Whitey Morgan Announces First New Album in 8 Years, “Hell on the Highway”
Well hell yeah.
It’s been a long time coming. But really, it’s been that way for most every Whitey Morgan album. He might not be the most prolific artist in studio output. But those that have followed him throughout his career know he’s the premier torchbearer for Outlaw country in the modern era.
Announced on Wednesday (9-16), Whitey Morgan and the 78s will release their latest album called Hell on the Highway on December 4th. The title track will be released on Friday, September 25th. Though we don’t have a full track list just yet, it will include 11 songs, and was produced by Justin Francis, a Grammy-winning engineer who’s worked with the likes of Tyler Childers, Gary Clark Jr., and Kacey Musgraves in the past. The cover art is the creation of Zachary Nelson.
“I am very proud of this album,” says Whitey Morgan. “The 78s and I worked hard on it and I think it shows. We pushed things a little further this time. It’s definitely bigger and heavier than anything we have done but still sounds like us. I haven’t been this excited about music in a very long time, and I’m ready to let this thing loose on the universe.”
Performers on the album include current members of the 78s band Alex Lyon on bass, Danny Coburn on harmonica, Eric Savage on drums, Johnny Up Shadid on pedal steel guitar, and Brian Whelan on electric guitar. Steel guitar legend Dan Dugmore also appears on the album, as does Rob McNeely on electric guitar, and Junior Turtwiler on acoustic and electric guitar.
Whitey Morgan addressed the long turnaround time for the album in his announcement, saying, “It’s been eight years since I put out a full-length record. Life has been flyin by full of chaos and good times. Everything from bein a dedicated dad to opening and closing restaurants and venues. And of course playing a whole lot of shows and livin a little in between. I never felt much pressure to rush back into the studio just to make another record. But it was time.”
Some might be asking what happened to working with Shooter Jennings? In 2024, Whitey released a new single called “Let Me Roll” produced by Shooter, and then followed it up with a cover of “We Had It All,” and an original single “Somewhere Along the Way” in early 2025. But an album itself never materialized.
Either way, there’s no turning back now. Hell on the Highway is on the way, and available now for pre-order in red asphalt vinyl.
“Thanks to everybody who’s stuck around and supported through the years and keeps coming back,” says Whitey. “I hope these songs serve as a little soundtrack to some good times. See ya soon!”
September 16, 2026 @ 6:25 pm
I can’t wait for this! After the songs played at the Ryman show….let’s freaking go!!
September 16, 2026 @ 6:47 pm
He was high in my bucket list to see live for years. Finally caught him in Reno recently and by gawd, this dude and his band are lights out right now. The musicianship is A1 and he sounds amazing.
As far as a high band in concerned, I’d put these guys on the level with Crockett’s band. They are that good.
Can not wait for this record. I believe in Whitey!
September 16, 2026 @ 7:03 pm
Hopefully it will be available in CD too. Looking forward to hearing it!
September 17, 2026 @ 4:34 am
for anyone that wants a dose of the hard stuff while you’re waiting check out
Neon Moons – Day Late and a Dollar Short
September 17, 2026 @ 6:05 am
Excellent news. I am actually going to see him tomorrow night. Maybe I’ll get some of the new stuff.
September 17, 2026 @ 7:21 am
I’m stoked to hear this but these vinyl prices are getting outta hand!
September 17, 2026 @ 9:51 am
Album cover looks like those memes with skeletons and motorcycles
September 20, 2026 @ 5:43 am
yeah , bad taste…i love it!
September 17, 2026 @ 10:11 am
Hell yeah, I can’t wait for this. Thanks for the heads up!
Hopefully he’s touring on it, too.
September 17, 2026 @ 11:44 am
I saw Whitey play a little club in Detroit called The Magic Bag way back in the day when no one had any idea. You could tell straight away he was going places. Still have the t-shirt. Looking forward to the new stuff.
September 17, 2026 @ 1:38 pm
Can’t wait for this… seen Whitey at the Ryman, Gruene Hall… he and the band are awesome live… big fan!!! Let’s goooo… !
September 17, 2026 @ 11:45 pm
Hell yeahhh 🔥🔥 hope I get the chance to see them live someday!!
September 18, 2026 @ 8:55 am
It never fails to crack me up watching folks gush over this wanna-be-waylon. Everything about him is fake, and thats why damn near every musician who has ever played with him calls his a fraud and a plain bad person. If your idea of saving country music is to regurgitate the same stale stuff over and over, maybe it’s not worth saving.
September 19, 2026 @ 5:36 am
Dave, honest question – who has played with him that called him a fraud and/or bad person? Cody, Ward Davis, Jamey Johnson – they all seem to like the guy. Just curious. I know his outlaw image is kind of a character, but I like his music. The times I have meet him he has been nothing but nice. But curious to hear who from those who don’t like him as a person and why that is.
September 27, 2026 @ 7:50 pm
When I said “played with him,” I did not mean the back-slapping other artists. I meant the actual musicians, from his first days as a drummer in the Flint band Dixie Hustler where he was drummer, or the other punk and metal bands he played in, to any of the “Waycross Georgia Farmboys” or “78s”
To a man, they all talk about how Whitey screwed them.out of money, or royalties, or songwriting credits. How he was happy to let everyone else do the work, from songwriting to booking so that he could take the credit. And how truly vile he was towards women and other folks.
Kevin, I know about Flint. I live in Grand Blanc. Thats how I’ve known so many of his musicians for 25 years, from those first Machine Shop days. And Im a mill-billy myself. So I know about that scene. And he fits in perfect. But his music was always just a pastiche of Waylon and Paycheck, but not nearly as good. The same way folks wanted to swarm to Greta Van Fleet because they ripped off Zeppelin so purely, Trigger and the so-called Outlaws have been lapping at this doofus meager output for 20 years. Think maybe his retreat from new stuff is because he burned every bridge with the people who actually did the work?
September 28, 2026 @ 4:17 am
Thanks for the info sir. Like I said, I was truly curious, so I wasnt aware of the other musicians from Flint.
September 28, 2026 @ 6:41 am
I’m not sure I would take the word of some guy in an internet comment section to indict an artist’s entire career as being a phony. I’ve been covering Whitey Morgan for going on 20 years, and have never heard anyone say he’s “phony” and comparable to Greta Van Fleet. And apparently that’s supposed to be so obvious to the rest of us, it implicates my credibility that I don’t point this out, even though I’ve never heard it.
I guess we’re also supposed to judge Whitey’s music off of how he behaved in a band 25 years ago. You go digging in the past of any human being on the planet, you’ll find people to say bad things about them. Whitey early in his career was definitely known as being moody and attitudinal … I don’t know, just like he’s portrayed in his own songs. That’s what people like about him, that he’s not a stage persona, but the real deal. What you see is what you get. He’s not trying to win a personality contest. He’s up there on stage singing songs about losing his shit, drinking too much, and self-destructing. And we’re supposed to hold him accountable because that’s true?
I’ve met Whitey on numerous occasions and interviewed him once. He was never anything but respectful to me.
September 28, 2026 @ 6:44 am
Trigger – I am definitely not taking his word for it. Ive been reading SCM for about 20 years and have met Whitey multiple times, and he has always been a nice dude. I was just being respectful as to not start a internet war with someone who has a bone to pick.
September 19, 2026 @ 7:01 am
Dave,
If you are sincere, here’s an answer:
Whitey resonates with the biker and blue collar crowd very well. Beards and motorcycles are part of it, and they all use the term Outlaw in a very different way than it was used to market Willie and Waylon. Bikers, particularly those of the true 3 patch variety are referred to as Outlaws. They see themselves as outsiders in normal society. A fair amount of iron workers and other construction guys are also big fans of “Outlaw” music. Whitey is from Flint Michigan where decades ago many hillbillies from appalachia moved to for jobs in the auto industry. The route 23 pipeline as it was referred to or ” Hillbilly Highway” as Steve Earle referred to it. Whitey sees himself as a descendant of those folks. So in that sense he is viewed as legit. I suspect you haven’t attended a live Whitey show, if you did you would immediately understand. Mock it all you want, but just know his crowd could care less what you think.
September 19, 2026 @ 10:50 pm
Please start posting links of legitimate websites with these artists said he’s “a fraud and a plain bad person.”
I’ve seen him play and met him in person – he seemed like a good dude, and had a lot of fun at his shows.
September 18, 2026 @ 11:43 am
Out of curiosity, what makes Whitey “outlaw”?
Or is he just adopting that label for marketing purposes?
His music isn’t “outlaw” if we’re using the Willie/Waylon/DAC/Glaser brothers definition(s), as far as I can tell.
FWIW I like his music.
September 19, 2026 @ 8:58 am
Whitey has for years criticized the usage of the word “outlaw” and how people/media label him as “outlaw”. I remember at one point in some interview he remarked: “There are no outlaws anymore.” He doesn’t adopt that label: people and music media outlets that don’t know country music history just try to project it onto him.
September 19, 2026 @ 2:46 pm
Bill, with all due respect most of us in SCM land know the real history of Country music and the ” Outlaw” movement. We get that it was a “marketing term”. We also understand it referred to folks like Willie and Waylon who sought freedom , creativity and autonomy to make music their way, free of the Nashville assembly line shackles.
The word has EVOLVED. Nowadays it is used sometimes seriously and sometimes off- the cuff, and there is a subset of artists making music with inspiration from many of the greats including Waylon and Coe and Billy Joe Shaver and Paycheck and others. Cody Jinks, Whitey, Dallas Moore, and others all have elements of those sounds in their music. To some who comment here, they take umbrage with the use of the term. Nonetheless, it is still used and most of us understand it’s current meaning within the subset of artists chasing this sound. You may wanna ask Dale Watson how he feels about the term. I happen to enjoy it and I care not that the term has evolved. Part of this can be explained in my above comment on biker culture and how it plays into the fanbase of these artists. Outlaw can mean different things to different people and it’s fair to note that the exact meaning it had in 1978 has changed a bit. Like it or not, the term doesn’t appear to be going away.
September 20, 2026 @ 11:06 am
“There are no outlaws anymore.”
He was bang on with this statement, at least when it comes to music artists. Playing the role of outlaw is much different than being an actual outlaw. Those who love the fantasy of the outlaw place themselves under the umbrella of the term, but there are few outlaws left. Riding a Harley with a bunch of tattoos and a blue-steel stare no more makes you an outlaw than growing a beard and living a hard honky tonk lifestyle makes a musical artist an outlaw. The Hells Angels and a few other bike gangs are the last of the real outlaws.
September 19, 2026 @ 11:52 am
No, he refers to his music as “honky tonk” rather than “outlaw.”
September 20, 2026 @ 11:30 am
Obviously, the term “Outlaw” can come very loaded. The way I used the term here, and the way I used it with the recent album from Alicia Blue was very intentional. I used “Outlaw” to describe a very specific sound in country music that very obvious and inarguable. This include the half time beat with the groove centered on the bass drum. This include the two-tone bass guitar rhythm. It also often includes phaser on the Telecaster guitar and other sonic marks.
People have been arguing over the term “Outlaw” for decades and how it was used for marketing, how they’re not really “Outlaws,” meaning law breakers, or that it means fighting the Nashville system. And they will argue for decades on.
Whitey Morgan plays Outlaw country music, meaning it’s a sound unto itself. And no, that sound is not “Honky Tonk.” It’s similar, but significantly different enough to distinguish.
Even if Whitey Morgan, Cody Jinks, and a dozen other artists signed a joint statement saying they don’t want to be called Outlaw. If their music fits the sonic qualifyers, that is what I’m going to call it. Because that’s they way for people looking for country music with those sonic qualities will find it.
September 20, 2026 @ 12:04 pm
Exactly Triggerman! Right on.
September 24, 2026 @ 11:33 am
Fuck yeah! Ready. Set. Goooooooooo.