Deryl Dodd – “Together Again”

Songwriter: Buck Owens

If there’s a country song that could possibly give Conway Twitty’s “Hello Darlin’” a run for its money on inclusion in a Jeopardy-style category of “Famous Two-Word Song Openers,” Buck Owens’ classic “Together Again” would certainly be a contender.

Owens took the song to the top of the country charts in 1964 after releasing it on the B side of his number one hit “My Heart Skips a Beat.” Devoid of the catchy hooks and choruses of today’s radio offerings, it’s a beautifully constructed ballad that allows an artist’s vocal inflections, harmonies and instruments to do most of the story-telling.

“Together Again” has been a successful cover for several artists over the years: Ray Charles’ strings-infused rendition reached number one on the adult contemporary charts two years after its debut, and Emmylou Harris lent it a female perspective in 1975. The song took on another layer in when Kenny Rogers and Dottie West recorded it as a duet in 1979, and most recently Dwight Yoakam included a version on his 2007 tribute album Dwight Sings Buck.

So what does Texas musician turned Nashville transplant turned Texas musician Deryl Dodd bring to its latest reincarnation?

Like the track, there’s a bit of a back story to Dodd, whose mediocre showing on mainstream radio belies his six-albums-deep catalog and singer/songwriter chops. He ventured to Nashville in 1991 after making rounds in the Texas music scene, and soon landed a spot in Martina McBride’s band opening for Garth Brooks along with back-up roles to Radney Foster, George Ducas and Tracy Lawrence.

After a string of moderately successful singles (“That’s How I Got to Memphis” and “Bitter End”), a nod for the Academy of Country Music’s top new male vocalist in 1998 and a dispute-laden recording of Gordon Lightfoot’s “Sundown” (which found his label trying to squash unsolicited airplay), he contracted viral encephalitis, an infection that caused his immune system to attack his brain.

Dodd took time off to recover and completely re-learn to play guitar. He makes his return as a solo artist with new album Together Again, slated for release August 25 on Texas’ Smith Music Group label.

Like Yoakam, Dodd is able to bend his voice in a way that strongly recalls Owens’ honky-tonk sound. Musically, however, he shakes things up on the self-produced, self-arranged track with a few atypical production choices, using the piano and a Paisley-esque electric guitar solo in place of the tune’s well-known steel foundation.

Tom Brumley, who passed away in February after a longtime stint in Owens’ band The Buckaroos, elevated the original recording with one of the best steel guitar performances in the history of the genre. While it may seem blasphemous to replace those signature wails, Dodd’s electric replacement lends the song a bluesey fifties feel that still supports the tune’s unusual dichotomy of haunting instrumentation and celebratory lyrics.

“Together Again,” a song as nostalgic as the pearl snap shirts Dodd is known for wearing, is not for the country weak at heart and really serves more as a lesson in country music classics than any sort of modern artistic statement. Between its plodding tempo and the strong, twangy emotion behind Dodd’s vocals, the tune is a recipe for commercial failure on today’s radio; ironically, however, those same ingredients add up to a beautifully constructed song that Dodd’s voice complements very well.

Listen: Deryl Dodd – “Together Again”