SAN ANGELO, TX — Two west Texas artists are gaining traction on the Texas Country Music charts this week. Songs by William Beckmann of Del Rio and Case Hardin of San Angelo gained 53 and 61 additional spins this week, respectfully. Both aren’t ballads but both are love songs about girls. In today’s cultural climate, we are thankful the love songs performed by these two guys are about girls.
Beckmann performed at one of last year’s Angelo State Ram Jams and it was probably the best show of that season. He grew up in a bilingual family in the border town of Del Rio and can belt out songs in Spanish as well as he can singling the English version of his rising single, “Damn This Heart of Mine” that sits at #14 on the CDX TRACtion Texas Chart for the week of Feb. 15, 2023. (However, there is no Spanish version).
“Me singing in Spanish was something I never thought was different or cool. It wasn’t until I was [away from Del Rio] and I’d bust out into a Spanish song that I realized how incredibly unique it is to be able to do that,” Beckmann told the Western AF “Lone Star Series. In Del Rio, “Everyone knew a song in Spanish because that’s what they wanted to hear.” Watch the short documentary on Beckmann:
Beckmann’s latest single is about his heart not allowing him to leave a woman. It is the third single in about a year. The first two were on his sophomore record, Faded Memories, “Bourbon Whiskey” and “Danced All Night Long.” The latter is set in Acuña and parts are in Spanish.
Beckmann has another song we want to hear on a record soon. It is a play off the old George Strait gigantic hit song about “All My Exes Live in Texas.” In Beckmann’s version, “All My Exes Feed Me Breakfast.” Apparently it’s a live performance favorite.
Beckmann makes his debut at the Grand Ol Opry on March 3.
Case Hardin is no stranger to San Angelo and his latest single, “Most Beautiful Place I’ve Ever Been” is two slots higher than Beckmann’s this week at #12. It’s about his girl being more wonderful to him than anyplace he’s been in the world. We will not comment about any sexual connotations that can possibly be drawn from reading the lyrics. Hardin said the song was written by Aaron Barker who wrote “Am I Blue” and George Strait’s “Baby Blue.”
“I reminded me of home and the girl I love and that’s what you always look forward to at the end of a tour,” Hardin said.
"The Most Beautiful Place" lyric video by Case Hardin
“Most Beautiful Place” follows the single “Alcohol Abuse” from his 2022 record Lucky Him. Mr. Hardin was on the LIVE! Daily News Show in late 2022.
Case Hardin on the LIVE! Daily News Show in late 2022
On the rest of the chart, Cody Canada’s re-make of the Cross Canadian Ragweed song “Lonely Girl” remains at #1. We reviewed that song a couple of weeks ago.
Texas Music Singer Kaitlin Butts has declared that she is San Angelo LIVE!’s favorite Angsty Millennial after we argued that her version of “Jackson” is a technically incorrect interpretation of Johnny Cash’s “Jackson.” It still shot up to #3 thanks to our inadvertent promotion of her song last week. I asked the music lovers at Blaine’s Pub about Kaitlin. I asked, is she real or Nashville? The consensus was she’s really good and authentic. In other words, however wrongly she interprets Johnny Cash, and regardless of her millennial angst, she’s closer to Texas than Tennessee. So, there’s that.
On the left is Case Hardin and on the right is William Beckmann. Both photos are promo photos from the respective artists' websites.
Subscribe to the LIVE! Daily
Required
Post a comment to this article here: