Americana Highways presents this premiere of Seth Samuelson Cocquit’s song “Old Timer,” the title track from his forthcoming album. “Old Timer” was produced and engineered by Clint Phelps May and will be released February 26, 2021.
“Old Timer” is Seth Cocquit on vocals and acoustic guitar; Clint Phelps May on electric guitar; Adam Cunningham on bass; Josh Schultz on keys; and Hubert Payne on drums.
Cocquit crafts majestic songs of the history of the people as the fabric of America; sewn together with Midwestern images.
“Old Timer” is the song I wish I could have played for my grandfather before he passed away. My granddad was the one who got me interested in music in the first place, so it was only fitting to debut my solo project with a song dedicated to the man. He was a farmer, WWII vet, family man, and he loved to camp and loved music. He had his eyes on the fields and the skies.
When I was 7, he took my sister and me out to a bluegrass festival in Kalona, Iowa. It’s the first memory I have of music stirring up something inside of me that I couldn’t explain. The sounds resonating throughout the valley amphitheater, the blankets sprawled out for families gathered under the stars just enjoying the moment — it was pure magic. At the campsite, my granddad would break out the harmonica and play for us campfire songs he’d been playing since his Navy days. He was always laughing; always having a good time.
Originally, I wrote it as a bluegrass song, but after playing it and letting it evolve, it felt better to add the energy of live drums and bass. “Old Timer” features the drum-work of Hubert Payne of Little Big Town and The Network, bass-work from Adam Cunningham of Cole Swindell, and key-work of Josh Schultz, also from the Swindell camp.
Enter Clint May. I recorded this song in Nashville in 2019 with my brother-in-law, Clint, who was in the producer chair. I had wanted to record with him for a long time, but his schedule is pretty hectic (guitarist for Cole Swindell), so catching him at home was the hardest part of the whole recording process, I think. We worked out the acoustic part and vocals in a couple days between cooking for the family and watching Disney classics with my niece, Charlie, and daughter, Cora. By the way, Clint is one hell of a cook. I want that on record.
This song is just a raising of the glass to old timers everywhere. If you know one like I do, I hope this song finds you well.
I’ve been around old timers all my life and have tended to listen to what they say… or at least tried. That wisdom they are passing down is something I figure will probably save me a lot of headaches down the road. This song is dedicated to all those generations of people, too, who put in the 40-hour-a-week, 40-year-long factory shifts at John Deere, International Harvester, and Caterpillar. And Maytag in Galesburg. A lot of my music is for those folks, the American worker of a bygone era. — Seth Samuelson Cocquit
Pre-save/pre-order link: https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/sethsamuelsoncocquit/old-timer