Kasey Chambers – “Cold and Bitter Tears” (audio) (premiere)

A true cult hero, Ted Hawkins was best known as a street performer in Venice Beach, California, wowing passersby with his soulful singing. Although attempts were made to create a mainstream career for Hawkins — Geffen released The Next Hundred Years in 1994 — his lifestyle was far too unpredictable to create anything sustainable, and he tragically died on New Year’s Day 1995 at the age of 58.

Cold and Bitter Tears: The Songs of Ted Hawkins is a new tribute album being released by Austin-based Eight 30 records featuring 15 renditions of Hawkins compositions. Among the artists is country stalwart Kasey Chambers, who has teamed up with her musician father Bill to record a gorgeous cover of “Cold and Bitter Tears”.

“My dad called me up one day and told me about the project,” Chambers says. “He sent the song and straightaway I started thinking of all these ideas of how we could get in and make the song sound like us but hopefully still honor the song and the songwriter at the same time. We recorded it at my dad’s house, sitting around jamming around a mike. It was a really special thing. I play with my dad all the time, but the novelty never wears off. I love the combination that we create together.”

Cold and Bitter Tears: The Songs of Ted Hawkins will be released 23 October.