Rascal Flatts to Mark Farewell Year With New EP, ‘How They Remember You’
Rascal Flatts are celebrating their final months as a band with a brand-new project. The country trio has announced plans for the How They Remember You EP.
A seven-song release, the How They Remember You EP, is due out on July 31 via Big Machine Records. Highlights include Rascal Flatts' recently released cover of Kenny Rogers' "Through the Years;" their newest single, its title track; and "Quick Fast in a Hurry," a duet with Rachel Wammack.
"She just came in the studio and absolutely killed it," Jay DeMarcus shared of Wammack during a virtual media event. It's hard to find someone who can match Flatts lead singer Gary LeVox vocally, DeMarcus admits, but Wammack "was amazing."
How They Remember You's four additional as-yet-unreleased songs were co-written by, among others, Thomas Rhett; his dad, Rhett Akins; Ashley Gorley and more. An early incarnation of the band Restless Road, who worked with DeMarcus and are now working with Kane Brown, penned "Feel It in the Morning" and "Sip Away."
"We've never cared who writes a song, as long as it's a great song," says DeMarcus.
Together since 2000, Rascal Flatts have racked up No. 1 hits, Platinum-certified albums and awards wins and nominations, and earned crossover acclaim, throughout their 20 years in the music business. Together, DeMarcus, LeVox and Rooney also influenced a generation of musicians, and the overall sound of country music.
"We opened the door for a lot of new artists doing the kind of music that you even hear today, 20 years later," Rascal Flatts reflect, "'cause there was no sound like the sound that we had when we came in in 2000."
Rascal Flatts had planned to celebrate their final months together with a summer tour and other big appearances; however, the coronavirus pandemic has thwarted many of those plans. The trio canceled their Farewell: Life Is a Highway Tour in mid-May, though they hinted to media that the trek may be rescheduled for a later time.
"It's been weird. It's frustrating ... It's sad, and it's anger, and it's bitterness," LeVox admits of having their goodbye year pulled out from under them. "All of it's just a mess, you know? It's chaotic ... and there's no real answers for the future. It's frustrating for sure."
Rascal Flatts, How They Remember You EP Tracklist:
1. "How They Remember You"
2. "Feel It in the Morning"
3. "Quick Fast in a Hurry"
4. "Looking Back"
5. "Warmer"
6. "Sip Away"
7. "Through the Years"
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