On April 8, Ramseur Records will partner with folk musician Sammy Walker to release Brown Eyed Georgia Darlin', a collection of now-40-year-old demos that landed the artist a record deal with Warner Bros. back in the 1970s. The Boot is thrilled to give fans -- both new and old -- a taste of what to expect with the exclusive premiere of the gorgeous track "Days I Left Behind."

With just a guitar, harmonica and microphone, Walker transports his listeners back to the '70s, to a time when he was regularly compared to the likes of Bob Dylan and Woody Guthrie. In fact, folkster Phil Ochs once said that Walker was better than Dylan.

“Of course, there ain’t nobody better than Dylan,” Walker says, “but Phil heard something he was impressed with. I think he saw in me more of himself than he did [in] Bob Dylan.”

"Days I Left Behind" was written in the spring of 1972; Walker was 19 years old at the time.

"My high school buddy and I had set out on our first trip north of the Mason-Dixon line in my old 1966 Ford van," Walker recounts. "We were camped out one night somewhere in Canada as I recall, and a tremendous thunderstorm blew in with lots of lightning and howling winds."

Fortunately, Walker wasn't left stranded in the storm.

"I had my beloved 1960 Gibson J-45 guitar," he remembers. "The storm was keeping me awake, so I took it out and started messing around with the guitar tuned to an open-E chord. After the storm passed, this song was written down on a scrap piece of paper I scrounged up."

To this day, "Days I Left Behind" holds a special place amongst Walker's work.

"From around 1970 on, I tried my hand at writing a few songs," he notes, "but this was the first one that I thought actually sounded like it might be a pretty good one."

Brown Eyed Georgia Darlin' was recorded in the mid-‘70s at New York’s legendary Record Plant. The album is scheduled for release on April 8 via Ramseur Records and will be available as a vinyl LP and CD combo package. Stay up-to-date with Walker through Ramseur Records' official website.

Listen to Sammy Walker, "Days I Left Behind":

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