Dierks Bentley 'Tempted' By The David Mayfield Parade

Dierks Bentley may be busy writing and recording songs for his own upcoming album due this fall, but that doesn't stop him from making time to record his veracious vocals for other artist albums as well.

Track 7 of "Good Man Down," the upcoming album by The David Mayfield Parade (due April 1), features Dierks singing the second verse of Marty Stuart's single, "Tempted," from the 1991 album of the same name.  Bentley's vocal doesn't stop there, but goes on to be the lead in the chorus, and intermittent lines throughout the song. Sweet!

Marty Stuart, Dierks Bentley, Opry Induction 10-1-05

It's fitting that Dierks sings this particular song, since Marty Stuart was the one who asked him to "marry" The Grand Ole Opry in 2005.




Growing up in Kent, Ohio, David Mayfield was surrounded by Bluegrass music. At the age of twelve he was playing bass for the family band, traveling from festival to festival, along with his younger sister, noted songstress, Jessica Lea Mayfield, singing and absorbing the stories and lessons taught by road hard veterans, all the while picking up tips on how to play a lick on guitar or mandolin. By the time he was a teenager, Mayfield had won several national awards for his guitar and mandolin playing and his reputation was being forged in the world of Bluegrass as a player to watch out for.

Well no wonder Dierks was tempted to work with him!  We're thinking you had him at 'Bluegrass', David!

Recorded at the legendary, Music Row landmark Historic RCA Studio B in Nashville, Tennessee, by engineer Luke Gilfeather, Mayfield says 'Good Man Down' is, "kind of like the last album, where there’s a parade of musicians -- that’s where the title came from -- and the band. There’s people who tour with me live that play on the new record. There’s also Seth Avett from the Avett Brothers on there. Dierks Bentley, a country musician." Doyle Lawson [from Quicksilver], his sister Jessica Lea Mayfield, and Bob Cesare, the drummer from the last record, (Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys) are all featured on the newest Parade album.

"It’s a wide mix. I like doing that in the studio just because there are so many ideas that come with these different musicians. I produce these records myself, and I can only hear things the way I hear them. If I had one band, I think, the same people on every song, it would rely a lot more on my vision, which I don’t always trust, you know? There are better ways to do it than what I come up with, so it’s really cool to bring people that I really respect and trust and see what they come up with." [Source]

Historic RCA Studio B is one of the world's most important and successful recording studios. More than 35,000 songs were brought to life by the Studio B magic, including more than 1,000 American hits (i.e., "I Will Always Love You," by Dolly Parton), 40 million-selling singles, and over 200 Elvis Presley recordings (by far more than any other studio), including "Are You Lonesome Tonight?"

Owned by Mike Curb (Curb Records), and leased jointly by the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum and Belmont University for $1 a year, Studio B will be adding the Dierks track (Tempted) to their personally guided tour (departing from the CMHOF daily), so they will play it and talk about Dierks to hundreds of thousands of people! Keith Wright, National Tourism Sales manager for the CMHOF, believes "Dierks will be a great addition to the more modern history of Studio B."

You can listen to the full album stream, including Dierks' track, and Q&A with Mayfield HERE from American Songwriter.

~Ronna Clark
DB Congress Chair (FL)