www.whiskeyriff.com
Zach Top Reveals His Dream Collaboration And It Might Not Be Who You’d Expect
Make it happen.
In an era filled with some of the most exciting voices we’ve heard in the genre lately, ranging from the likes of Tyler Childers and Sturgill Simpson to Turnpike Troubadours and Colter Wall, there’s no one doing it quite the way Zach Top is these days on a national scale. Though there are plenty of other stellar artists keeping the traditional scene alive, such as Jake Worthington, Charley Crockett and more, the Washington native has launched himself into the stratosphere as of late.
Of course, this was highlighted on a national scale the past few months when he not only took home Best New Artist at the CMA Awards in November, which he accepted with a Coors Banquet in hand, but also when he scored his first-career Grammy earlier this month. In turn, Top became the first-ever winner of the brand-new Best Traditional Country Album category, winning it with his sophomore album, Ain’t In It For My Health.
Even if you take away all the success at recent award shows, it’s becoming clear that the “I Never Lie” singer has become an artist who’s bridging the gap between generations through some key opening spots for legends as of late. In addition to opening for Alan Jackson on his Last Call Tour last year, he’s also slated to open up for the King himself, George Strait, at Jones AT&T Stadium in Lubbock this April.
One aspect of Top’s artistry, at this point in his career at least, is the lack of collaborations. In an era where star-studded duets and features are all the rage, ranging from Zach Bryan and Kacey Musgraves, to Morgan Wallen and Post Malone, to Cody Johnson and Carrie Underwood (to name a few), you’d think that Top would have pulled the trigger on some sort of collaboration other than his under-the-radar, three-song EP with the bluegrass god himself, Billy Strings, last March.
There’s a good reason for that, as it turns out.
In a recent interview with Absolute Country Radio, the U.K.’s leading country radio station, the Washington native would reveal that he simply doesn’t think he’s written the right song for a standout collaboration yet. Additionally, he’d point to classic duets from the likes of George Jones and Tammy Wynette as well as Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn as the gold standard.
“I feel like I need to find the right song or write the right song. You know, I’m a big fan of all the old duets people would do. They’d do whole duet albums and stuff back in the day. George and Tammy, Conway and Loretta, and Vince Gill-Patty Loveless [are] all great examples.”
Top was then asked who his dream duet partner is. While many over the past year or so have dreamed of him collaborating with either legends such as Strait, Jackson, Vince Gill and more, or fellow traditionalists like former tourmate, Jake Worthington, Randall King or even Charley Crockett, his answer was a bit unexpected.
Instead of choosing any of the aforementioned artists, he chose none other than one of the premier female country acts of the 1990s: Patty Loveless.
As Top explains, her early days in bluegrass, much like his own, coupled with her quintessential ’90s country sound, have always made her one of his favorite female singers.
“Patty Loveless has always been one of my favorite gal singers. She kind of comes from the bluegrass world too, before she had her big country career, obviously. I love Patty; she’s awesome. I feel like we’d sing good together. I just need to find the right song and cut a little duet like that.”
I’ll be honest, I never imagined Loveless and Top teaming up. Taking a look back at her severely underrated discography and re-listening to her overall sound, however, it honestly sounds like a match made in heaven. Though Loveless hasn’t released new music since 2009, she’s made sporadic appearances on tracks recently, most notably on Carly Pearce’s “Dear Miss Loretta” in 2021.
Watch the full interview here:
Zach Top Tour Dates
March 7 – Rotterdam, Netherlands – Rotterdam Ahoy
March 8 – Berlin, Germany – Uber Eats Music Hall
March 13 – London, United Kingdom – The O2
March 14 – Belfast, Northern Ireland – SSE Arena
March 15 – Glasgow, United Kingdom – OVO Hydro
April 9 – Florence, Arizona – Country Thunder Arizona
April 24 – Lubbock, Texas – Jones AT&T Stadium
May 22 – Norfolk, Virginia – Patriotic FestivalThe post Zach Top Reveals His Dream Collaboration And It Might Not Be Who You’d Expect first appeared on Whiskey Riff.