Terry McBride Returns With Chris Stapleton Co-Write, ‘Rebels & Angels’ [Exclusive Premiere]

Terry McBride plays the father. Patty Loveless plays the mother. Chris Stapleton helped fill in the details of "Rebels & Angels," the title track of McBride's upcoming solo album. The song — heard first exclusively on Taste of Country — is a classic American love story delivered in 3/4  time.

McBride, formerly the frontman and namesake of the '90s band McBride & the Ride, wrote the song with Stapleton. The second single from his Rebels & Angels album (Oct. 23) tells of forbidden love through the eyes of two parents who were also once forbidden. Steel guitar and fiddle saw across the pure country ballad. Loveless was the singer's only choice for a duet partner on the song.

"I wrote this song a few years ago with Chris Stapleton, but it’s one of those songs that I continued pulling up and listening to," he tells Taste of Country. "As a ballad and a waltz, this song had no chance of being cut, but it was a favorite of mine. One day, while listening and singing along, I thought the song might work as a duet, so I reached out to my longtime friend and former producer at MCA, Tony Brown, to see if he would contact Patty Loveless for me."

He did, and she agreed. Her performance is a cherry on top of an already fine songwriting dessert. For nearly three decades, McBride has kept his pen sharp writing songs for Brooks & Dunn, Garth Brooks and Alan Jackson. Contemporary cuts from artists including Cole Swindell and Easton Corbin also appear on his resume.

"Callin' All Hearts" was the first song released from the Luke Laird-produced album. The 10-track project also features a collaboration with Delbert McClinton.