Steve Martin puts his new album, “The Crow: New Songs For the Five-String Banjo," “under the heading of I'm not getting any younger..."
That led the actor/comedian/author/musician to work in earnest on “The Crow," which comes out Jan. 27 as a three-month Amazon.com exclusive and features 15 original Martin compositions recorded with guests such as Dolly Parton, Vince Gill, Mary Black, Earl Scruggs, Tony Trischka, Tim O'Brien and Pete Wrenick. It was produced by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band's John McEuen, a high school friend of Martin's.
“I started (playing banjo) when I was 17," Martin tells Billboard.com. “I know what my specialty is -- playing songs I write, and if I'm asked to step outside that specialty, I can get a little nervous. It's a dichotomy; on one hand I can play my own songs with anybody, but if I got into a really serious bluegrass crowd, I'd play a couple standards and retire."
That led the actor/comedian/author/musician to work in earnest on “The Crow," which comes out Jan. 27 as a three-month Amazon.com exclusive and features 15 original Martin compositions recorded with guests such as Dolly Parton, Vince Gill, Mary Black, Earl Scruggs, Tony Trischka, Tim O'Brien and Pete Wrenick. It was produced by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band's John McEuen, a high school friend of Martin's.
“I started (playing banjo) when I was 17," Martin tells Billboard.com. “I know what my specialty is -- playing songs I write, and if I'm asked to step outside that specialty, I can get a little nervous. It's a dichotomy; on one hand I can play my own songs with anybody, but if I got into a really serious bluegrass crowd, I'd play a couple standards and retire."
