Country Music Hall of Fame member Marty Stuart has announced an intimate new album project, revealing plans for Songs I Sing in the Dark.
Comprised of 20 acoustic tracks recorded by the icon in his former home outside Nashville, the project is a collection of originals and personal favorites — all of which hold a personal meaning. He’ll release one song a month leading up to the album’s digital release later this year, sharing an explanation about their significance along the way.
“The title tells the story,” he says of the album. “I have a long line of songs that range from obscure originals, to old favorites from various musical worlds that I often sing to myself when I’m alone. Until recently, I had never formally made a list of all the titles. When I did, I saw in those titles so many great songs that need to be remembered and passed down. There was a mighty congregation of names of profound songwriters whose presence and lyrics are to be cherished. And, looking into those songs I could hear the music of those brilliant musicians, arrangers, and singers who brought those tunes to life, and gave the world reason to love them. In the wake of these revelations, I was inspired to finally go to work on the idea of Songs I Sing in the Dark.”
The first track Stuart is revealing is the timely “Ready for the Times to Get Better,” a stark ballad which seems to exist on the cusp of a change — but is still stuck in troubled days. Written by Allen Reynolds and a Number One for Crystal Gayle in the late ’70s, Stuart spoke about how the track applies to the pandemic era in a new lyric video, which you can watch above.
“I love the restless wisdom in the words, and those words are shadowed by a lonesome melody that is served up from the blue side of town,” he write in an official statement. “As the pandemic raged on, ‘Ready for the Times to Get Better’ became my personal theme song. I can’t seem to quit playing it. Several months later, I’m still at it. The title proclaims what every soul on planet earth undoubtable feels. It is the perfect country song and I consider it an honor to sing such words.”
A young band member of Johnny Cash’s in the 1980s and solo hit maker in the ’90s, Marty Stuart was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2020 alongside Hank Williams Jr. and songwriter Dean Dillon.