Chris and Morgane Stapleton’s husband-and-wife harmonies shine on “Farther Along,” a new collaboration with actor Leslie Jordan from his forthcoming gospel album, Company’s Comin’. The trio unveiled the song on Friday (March 12); readers can listen below.
Although Morgane Stapleton is often the one providing harmonies for her husband, it’s her voice that really shines on “Farther Along,” a gospel hymn that dates back to the early 1900s. Jordan, of Will & Grace and Call Me Kat fame, leads the first verse, but after he and Morgane harmonize in the first chorus, she takes the second verse; Chris Stapleton, then, chimes in on the second chorus, and really lets loose during the final refrain.
“Chris and Morgane Stapleton are ‘staple’ treasures of the country music universe, and this album would not have been complete without the sweet, appealing harmony of their voices,” Jordan says in a press release. “But, in addition to their voices, they bring the sweet, appealing presence of themselves, and I just love them.”
“Farther Along” is one of 10 collaborations on Company’s Comin‘, a star-studded album of gospel duets from Jordan. In addition to the Stapletons, the record features Brandi Carlile on the already-released “Angel Band,” as well as Dolly Parton, Tanya Tucker, Brothers Osborne‘s T.J. Osborne, Katie Pruitt, Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder, Ashley McBryde, Charlie Worsham and co-producers Danny Myrick and Travis Howard.
Jordan, who was raised as a Southern Baptist in East Tennessee, was inspired to create Company’s Comin’ 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 now hosting a gospel music-focused Apple Music Country Show, Hunker Down With Leslie Jordan, and will release a new book, How Y’all Doing?, featuring essays inspired by his life, on April 27.
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