Chris Johnson & The Hollywood Hillbillies return with ‘Live To Ride‘, the second single and video taken from their forthcoming album ‘Tales From The Cowboy Palace‘, due out December 11th, 2026 via Rustbelt Electric.
Listen to ‘Live to Ride’ – here
Pre-order the album ‘Tales From the Cowboy Palace‘ – here
Following ‘Better Days Ahead‘, the new song leans further into the band’s tougher side. ‘Live To Ride‘ moves with the feel of a song made for long stretches of highway, packed clubs and loud amps, mixing country phrasing with the weight and swagger of classic Southern rock.
Rather than dressing up its message, the track keeps things simple: freedom, movement, instinct and the need to keep going. It is the kind of song that reflects Chris Johnson’s own background, where Country, Blues and Rock have never existed in separate boxes.
A Southern California native, Johnson has spent decades moving between those worlds. Raised in a family of working musicians, he began playing and performing at an early age before studying at Hollywood’s Musicians Institute. His career has since included Rumor Haz-It, The Big Johnson Band and Blues Train, as well as performances alongside musicians such as Gregg Bissonette, Matt Bissonette, T Lavitz, Mike Thompson and Denny Freeman.
Today, The Hollywood Hillbillies are the band through which Johnson brings those influences together most directly. The upcoming album features Jordan Ziff of Ratt and Trans-Siberian Orchestra on guitar and Federico Delfino, known for his work with Sebastian Bach, Madman Theory and Mercury Riots, on bass.
Johnson’s connection with music also extends well beyond his own records. Over the years he has built a strong reputation as a guitar and studio technician, working around artists and producers including Eddie Van Halen, Warren Haynes, John Fogerty, Steve Lukather, Steve Stevens, Tommy Shaw and Rick Rubin.
He is also the owner of Hollywood Studio Rentals, Drum Paradise Los Angeles and The Cowboy Palace Saloon, the celebrated San Fernando Valley honky-tonk that has become part of Los Angeles country music history.
‘Tales From the Cowboy Palace‘ takes its name from that world and from the life surrounding it: players, bars, roads, stories and the uneasy but natural meeting point between Country and Rock.
‘Live To Ride‘ is another piece of that picture.
Track List:
- Six Feet Under
- Come Back To Me
- Better Days Ahead
- Till The End Of Time
- Make You Mine
- Live To Ride
- I Release You
- Hollywood Angel
- I Dream Of You
- By My Side
- Days Like These
Line-up:
Chris Johnson – Lead and backing Vocals & Guitar
Jordan Ziff – Lead Guitar
Fede Delfino – Bass Guitar
Stephen Haaker – Drums
Skip Edwards – Keyboards
Miles Napier – Keyboards
Aubrey Richmond – Fiddle & backing vocals
Randall Hess – Pedal Steel
Additional musicians:
Kenny Aronoff (John Fogarty, John Mellacamp, Sammy Hagar) – Drums
Skip Edwards (Dwight Yoakham, Johnny Rivers, Flying Burritos) – Keyboards
Dean Parks, Lyle Lovett, Willie Nelson, LeAnn Rymes, Clint Black – Guitar
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