Is it high time we had a Western revival? If so, then Charley Crockett is a must-have for any gunslinger-picture-show soundtrack. Actually, after watching his video for “Run Horse Run,” Charley should be considered for one of the lead roles. The cinematic visual, out today (June 30), is one dash Sergio Leone, one dash Salvador Dalí, but one-hundred-percent Country Western. With a sound harkening back to the days of Hank Williams, Patsy Cline, George Jones, and Waylon Jennings, “Run Horse Run” is a love-letter to Americana and classic country music. As it turns out, it’s also a love letter to horses.
“I just really love horses,” Charley tells HollywoodLife EXCLUSIVELY. “They’re like dogs but even better. They can read your mind and take you where you wanna go. And if you take care of them and they respect you, well they’ll never let you down. And the touring game ain’t too different from the rodeo circuit. In fact, we play rodeos all the time. I never miss a chance to watch them cowboys ride those broncs and big ol bulls. Nothing symbolizes America to me like watching somebody try and stay on the horse.”
“Run Horse Run” comes from Charley’s upcoming album, Welcome To Hard Times, out July 31 on Thirty Tigers. The video is also part of a cinematic series that will see Charley play the same character throughout isolated landscapes within the American wilderness. So, in a sense, he’s already the star of his own movie. And soon, he’ll be the star of your heart.
Charlie’s story is worthy of the silver screen on its own merit. Raised by a single mother, Charley grew up in between Dallas, Texas and, spent the summer months with his uncle in the French quarter of New Orleans. The diverse sound of the area is reflective in his music, as is his history of grit and gumption. He got his “start” on the streets of New Orleans and, after hitchhiking his way up north, on the subway platforms of New York City. His history is full of the Hard Times in the title of his forthcoming album – from scraping by with cash from open-mic nights, sleeping in parks, even a 2014 arrest for possession (He was “selling weed left and right,” he told Rolling Stone in 2018.) There’s also an incident where his brother used his name as part of a $40 million stock fraud scam. Though Charley avoided prosecution, his brother was sentenced to seven years in prison. “I can’t do anything but put it into the music,” he told Rolling Stone. “People think my story is far-fetched, but the thing is, I’ve toned it down.”
If that wasn’t enough to overcome, Charley was born with Wolff–Parkinson–White syndrome, a congenital heart condition and underwent an immediate lifesaving operation in 2019. The experience instilled in him the confidence to be bold with his sound and his dreams (“I wanted to make an album that would reclaim the entire conversation about country music,” he says of Welcome To Hard Times). However, he’s not foolish about his health. He is considered “high risk” when it comes to COVID-19, so it’ll be a while before he gets back on that horse and rises into your town. Until then, just kick up your boots and listen to “Run Horse Run” a few more times.