Bill Wyman has announced the release of a new album. Drive My Car marks his first album in nine years and the ninth solo album by the Rolling Stones‘ former bassist.
The album, which is due on Aug. 9, features 10 songs, with two additional tracks on the CD and digital versions. In addition to covers of Bob Dylan‘s “Thunder on the Mountain,” Taj Mahal’s “Light Rain” and John Prine‘s “Ain’t Hurtin’ Nobody,” Drive My Car includes five songs written or cowritten by Wyman.
“It’s not something I do every day, but sometimes I just see a guitar in the corner of the room, pick it up to play around and then something clicks into place,” Wyman noted in a press release announcing the album.
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You can hear the first song from Wyman’s upcoming album, the title track, below. You can also see the album’s track listing below.
Drive My Car was recorded in Wyman’s home studio with guitarist Terry Taylor and drummer Paul Beavis. “I think the biggest influence on the album as a whole is J.J. Cale, his laidback groove has always appealed to me,” Wyman noted.
“Friends I’ve played it to have said things like, ‘It really sounds like you,’ and that makes me happy. I’ve never tried to be anyone else – I’m Bill, basically.”
What Has Bill Wyman Been Up To?
Since leaving the Rolling Stones, a band he helped form in 1962, in 1993, the 87-year-old Wyman has played with his group Bill Wyman’s Rhythm Kings and released the solo album Back to Basics in 2015.
He’s occasionally played with his old band since the ’90s, joining the Stones onstage, along with another former bandmate Mick Taylor, in 2012, and played on one song, “Live by the Sword,” on their 2023 album Hackney Diamonds, the first time Wyman has performed on a Rolling Stones album since 1991.
Bill Wyman, ‘Drive My Car’ Track Listing
1. Thunder On The Mountain
2. Drive My Car
3. Bad News
4. Storm Warning
5. Light Rain
6. Ain’t Hurtin’ Nobody
7. Rough Cut Diamond
8. Wings
9. Two Tone Car
10. Fools Gold
CD/DIGITAL BONUS TRACKS
11. Sweet Baby
12. Tell You A Secret
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Gallery Credit: Michael Gallucci