From the mimicry of the mockingbird to the all-too-distinct cry of the grackle, Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation works to keep our skies singing – with the help of the state’s many not-so-feathered musicians.
Today, a deluxe edition of the foundation’s 2023 Texas Wild compilation album – a vinyl and digital record featuring quintessential Texan songs covered by current local acts – arrives with four new Texan remakes. Proceeds from the project, produced by Walker Lukens, benefit TPWF’s efforts to protect the landscapes and animals that give Texas its untamed, outlaw status.
Standout tracks from the original album include Toadies’ country-rock rendition of Kelly Clarkson’s karaoke standard “Since U Been Gone” and a vocal-rich version of Destiny Child’s “Say My Name” assembled by Adrian Quesada, Uncle Roy & Spice, and the Soul Supporters. Reaching further back in the Lone Star State’s storied discography, Luna Luna gave Selena’s “Si Una Vez” their twinkly, pop-rock treatment, and Shane Smith & the Saints and Hayes Carll took on Townes Van Zandt’s campfire classic “Pancho and Lefty” with sweeping harmonies and soulful strings.
This year’s additions draw further from Texas’ signature artists, adding two new songs to the vinyl: a cover of Roy Orbison’s “Pretty Woman,” performed by The Texas Gentlemen and Ruthie Foster, and a rendition of the 13th Floor Elevators’ “You’re Gonna Miss Me” sung by Zella Day. Barstool sing-along “All My Exes Live in Texas” will join the digital deluxe version of Texas Wild thanks to western rocker Jonathan Terrell. Beyoncé’s catchy pop ballad “Irreplaceable” rounds out the digital re-release in the hands of pop-rock Austin native Max Frost.
Take a hike through these new releases celebrating Lone Star music past and present.
The Texas Gentlemen and Ruthie Foster – “Pretty Woman” (Roy Orbison)
Roy Orbison put the cat into cat call one minute – exactly – into his original recording of “Oh, Pretty Woman.” The back-of-the-throat tongue roll, somewhere between a gargle and whistle, is arguably the most impressive use of the street-harassment tactic in music and the first thing I was listening for in The Texas Gentlemen and Ruthie Foster’s take on the song.
The cat call, symbolically the entire premise of “Oh, Pretty Woman,” has been culturally re-evaluated since 1962. Foster and The Texas Gentlemen accordingly reinterpret the telltale sound, opening their rendition with a shimmering synth run that alludes to Orbison’s original whistle.
The Gentlemen’s prowling bassline and opening guitar riffs introduce their rendition with a breath of suspense and a touch of eeriness. Foster’s rich, compassionate voice quickly dispels these more sinister sounds, warmly enveloping the song’s melody with an elated, supportive intonation that gives the lyrics a playful and familiar feel – like a longtime couple roleplaying their meet-cute. After building the song’s crescendo with bluesy keys and surround-sound harmonies, Foster brings the tension back down to a whisper, ending the track feeling all her own.
Zella Day – “You’re Gonna Miss Me” (13th Floor Elevators)
“You’re Gonna Miss Me” captures all the late-Sixties swagger of the psychedelic movement: bustling solos, loosely structured lyrics, and a recording style that captures the 13th Floor Elevators’ collective live energy. Though audiences may miss the band, their legacy of experimentation lives on in the festivals that continue to mark Austin as a hub for ever-developing psychedelic music.
Zella Day has made her own mark on the Austin scene as one-half of country duo Chaparelle and as a solo singer-songwriter. Where the 13th Floor Elevators’ guitars swing with an almost-Western gait, competing for momentum with racing drums, Day’s rendition oozes over sensual pedal steel, drawing the drama out of steady classic rock drums. Reverb-rich crowd vocals in the background pay homage to the original’s sing-along feel, while Day’s graciously sultry voice delivers the song’s lyrics as a promise. A guitar solo vibrating with laser-like delay, surrounded by quivering layers of organ-like keys, pulls this classic of the early psychedelic movement through the wormhole with fixtures of contemporary psych music.
Jonathan Terrell – “All My Exes Live in Texas” (George Strait)
You’re liable to hear this country staple in bars and honky-tonks across the Lone Star state. Even though it’s pointedly about not living in Texas, the easygoing melody and outlaw attitude – complete with rhyming geographic references and a line about transcendental meditation – make it a favorite with longtime Texans and onetime Texans pushed, as George Strait was, to leave.
Jonathan Terrell’s cover stays true to the old adage: if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. His version maintains guitar-focused composition and that telltale twang. Still, Terrell leaves behind the fiddle and the two-step-friendly acoustic guitar in favor of a more rock-forward rendition with hints of keyboard and power chord punctuation. On the choruses, he turns up the heat with rock & roll emotion, electric guitar solos, and gospel-style vocalizations in the background. It’s every bit as sing-along friendly, with a few watts of extra power.
Max Frost – “Irreplaceable” (Beyoncé)
Whatever sorry fool lost Beyoncé in this song’s storyline was certainly replaceable, but the 35 Grammy-award-winning pop giant is absolutely not. Covering Beyoncé is, hence, a risk, and not one many undertake. Max Frost arrives at the challenge by taking the original in nearly as different a direction as possible.
Frost’s take on “Irreplaceable” opens with jukebox keys out of a Fifties diner, accompanied by appropriately big-band-feeling drums. Frost’s vocals remain loyal to the queen of pop’s catchy melody, introducing playful harmonies and his own spin on the song’s call-and-response moments. The interpretation wavers between a unique stylistic choice and feeling a bit out-of-place, though the saxophone solo weaving in-between verses stands out as a distinct touch.
This article appears in August 8 • 2025.