"Texas in the Man" is the title track and it was written by Mike Parrish & Sammy Hundley. In the Summer of 2006, while wasting the days away in a rented beach cabin at Crystal Beach, Texas with family and friends, Mike & Sammy were playing a sort of singalong game on the deck. Sammy would strike a chord and deliver an original first line and then the next line would go to whomever was sitting beside Sammy and so on. It was a great time with lots of funny lyrics from people ranging in ages from 14 to 40. No one knew what the next person was going to sing so naturally there were some moments that just broke everybody up with laughter.
During the Winter of 2006, Mike and Sammy found themselves back in the studio discussing some of the tracks that they'd already recorded for the "Texas in the Man" album as well as Sammy's album that is entitled "Undiscovered" (at this moment). Mike was in the mood to write another song but he wanted to break away from the norm and do something just a little bit heavier than the tunes he'd been cranking out. He asked Sammy to plug his guitar up and put "some dirty stuff" on the tone and Sammy did. Mike opened up the Word processor on one of the computers in the studio and asked Sammy to find a rhythm that was reminiscent of an upbeat ZZ Top tune. Sammy tweaked the tones a little and immediately broke out with the lead electric rhythm track that would soon become "Texas in the Man."
Mike asked Sammy if he remembered the "song game" that they'd played at the beach last Summer, and of course Sammy did, so Mike said "Okay, I'm gonna type the first line of the song here and then the next line will be yours." Sammy agreed and the work began. Mike typed in "Them that don't know us, they don't have a clue." And Sammy followed up with, "How to get Texas outa' me and you." The lyrics came really easy and "Texas in the Man" was written in about an hour or so. They only slowed down long enough to look at a Texas road map so they'd be sure to cross Texas north, south, east and west for the bridge. And of course, when they were in the middle of the song, Sammy came up with the line "Stop off in La Grange" accompanied by a riff from the ZZ Top tune "Tush." Mike came up with the "Cowboys on the range" line and Sammy drove it home with a touch of Stevie Ray Vaughan's "Coldshot."
Oddly enough, the album "Texas in the Man" wasn't always gonna be called "Texas in the Man." In fact, it was actually titled "You Done Messed with Texas" for a very long time but, as time went by, Mike thought that "Texas in the Man" was not only a really cool song but a much more fitting album title. After all, Mike's from Texas, Sammy's from Texas, they're singing about Texas and the songs they're singing came from them so it just made more sense.
This isn't the only song that Mike and Sammy wrote together but they certainly had a great time laying this track and they have even more fun performing it.
Some of Mike & Sammy's influences in writing "Texas in the Man" are;
Johnny Cash with his famous tongue-twister tune
"I've Been Everywhere"
Mike & Sammy both grew up listening to the late,
great Johnny Cash so it's only natural that a part of
Mr. Cash would be reflected in their music.
ZZ Top can definitely be heard in the chorus of
"Texas in the Man" when Sammy sings "stop off in
La Grange. The rhythm guitar switches to an old
familiar riff from ZZ Top's song, "Tush." You simply
can't have a tune entitled "Texas in the Man"
without remembering "The Little Band from Texas."
Since the boys had already alluded to ZZ Top, without
actually saying the band's name, they wanted to make
a short tribute to the unforgettable Stevie Ray Vaughan.
When you hear Mike & Sammy singing "Cowboys on the
Range," Stevie Ray fans can hear the unmistakable riff
from "Coldshot" just before the "Texas in the Man"
lead guitar solo by Sammy Hundley.
"Any song that we've ever done has been influenced by either one legendary performer
or another or many others," Mike explains. "Music is a universal quantifier and the ability to make music lies within each of us. I believe that every song that I've ever written or heard came to be because of the influences of other artists who inspire us. They make us search for and hear the song within ourselves and, if we'll all just take the time to listen, we'll hear it and a new song is born."
Lead Vocals Verse I: Mike Parrish
Lead Vocals Verse II: Sammy Hundley
Drums: Alan Dossett
Electric Rhythm - Bass - Electric Lead & Slide Guitars: Sammy Hundley
©2007 Willow Street Entertainment Group L.L.C. All Rights Reserved.
