You Won't Ever Be Lonely (CD - 1999)

Personnel: Andy Griggs (vocals); B. James Lowry (acoustic guitar); Jerry McPherson (electric guitar); Russ Pahl, Jeff King, Reggie Young (guitar); Paul Franklin (pedal & lap steel guitars); Charles Cushman (5-string banjo); Larry Franklin (mandolin, fiddle); Stuart Duncan (fiddle); Jimmy Nichols (piano, keyboards, background vocals); Richard "Spady" Brannan (bass); Paul Leim (drums, percussion); Waylon Jennings, Jessi Colter, Larry Marrs, Tammy Sullivan, Curtis Wright, Curtis Young (background vocals).

Recorded at Starstruck Studios, Nashville, Tennessee.

All tracks have been digitally mastered using HDCD technology.

Personnel: Jimmy Nichols (keyboards, background vocals).

Recording information: Starstuck Studios, Nashvill, TN.

YOU WON'T EVER BE LONELY, the debut by Louisiana native Andy Griggs, comes complete with great production, some fine songwriting and, most impressively, a personal endorsement from the legendary Waylon Jennings. Jennings' outlaw spirit is all over YOU'LL NEVER BE LONELY--the CD features Griggs' version of his #1 hit "Ain't Livin' Long Like This," as well as a duet with the man himself. But Griggs' take on the sound Waylon pioneered is a distinctly mellower one. Though Griggs gets gritty 'n lowdown on rockers like "A Side of Me" and "Ain't Done Nothing Wrong," he shows his romantic side on numbers like "You'll Never Be Lonely," "She's More" and the wistful "I Miss You the Most."

He shines as the narrator of the story song "Waiting On Sundown," skillfully spinning a tale of an abused wife's flight to freedom. But the highlight of the disc is "Shine On Me," the duet with Jennings. It's a gorgeous song in which the two men salute the redemptive powers of true love without ever getting maudlin. This rough-but-romantic stance is the true legacy Griggs has inherited from the outlaws, and he wears it well on YOU WON'T EVER BE LONELY. minimize