Chayce Beckham Channels Country Outlaw Waylon Jennings In ‘Waylon In ’75’

Chayce Beckham offers a look into his debut album, Bad For Me, coming April 5, with his unrestrained post-breakup anthem, “Waylon in ‘75.” 

Embracing The Wild Ways Of Waylon Jennings

The American Idol Season 19 champion shows a reckless side to his artistry in an attempt to illustrate how the pain of losing the woman he loves is fueling him with anger and the desire to do some crazy things. Throughout the rowdy tune, Beckham speaks like a true Outlaw, reminiscent of the one whose wild actions of ’75 inspired the tune, Waylon Jennings.

“Cocaine and rhinestones/ Down some side roads/ How the hell could that ever go wrong/ Long body Lincoln/ What was I thinkin’/ Thinkin’ you’d never be gone/ Now I’m still out here ain’t seen you in two years/ My crazy’s comin’ on strong,” he delivers on the opening verse. 

Continuing onto the chorus, he puts listeners inside his shaky, strung-out feelings as he sings, “I’m gonna kick out the lights in this sleepy ass town/ Let the liquor take hold of my mind/ Take a few shots take a few swings/ Put 33 holes in that/ Texaco sign/ You’re damn right I’m angry ‘Cause girl since you left me I just can’t make nothin’ feel right You done wound up my wild side like Waylon in ’75.”

Beckham Says He Feels “Lucky” To Have Recorded This Song

“Waylon in ’75” was co-written by Parker McCollum, Brett James, Jon Randall, and Lee Thomas Miller, and sets the tone for all the soul-searching Beckham distributes throughout his upcoming Bad for Me album. 

“This song was a must cut, written by some of my favorite writers in Nashville, I feel lucky to have gotten a hold of this one,” Beckham said of the new song via his latest Instagram post.

New Album Dropping April 5

The deeply personal collection of songs coming next month was produced by Bart Butler and is expected to feature a blend of “dusky Western sonics and smoldering rock energy,” as he tackles themes of abuse, guilt and regret, per a recent release. 

“Once I finished recording this album and had time to live with it, I felt the title Bad For Me fit perfectly. It sums up a lot of my own faults,” says Beckham. “I like a lot of stuff that’s bad for me, even though it ends up being kryptonite but that’s all a part of being human. I am so proud of this record. I just hope there’s a song on this album that makes somebody feel something.”

Included in the 13-tracks is Beckham’s solo-written, PLATINUM hit song “23,” which continues to rack up over 4.6M streams per week and is rising its way towards the No. 1 spot country radio. Two other songs joining the collection that he penned entirely by himself prior to winning the singing competition show include “Mama” and “Drink You Off My Mind.”

Pre-order/pre-save/pre-add the album HERE. 

Bad For Me Tracklisting: 

1. Devil I’ve Been (Chayce Beckham, John Pierce, Lindsay Rimes)

2. Addicted And Clean (Chayce Beckham, Emily Landis, Justin Morgan)

3. Waylon In ‘75 (Jon Randall, Brett James, Parker McCollum, Lee Thomas Miller)

4. Bad For Me (Joe Fox, Randy Montana, Tyler Chambers)

5. Drink You Off My Mind (Chayce Beckham)

6. ​​Everything I Need (Chayce Beckham, John Pierce, Lindsay Rimes)

7. Whiskey Country (Chayce Beckham, John Pierce, Lindsay Rimes)

8. Glitter (Joey Hendricks, Mark Trussell, Natalie Hemby)

9. Smokin’ Weed and Drinkin’ Whiskey (Chayce Beckham, Andy Albert, Mark Trussell)

10. Something Worth Holding On To (John Pierce, Brandon Kinney, Micah Wilshire)

11. Mama (Chayce Beckham)

12. If I Had A Week (Chayce Beckham, Scooter Carusoe)

13. 23 (Chayce Beckham)*

Produced by Bart Butler

*Produced by Ross Copperman

The 19 Recordings/Wheelhouse Records/BMG artist’s was recently announced as a nominee for this year’s CMT Music Awards in the Breakthrough Male Video of the Year category for “23.”

Chayce Beckham is currently on his headlining “Bad For Me” Tour, but throughout the summer he will join Luke Bryan on his “Mind Of A Country Boy” Tour.