Luke Bell Track “Jealous Guy” Gets New Release
Luke Bell has been one of the most authentic voices to emerge in country music in the last decade, and one of the most elusive performers over the past few years. He released a debut album on Bandcamp in 2014, then re-released it via Thirty Tigers in 2016, made us all big believers in a way that few if any other performers can fulfill, and then sort of faded off into the sunset.
But a little nugget of music was just released that may be new to some. First recorded in 2016 around the release of his self-titled album as a standalone acoustic performance for Amazon, Luke Bell’s cover of John Lennon’s “Jealous Guy” might not be the debut single from a new album many are hoping for, but anything with Luke Bell’s name on it is welcome. The track lived solely on Amazon as an exclusive for years, but now that the exclusive has expired, it’s available through all streaming and download platforms.
Originally released on John Lennon’s Imagine album from 1971, “Jealous Guy” was previously called “Child of Nature,” and had been demoed when Lennon was with The Beatles. The lyrics were originally inspired by a lecture given by a Yogi, and deal with the feelings of inadequacy felt by a lover. With Luke Bell singing it on a back porch though, it’s pure country.
Luke Bell caught national attention when he singed with WME and Thirty Tigers, and began opening shows for names like Willie Nelson, Hank Williams Jr., and Dwight Yoakam. But a tour set to occur after the release of his debut album never happened, and aside from some spotty shows here and there, Luke Bell has been mostly out of the spotlight, leading to much speculation and some concern about his whereabouts.
Saving Country Music published a deep dive into Luke Bell and his elusiveness in April of 2020. Luke then re-emerged in July of 2020 in an online performance with frequent collaborator and folk archivist performer Matt Kinman in North Carolina.
No word on when we may see or hear more from Luke Bell, but word is he’s alive and well, and just turned 31 on Wednesday (1-27).
Luke Bell’s version of “Jealous Guy” is now available through all streaming platforms.
January 29, 2021 @ 8:36 am
I am super excited about this song, and to hear new (to me) Luke Bell! Bummed to learn it is not part of a new project though.
January 29, 2021 @ 10:32 am
Luke Bell’s album has become such a favorite of mine. It’s one of those things that I would never think was for me, but has become quintessential listening. Me and the wife sing along to the freaking thing. LOL. Hope something new is coming.
January 29, 2021 @ 10:45 am
He’s obviously an “ambivert”- maybe a little extreme in practice, but he is good.
January 29, 2021 @ 11:09 am
God, I wish making good music was as easy as Luke Bell makes it seem.
All of those front porch, solo recordings of his are the highest quality, with seemingly zero effort applied. It’s just unfair.
January 31, 2021 @ 12:16 pm
Got to spend a few moments with Luke the other evening.Always good to see him and Matt Kinman pop in.He does make sound so effortless.What a voice and talent to be blessed with.Very fortunate to get to know Luke Bell awesome guy who writes and sings awesome music.
February 1, 2021 @ 7:23 am
That’s awesome. Glad to hear he’s doing well!
January 29, 2021 @ 5:53 pm
Luke the drifter. I like this guy.
January 29, 2021 @ 8:33 pm
This guys is at the top of my list for people I want to hear a new album from, him and Jamey Johnson
January 29, 2021 @ 9:12 pm
I’d love to hear more from this guy, but also love that he’s not jumping though all the industry hoops and over saturating himself with his every move on social media.
He’ll release new music when he does.
January 29, 2021 @ 9:43 pm
Wow… imagine releasing a song 4 years after it was recorded and receiving this much attention for it.
Luke is incredibly talented, and when talented people run into demons, you just hope that they push through and give us the biggest gift that they could…. themselves
January 29, 2021 @ 10:15 pm
The guy that is helping Luke with his musical affairs reached out to me late Thursday to let me know it was coming. I almost posted something about it late Thursday night when it populated across streaming platforms. Woke up this morning, and I had a dozen different emails from readers about it, and found multiple comments posted on old Luke Bell articles. Can’t say this song release caused a massive stir in the musical world overall. But for the folks who know about Luke Bell, it was a pretty momentous moment. And yes, all for an acoustic cover that if you knew where to look, has been available for four years. That definitely speaks to the appetite for his music.
January 30, 2021 @ 9:31 am
Hoping Luke releases more new songs soon! I had this song on my Amazon account when it was released as a special a few years back and wore it out. Love Luke Bell!
February 1, 2021 @ 10:18 pm
Jealous Guy is great! Thanks for posting Trigger.
Luke has been sick for awhile. I’m suspecting COVID but nothing has been officially disclosed. Could be something else. Matt Kinman just posted a few hours ago on his Facebook page that Luke is back in the hospital. Keep him in your thoughts.
February 9, 2021 @ 11:47 pm
https://www.facebook.com/matt.kinman1/posts/3769577493088159
February 11, 2021 @ 7:37 pm
I know I’m a little late to be commenting here, but just wanted to say Luke Bell is one of the very best discoveries that SCM ever alerted me to. Everything I could want in a country music artist. Hope we haven’t heard the last of him.
April 5, 2021 @ 8:25 am
I have never heard John Lennon’s original version, just Bell’s cover. Didn’t know Lennon had written it until just now. Aren’t there rumors of Lennon being abusive to women in relationships at times.
At any rate, the way Luke sings it is sinister, and the tension builds in such a subtle way. I love it.