Song Review – Mo Pitney’s “I Met Merle Haggard Today”
There are some mainstream artists signed to major labels on Music Row that independent country and roots fans can still root for regardless of the financial affiliations—artists like Ashley Monroe, Chris Stapleton, and a few others. But arguably none of them are as purely country, and as young and full of potential as the 22-year-old Mo Pitney. If you’re looking for a brand new artist to get on the ground floor with, who has an entire career ahead of him, has the natural charisma to woo large audiences, that undefinable cool factor, and the overall “it” that could develop into a major country music artist and reintegrate traditional country leanings back into the mainstream, Mo Pitney might be your man.
So far we’ve only seen bits and pieces of what Mo Pitney is capable of—little dollops to get us salivating for what is hopefully a big debut release from his label home of Curb Records in the near future. His first single “Country” co-written with Bill Anderson and Bobby Tomberlin did okay for a fairly authentic country offering from an unknown quantity, cracking the Top 40 in country airplay. Meanwhile his Grand Ole Opry performances have been the talk of traditionalists in Nashville, and if nothing else, Mo has built a lot of authentic country cred in his short, but intriguing country career.
The latest appetizer dangled out there by Curb is an acoustic version of a song called “I Met Merle Haggard Today.” Pretty self explanatory and plenty entertaining, it’s the true account of Mo meeting one of his country music heroes for the first time. Similar to his single “Country,” there’s some elements of listing in the lyrics, and if you wanted to be a naysayer I guess you could look at the entire song as one big name-dropping exercise. But that would discount the feel that this young man imparts through his music, the authentic and divine singing style he brings to the table that may remind one of Merle himself, and a natural showmanship that compels you to keep watching and listening.
It’s a simple little song, but it shows you that Mo’s commitment to authentic country music isn’t just a marketing angle, it’s a sincerity that courses through his blood and is expressed through his music directly.
There’s a long way to go before Mo Pitney and his more true-to-country sound is put in a position where it can be offered as an alternative to the bros, and let’s hope Curb doesn’t get weird on us and make us wait until 2017 before we see a Mo Pitney debut LP. But all the pieces are here, and it sure will be fun to see the results of the Mo Pitney experiment once they blossom.
1 1/2 of 2 Guns Up.
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Pitney also recently released a new single called “Come Do A Little Life” that’s not too bad either.
July 27, 2015 @ 6:52 pm
can’t wait to get it
July 27, 2015 @ 7:02 pm
Mo Pitney is the real deal. How far he goes, we’ll see. I hope he becomes a torch bearer– I think he already is at heart.
July 27, 2015 @ 7:14 pm
Mo is what a lot of us thought Easton Corbin was. I really do think he can be this generation’s Randy Travis.
July 27, 2015 @ 7:14 pm
That was cute! And knowing it came from a personal place (rather than name-dropping for its own sake) makes it that much sweeter. 🙂
July 30, 2015 @ 7:20 am
I cringed when I saw the label and the name of the song. But I couldnt of said it better myself.
July 27, 2015 @ 7:17 pm
Anybody else think he looks like Bobby Goldsboro?
July 28, 2015 @ 12:56 pm
He reminded me of Goldsboro right from the get-go. Sure hope he gets the attention he deserves. Read a review that said he doesn’t bring anything new or fresh. In my opinion,that makes him a real human being and not some programmed digit-head that can’t think or feel for themselves without asking for someone else’s approval. It’s also about real country music,not the mutated Borg version that’s on the air today.
July 28, 2015 @ 7:28 pm
I was thinking walowitz from Big Bang theory, but maybe a bit taller
July 27, 2015 @ 7:20 pm
Mo is certainly a welcomed breath of ” new ” air to the scene . Notice I didn’t say ” fresh” air . I’m reserving judgement on Mo until I determine if he’s an original . I hear Ray Price’s back-phrasing and bits and pieces of a lot of the legends in his chops . That’s a good thing when a guy obviously sings and writes well enough to be able to understand that stuff and deliver it . Just not sure if he has enough of his own sound in there to stand apart like a Josh Turner , Easton Corbin , David Ball , Joe Nichols or Chris Young . Sure hope so .
July 27, 2015 @ 8:01 pm
Ya know what’s sad? Most radio listeners won’t even know who Merle Haggard is.
July 27, 2015 @ 8:26 pm
It’s who Florida Georgia Line listens to between Marley and Jagger, right?
To make this comment on-topic, Mo Pitney’s acoustic cover of “Miami My Amy”, is pretty spectacular.
July 30, 2015 @ 6:07 am
I wish FLA-GA Line WOULD listen to Marley, Haggard, or Jagger, it might make their music better!
July 27, 2015 @ 8:16 pm
In the interest of making the largest possible impact on the lowest common denominator, they should have Sam Hunt sing the metro/bro country hit “I Met Luke Bryan Today.”
July 27, 2015 @ 8:33 pm
Good sounding country voice, check. Good guitar work, check. Song lyrics about an actual real-life experience, check. He’s got my vote. Looking forward to more stuff from this guy
July 27, 2015 @ 8:56 pm
I really like this kid, but I feel like we’ve seen this before, many times. I’m speaking about the hope we’re putting on him. I could give you a decent list of guys just like Mo, some even more talented, that didn’t pan out.
July 28, 2015 @ 3:14 am
This is exactly what I’ve been thinking all along. And also expecting Curb to just screw him over if he turns out to be any good. It’s a lose-lose situation, unfortunately
July 28, 2015 @ 6:19 am
This is pretty much exactly what I’m feeling. I hope this kid doesn’t get the typical Curb Records treatment, but it seems like that’s already happening.
July 27, 2015 @ 10:18 pm
Kind of a silly sing, but there’s no joking about that voice. It made me cry it was so good.
July 27, 2015 @ 10:58 pm
Thanks Trigger!
July 28, 2015 @ 3:53 am
I am not overwhelmed by his writing, but damn, that is a voice. It doesn’t look like it should come from such a scrawny young man. All the best to him. He is attractive and young enough for the majors to promote his music, if he can stay true to himself.
July 28, 2015 @ 9:22 am
Agreed. “Country” was honestly terrible songwriting, this one seems a bit better on first listen. But he definitely sounds good. And good songwriting doesn’t seem to be any sort of prerequisite for radio play. So maybe we will hear something that sounds a bit more traditional on the radio now and then, even if I’ll still cringe when I listen to the lyrics.
I guess that’s an improvement???
July 28, 2015 @ 10:22 am
I agree, and would add that traditionally, many great artists, including Johnny Cash, wrote only a portion of their hits. I love a singer-songwriter and what that personal connection brings to a performance, but I think there is room for artists who co-write or are good interpreters of other people’s songs. Raul Malo also comes to mind as a more contemporary artist. One of the best, if not the best, voices in country today. He writes, but also does stunning covers.
July 28, 2015 @ 6:52 pm
‘Country’ was a co-write with Bill Anderson and Bobby Tomberlin- an interesting footnote- somebody’s paying attention…
July 28, 2015 @ 5:36 pm
“And good songwriting doesn”™t seem to be any sort of prerequisite for radio play. ”
As a songwriter , reading this pains me because its so true and so sad .
July 30, 2015 @ 7:52 am
If this was the case Dallas Davidson would still be broke sitting on his tailgate in a field off a dirt road dreaming of a pretty girl in daisy dukes bringing him a jar of clear.
July 28, 2015 @ 6:25 am
He has a strong voice and great potential, and I look forward to hearing more. But this song strikes me as weak–it gets its only heft from name-checking Merle Haggard. The rhymes and phrasing are formulaic–you can see exactly where each verse is headed as soon as it begins. Compare this to two other fairly recent tribute songs–Ags Connolly’s “I Saw James Hand” and First Aid Kit’s “Emmylou,” which also borrow their heft from the singers they mention, but have something more of their own in the phrasing and emotion.
July 28, 2015 @ 9:51 am
I like Mo and think he has potential to become a traditional country artist that can make a breakthrough into mainstream country radio.
But I agree, I think this song is a little weak and just wasn’t overwhelmed with the quality of the songwriting. It’s certainly not bad, but I hope Mo continues to show us he is capable of better songs and deeper songwriting.
July 28, 2015 @ 7:33 am
I’ve never heard of this guy. Thanks for sharing. I have high hopes for him but the way things are in Nashville, I bet he doesn’t last long. Either Curb will change him or the industry will just chew him up and spit him out. I hate to be negative Nancy about it, but we’ve seen it happen to too many young rising stars.
July 28, 2015 @ 8:36 am
I can predict what will happen with this guy:
1. He becomes a sell out and makes pop music
2. He makes country music and becomes like George Strait, Alan Jackson, Josh Turner, among others, who’s stuff is not played on the radio anymore !!
July 28, 2015 @ 8:57 am
Wait–he’s on Curb?!?!?! Oh fuck. 🙁
He’s too talented to be wasted by that abysmal shithole of a label.
July 28, 2015 @ 9:13 am
Look, there’s a lot of people saying, “Oh, this guy’s on Curb.” “Oh this will never last.” That’s the reason that it’s imperative on fans to let their voices be heard that an artist like Mo Pitney is who we want to see. If we think it’s fait accompli that he’ll never make it in the business, it could be come a self-fulfilling prophecy. He made it this far.
July 28, 2015 @ 11:59 am
God Bless America, please let this guy make it big. That voice gives me the best kind of chills.
July 28, 2015 @ 9:12 pm
But my wife can’t and my neighbors don’t care.
July 28, 2015 @ 1:38 pm
Country, Clean Up on Aisle Five and Come do a Little Life is much more than promising. All three songs(singles?) sounds great. Really great that is.
July 28, 2015 @ 7:37 pm
Definitely, Come Do A Little Life and Clean Up On Aisle 5 show promise and are my favorites so far. I hope to hear an album soon, and I definitely hope that Mo can break out and make good traditional music in the mainstream. Whether you like Curb or not, they’re grasping on straws at this point, with their biggest name in mainstream (Lee Brice) having a flop of a summer EP and a lackluster album. They’ve doomed themselves with their decisions. Mo could easily give Curb some more leverage with both traditionalists and mainstream radio. It just depends on what Curb will do with him. I’d imagine an album is coming soon, and hopefully it’s great and gets some attention.
July 28, 2015 @ 3:02 pm
I feel like I would like the guy’s music a lot more if he hooked up with a really good songwriter. He’s a fantastic traditional country singer, but his songwriting leaves a lot to be desired in my opinion. I’d also love to hear him with a less polished sound than the stuff he’s put out so far. His music is perfectly fine, but I’d like to hear him put out something with a bit more teeth for lack of a better phrase.
July 28, 2015 @ 3:03 pm
I was excited to buy some of Mo Pitney’s music but unfortunately saw in this article that he is with Curb. So I won’t be buying anything from Mo.
July 28, 2015 @ 6:17 pm
That ain’t no reason. Curb may suck, but don’t take it out on Mo.
July 28, 2015 @ 9:18 pm
What the hell?
You won’t support a highly promising young artist who’s one of the very very few to release an actual country song on country radio because of the label he’s signed too.
Whatever buddy.
I’ve already bought his mp3’s and I’ll buy his album as soon as it’s available. I know the lyricism leaves room for improvement, but damn, he’s giving us back our sound. That’s a start.
July 29, 2015 @ 4:49 am
Just A Dog…. Check that one out. This guy is the real deal. Everyone on here that claims they want to “Save Country Music” has the chance for their voice to be heard by supporting this kid. No excuses. Buy his album, which he told me is to be released in the fall. If we don’t support him during these pivotal first days, he may not get out of the gate.
August 2, 2015 @ 12:47 pm
You guys gotta check YouTube for his performances at Larry’s Country Diner.. He sings ‘Borrowed Angel’ ‘I Didn’t Go to Sleep Last Night’ and ‘Miami, My Amy’, and NAILS every one.
Those 3 performances alone have me waiting to hear more of this kid. He can REALLY sing..
August 3, 2015 @ 4:32 pm
Just a Dog is good tune. Going to see him Wed night. Seen Merle last night. Good week of live music from the old and the new!
April 17, 2021 @ 8:47 pm
My very first time hearing this young man and I am just blown away with his talent . Amazing voice and he will have me as a big fan from this day on. Right this minite he is singing on Larry’s Country Dinner I came on by chance Beautiful voice. Great talent. Right up there with the best there is anywhere. God Bless this young man.