Jessi Colter’s forthcoming album, Edge of Forever, marks a return to the classic sound of her days as one of the key figures in the Outlaw Country movement of the 1970s, along with husband Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, and Tompall Glaser. The album was produced by another female powerhouse, Margo Price (with Price’s ace band backing), and today, G&G is proud to premiere one of the album’s highlights, “I Wanna Be with You.”
Colter co-wrote the song with friend and songwriter Basil McDavid, and a version first appeared on Colter’s 1984 album, Rock and Roll Lullaby. “It’s fun to think about Basil and Waylon, who worked together in the early years,” Colter says. “[Basil] saw me coming and going—most of the time going—with Waylon, but he saw my enthusiasm as we traveled and helped me encapsulate that with ‘I Wanna Be with You.’”
“I love the way ‘I Wanna Be with You’ came together,” says Price, who also sings backing vocals on the track. “Jessi played piano and sang while we recorded live with the band. She thrives when she sings and plays at the same time. It’s like she locks in and finds this really cool groove. I love watching her work.”
The pair first connected in 2017, when Colter invited Price to a book event celebrating Colter’s memoir, An Outlaw and a Lady. They hit it off immediately, and after hearing Colter play a few new songs, Price and her husband, Jeremy Ivey, helped convince her to make another album. “I would sit on the piano bench next to Jessi most of the time to help be her page-turner,” Price says of recording the album’s ten tracks in Nashville. “I was very pregnant at the time, so sitting also felt good. Jessi mothered me and made sure I took breaks, even when I didn’t want to.”
Listen to “I Wanna Be with You” below. Colter will perform on September 20 in Nashville as part of this year’s Americanafest. Edge of Forever is out October 27 and available for pre-order here.
