shoe Your Pretty Little Feet”
“Oh So Many Years”
“Barbara Allen”
“Rockin’ Alone (In An Old Rockin’ Chair”
“I’m Here To Get My Baby Out Of Jail”
“Kentucky”
“Put My Little Shoes Away”