The Texas country singer salutes a little known artist and a 1980 hit
Despite winning the CMA and ACM new artist awards back in 1980, Terri Gibbs remains a little known figure in country music history. Summer Dean, the rising country vocalist out of Texas, is seeking to change that. This week, Dean releases a smoldering cover of Gibbs’ 1980 hit “Somebody’s Knockin’,” a song that earned Gibbs a Grammy nomination for Best Country Vocal Performance.
Dean and producer Kevin Skrla maintain the Urban Cowboy vibes of Gibbs’ original, but add a more rock & roll flair to the delivery and instrumentation. Those weeping country notes, however, remain.
“Every release I’ve done is special to me, but this is the first time I actually enjoy jamming my own stuff. It’s also the first time I’ve used my stage band in the studio. It was the right idea,” Dean says. “I’ve felt a gap between my recorded sounds vs our live sound. I wanted to try and capture some of that live energy and vibe in the recording this time.”
In December, Dean — a former schoolteacher — made her debut on the Grand Ole Opry. She’s also performed at the hot country dance night in New York, “Honky Tonkin’ in Queens.” “You wouldn’t think a Texan like me could feel comfy in Queens, New York. But somehow at Honky Tonkin’ in Queens, I feel right at home,” Dean told Rolling Stone last year. “These two New Yorkers open up an old German hall and throw in a Texas honky-tonk band, a sold-out crowd, a crowded dance floor, and maybe even a mariachi band for some spice, and somehow end up with one of the most fun shows of the year.”
Dean will return to the road in February with dates throughout Texas, including a Feb. 16 show with Vandoliers.
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