The Wild Side of Life (Hank Thompson cover)

This song was written by Arlie Carter and William Warren and was done most famously by Hank Thompson. Hank's version came out in 1952 and spent a whopping fifteen weeks atop the country charts. Hundreds of artists have recorded it through the years including Kitty Wells, Ray Price, Waylon Jennings and Jessi Colter. I really love a version that Willie Nelson and Leon Russell released in the late 1970's as well. Hope you enjoy.

If you're wondering who I am.....see below!

I'm Matt York and live south of Boston, MA. Since I was a kid, I've performed my own songs and got to do some really cool stuff traveling to a lot of cool places. I perform all over doing my own music, but what I mainly do is perform the songs of and tell stories about the Highwaymen, Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson and others. A longer and (possibly) even more enthralling version of my story is below......

Right before COVID, I started doing concerts at libraries, clubs, summer concert series, pretty much any place that would have me singing the songs of the great country supergroup The Highwaymen, (Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, Kris Kristofferson and Waylon Jennings). I'd tell stories about them. Some people seem to think I'm funny. I play a variety of their songs. I'm not an impersonator, I don't dress in black, I sing these songs from my own voice and people seem to think it's okay. I've done 500 concerts in the past three years, going from as far north as Toronto and south as Nashville and truly love what I do. I wrote a book about the Highwaymen in 2021 and am just completing a book about the great Willie Nelson that will be out in the Fall of 2024.

My audience for the Highwaymen concerts are generally older and I have people come after and tell me they love the old country music but they loathe modern country music. I don't like modern country music either. However, there's some incredible stuff that's out there. I get to open for a lot of these acts when they come through New England. Much of those artists' music is deeply rooted in the songs of the old honky-tonks and dance halls. Sometimes, I hear a new song, love that song and perform it. Not many people might watch, but I hope that those that do watch, will check out the real artist's version because if you like mine, you'll likely love theirs.

Cheers,
Matt York
www.mattyorkmusic.com @mattyorkboston on Facebook and Instagram