Brandi Carlile joins with Leslie Jordan for an inspiring rendition of the traditional gospel song “Angel Band.” The collaboration between the Americana superstar and the legendary actor previews a full album of duets from Jordan, famous for his role on Will & Grace and currently a star of Call Me Kat.
“Angel Band” is a musical adaptation of “My Latest Sun Is Sinking Fast,” a poem by Jefferson Hascall, which was first set to music by J.W. Dadmun in 1860. The most common version of the song features a melody by William Batchelder Bradbury, first published in 1862. Emmylou Harris and the Stanley Brothers have both recorded the hymn, with the latter’s version appearing on the hit soundtrack for the 2000 movie O Brother, Where Art Thou?
“Brandi Carlile deserves to be accompanied by more than a single band of angels,” says Jordan in a press release, “not only for being a singular artist of our time but also for living an exemplary life full of love and devotion to everyone she meets.”
“Angel Band” is the first single from Company’s Comin‘, a star-studded album of gospel duets from Jordan; in addition to Carlile, the actor sings with Tanya Tucker, Brothers Osborne‘s T.J. Osborne, Katie Pruitt, Travis Howard and more to-be-announced artists on the project. Jordan, who was raised as a Southern Baptist in East Tennessee, was inspired to create the record, co-produced by Howard and Danny Myrick, by the success of his Sunday Mornin’ Hymn Singin’ livestream, during which he performed any number of old hymns with Howard, a close friend.
“Singing these songs, it felt like I was recapturing the joy of what this music meant to me as a kid, but without all the baggage. When I was growing up, I wanted so badly to be a good Christian, but I knew that the church would never accept me for who I was,” reflects Jordan, who is gay. “It’s liberating now to come back to these hymns, completely at peace with myself, and sing without any hint of the guilt or shame I felt in my youth.”
Company’s Comin’ is due out on April 2 via the Platoon record label. Jordan is also soon set to premiere a new gospel music-focused Apple Music Country Show, Hunker Down With Leslie Jordan, on Feb. 28. He’ll release a new book, How Y’all Doing?, featuring essays inspired by his life, on April 27.
Artists Who’ve Surprisingly “Gone Country”: