Teddy and The Rough Riders Release New Single 'Hey Richard'

For years and years, in-the-know Nashville locals traded stories about ghostly sightings and wild interactions with an otherworldly being. Rumors about living in a hotel penthouse or rolling down limousine windows to toss Bibles to the public were rampant and often corraborated. He was real. He was rock and roll wild man turned born-again Christian, Little Richard.

Today, Nashville-bred country-rockers Teddy and The Rough Riders debuted their loving ode to the man-and the stories that surrounded him-with the at-times tender and at-times piano rocking "Hey Richard," which opens with the line: "There's a ghost up on the eighteenth floor / Part angel, part rock and roll."

"Hey Richard" is the second single from Teddy and The Rough Riders' upcoming Margo Price-produced LP Teddy and The Rough Riders, due out July 1st on Appalachia Record Co. BrooklynVegan premiered the song today, writing, "'Hey Richard' is a lovely, tender dose of country-folk."

"Hey Richard" was actually written years before Little Richard's death in 2020, but it's taken on a new life since then. "He was known for riding around in a limousine, stopping and rolling down his window to talk to people and throwing Bibles out of the window while proclaiming religious affirmations. This is juxtaposed with his lewd lifestyle as a rock star when he was younger, including a specific story that involves Buddy Holly with his pants down," says the band about the impetus for "Hey Richard."

"There's an ode to Hank Williams in the song as well, which is inspired by his similar mythical presence in Nashville and a house where he used to reside in the same neighborhood the band grew up in," they add, refering to a line in the songs refrain. "Dear Hank, you're still around / In the stone house / I feel your heartbeat." It's obvious, the effect both of these gone-but-not-forgotten musicians have had on Teddy and The Rough Riders in all of their musical output, not just "Hey Richard."

The Rough Riders country sound has a quentessintial rock and roll flair; enough to pique the interest of hard core fans on both sides of the aisle. That sound has cemented Teddy and the Rough Riders as (most-likely) your favorite country band's favorite country band, reinforced by glowing endorsements from the likes of Price and masked alt-country darling Orville Peck, who just took the band out as direct support on his most recent tour.

Fans can hear "Hey Richard" now at this link, check out the previously-released single, "Livin in the Woods," and digitally pre-order or pre-save Teddy and The Rough Riders ahead of its July 1st release right here. Physical pre-orders, including vinyl, can be found here.

Up until the sessions for Teddy and the Rough Riders in 2019, the band-Jack Quiggins (vocals, guitar), Ryan Jennings (vocals, bass), Nic Swafford (drums), and Luke Schneider (pedal steel)-had mostly recorded at home.

This was their first big studio effort with a producer, engineer, session players, and the goal of an audible fidelity change. After narrowing down their best demos, the band recruited Margo Price to produce because of her creative vision and "let's roll" Neil Young-inspired recording philosophy. They rented out Club Roar, brought in engineer-producer Jake Davis and spent a few days holed up in the studio to capture the magic of the session.

"We ended up living with the purity, and the mistakes, and all the good of that. Some people spend three to six months on albums, and we were like, we have 900 dollars, let's record these songs in three days," Swafford recounts.

Price's direction was a valuable asset to making the record a mature reflection of the band's sound. Her attention to detail and style had a major impact on the production. She provided encouragement when needed, aided with changing arrangements, and made suggestions, like bringing in a trumpet, trombone, and saxophone. Seven months pregnant with her daughter at the time, she brought a magical motherly vibe to the studio atmosphere that supported their creativity.

She provided the rowdy crew with pre-rolls and immunity shots each day, which helped too. Jeremy Ivey, Luke Schneider, Emily Nenni, Mike Eli, and more friends came in to play and sing on the songs being cut. Many parts were recorded live, the energy of which permeates throughout the album, giving a down-home feel to the hi-fi tracks.

What resulted from those three days of close collaboration in the studio on the final version of the album, mixed by Davis and mastered by John Baldwin, is some of the most original country rock to come from Nashville in a while.

Listen to the new single here:

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