This Monday just got a whole lot better.
Last night, Sturgill Simpson covered Larry Gatlin & The Gatlin Brothers Band’s classic “All the Gold in California” on the hit HBO series The Righteous Gemstones.
It of course kicks major ass and Sturgill sounds fantastic, making it his own and perfect for the TV series. Season 3 of the show is currently airing, and is a comedy that is centered on a famous, very dysfunctional, televangelist family.
The star-studded cast consists of John Goodman, Danny McBride, Edi Patterson and Adam Devine, along with Steve Zahn, Kristen Johnston and Sturgill himself.
He plays Brother Marshall, a member of the rowdy Christian militia run by the Gemstones cousins. Although he hadn’t had many lines or much dialogue this season, that changed during last night’s episode when he led the congregation in singing “All The Gold In California.”
The song was originally written by Larry Gatlin and recorded by his band, and was released in August of 1979 as the lead single to their Straight Ahead album. It peaked at #1 on the U.S. Hot Country Songs chart later that year.
And while things got pretty quiet for Sturgill after he released The Ballad Of Dood & Juanita, his final album as a solo artist, in August of 2021 and had to undergo treatment for ruptured vocal cords shortly after, but it seems like he’s starting to get back in the swing of things as of late, popping up more and more.
On the music front, he performed “When It Comes To You” for the John Anderson Tribute Album, featured on Diplo’s latest “country” project, and produced a whole slew of albums, while also lending his on camera talents to a few films and shows, like Killers Of The Flower Moon.
Sturgill’s version, or maybe I should say Brother Marshall and the Choir of Fire’s version, of “All the Gold in California” is now available on streaming platforms everywhere… do yourself a favor and check it out:
“All the Gold in California”
