If’n the Man in Black could hear this from up yonder, I reckon he’d tip his hat with pride. This is the real nitty-gritty – a new voice keeping the spirit of true Americana alive, plain and simple as an old dirt road.
In the video for his song “The Devil Wears a Suit and Tie”, Colter Wall looks every bit the cowboy part with his scruffy mug and well-worn hat. But when he starts strumming that old guitar and singing, you’d swear a grizzled old-timer had stepped through a time portal straight from the dustbowl days.
The tune draws its roots from the eerie tale of Robert Johnson, the infamous blues singer who, legend has it, sold his soul to the devil for unmatched musical talent. Colter Wall’s song wraps this old blues narrative in his deep, gravelly voice, giving it a modern twist that feels both haunting and invigorating.
His lyrics weave one humdinger of a tale ’bout runnin’ into Old Scratch himself down on that haunted Highway 61. The way Colter Wall howls about wrestlin’ with the devil’s sweet-talkin’ offer to swap six-string skills for his eternal soul? Lordy, that pup could make a hellhound shiver! Made this old coyote’s tail bush out, I tell ya what.
This young singer-songwriter packs a punch with his robust voice that sounds like it’s been aged in oak barrels, much like the finest whiskeys. It’s remarkable how he channels the spirit of traditional American blues into his performance, making you feel as though you’ve stepped back in time to a dusty crossroad where deals with the devil were struck under moonlit skies.
Listen carefully and you can hear Colter Wall pulls a lick or two from Woody Guthrie, Leadbelly, Townes Van Zandt. Maybe even a pinch of Waylon Jennings’ brew if you squint hard enough! Course Colter Wall also drew inspiration from newer upstarts like Bob Dylan when that feller first grabbed Colter by the ears back in grade school.
But Colter Wall ain’t just walkin’ in the shadows of giants with “The Devil Wears a Suit and Tie”; he’s blazing his own trail through the thickets. With a voice that could make the cedars shake and the coyotes sit up and listen, he’s not just another singer—he’s a force of nature. Johnny Cash might have tipped his hat to this rugged voice, crackling like a campfire and smooth as Tennessee whiskey.
Settle in for a story with Colter Wall’s “The Devil Wears a Suit and Tie”.
