The thought of William Beckmann, an essential though criminally unsung member of the contemporary country community, performing jazz and adult contemporary standards at Lincoln Center is almost unfathomable. Hailing from Del Rio, a border town adjacent to Ciudad Acuña, Mexico, Beckmann has achieved recognition as a bilingual baritenor dedicated to spreading live music throughout the vast state of Texas, of which many smaller yet historical counties are underserved. 

His interpretations of classics, such as Ray Price’s version of Kris Kristofferson’s “For The Good Times” and Tony Bennett’s signature tune “I Left My Heart In San Francisco” (written by Douglass Cross) equate to turning back the sands of time and stepping into a world in which a man, a story, and a guitar reigned supreme. With the regional Mexican boom making significant waves on US charts since the rise of acts such as Peso Pluma, Grupo Frontera, and Junior H, reminiscent of the 90’s/early 00’s boom of Ricky Martin, Enrique Iglesias, and Shakira, Beckmann puffs out his chest and stakes his claim, reiterating what he has always professed to his team… that what he does is not a schtick, it is who he is.  

Of all his interpretations, it is a cover of the great Vincente Fernández’s “Volver, Volver,” from his Grand Ole Opry debut in 2023 that is perhaps his most prolific. Aside from a standout vocal performance, which saw him successfully veer upwards, vocally, into a beefy classical territory, he was able to instinctively illustrate the story of the tune, whilst singing in Spanish, with a comfort and a knowingness that can simply not be taught. Often, the ability to perform in this manner could be tied to skills acquired through participating in the world of classical theatre, though Beckmann denies any involvement in the art form. However, he expressed his desire to one day venture into the film world. 

His latest record, Whiskey Lies & Alibis, is out now. As his first project under Warner/Chappell, Beckmann pulled out all the stops, collaborating with several heavy hitters, including Jon Randall, Jessie Jo Dillon, and Ryan Beaver. Highlights include “Honky Tonk Blue,” a coveted Chris Stapleton demo acquired through sheer persistence, a close connection, and an undeniably original arrangement, traditional midtempo country radio fare such as “Makin’ Them Hate Me,” “Game I Like To Play,” and “Lonely Over You,” and tender, classic storytelling with “Neon Sounds” and “Borderline Crazy.”

He concludes the record with a stirring cover of the great Pepe Aguilar’s “Por Mujeres Como Tú,” a tune of great sentimentality and a rare omission of male heartbreak. His proficiency in the language, combined with the loose intertwining parallels between the story of the song and his own life, provides Beckmann the opportunity to close this chapter on his terms. 

1883 chats with William Beckmann to talk about his influences, his love of performing in both English and Spanish, and the evolving landscape of country music.

It’s not hard to understand how or why you’re able to connect and perform songs in Spanish considering where you grew up, but how important do you feel it is to not only be able to adequately perform the music in terms of the singing and playing of the songs, but to also understand what you’re saying and omit that to the audience outwardly?

Having grown up on the border in Del Rio, Texas, which is a small town of about 40,000 people, I grew up bilingual. My family is Hispanic… a lot of people don’t realize that. My parents, siblings are all bilingual. So, when it came to understanding or listening to songs in Spanish and knowing what was being said, that just came naturally. I speak the language, and most people in my hometown are the same way.

When I first started getting into music, that was something I knew I wanted to incorporate into my artistry. In high school, I joined a cover band with my friends, and we played different bars and restaurants in my hometown. There were 5-6 songs of our set that we sang in Spanish, and we never thought anything of it. It was what you did. It wasn’t until I left my hometown and moved to Nashville that I’d sing in Spanish and people lost their minds. I didn’t think it was anything out of the ordinary, but when I realized that it was a cool trick that I had up my sleeve, I leaned into it, and it’s been what I’ve done ever since. So, I’ve always felt really comfortable doing it… But it was never something I felt like I had to set out on a mission to try to accomplish.

I auditioned for American Idol when I was 16, and I sang “The Prayer” by Andrea Bocelli in Italian. I was young, so I don’t think I really understood what I was singing, but when I watched you sing “Volver, Volver” at the Opry, I thought, “This is someone who knows what he’s singing, knows what these words means and how the words were crafted.” So, I think there’s a difference between being able to sing in a different language because you learned that song in that language, versus being able to sing it in a way that is convincing and realistic.

Thank you for saying that! If you listen to traditional Mexican music, specifically Mariachi music, you can hear the emotion in the singer. That’s a big part of that genre. I always try to carry that sentiment when I perform a song like that so that even the English speakers who have no idea what I’m saying can feel it. That’s what I think the cool part about singing in Spanish is. They’re still very much moved by the song regardless of the language barrier. When I performed “Volver, Volver” at the Opry, I really tried to feel it and get the message across with the performance itself, vocally and stylistically. That goes into my English songs too, and it helps that most of them are vulnerable and kind of sad. I want you to feel what I felt when I wrote this song. You just have to sell it, and people will believe what you’re saying.

Do you feel like there’s a shift in the way that you physically sing, and play instruments when you’re singing in Spanish as opposed to English?

That’s a great question, and the answer is yes. And I know that because my front of house guy, Bobby, says that when I sing in Spanish, I go up a couple of decibels and he has to bring me down. When I sing in English, he has to bump by vocal mic back up. There’s a reason for that. There are a lot of different genres of Mexican music. I’d compare Mariachi music to vintage pop, like Sinatra. Mariachi music has been around for a long time, over 100 years. Probably the oldest genre of standard, traditional Mexican music. I think Mariachis are some of the best, well-trained singers. There’s almost an opera background. Everything from the technique to the vibrato. It’s very different than singing a George Strait song. You really have to sing from your diaphragm to sing them properly. Naturally, you end up singing a lot louder… You have to stand up straighter; your breathing and breath control are totally different. So, when I sing a song like “Volver, Volver,” or even another cover I just put on this album called “Por Mujeres Como Tú,” it’s a very different style of singing and I don’t even necessarily remember making the conscious effort to sing like that, I would just listen to those records over and over again until I could. 

Your voice has been compared to a lot of people; it’s been compared to liquor… 

[William laughs]

 … and you’ve leaned into that. You literally have a song called “Bourbon Whiskey.” You’re mostly a baritenor, but, on occasion, like on “She Can’t Be Found” off your last record, and “Lonely Over You” off this latest one, you’re stretching up a bit… 

There are some high notes for sure 

Do you prefer to keep it at a certain level for your comfort, or is that just where you naturally go when you’re writing?

Yeah, I feel much more comfortable in the basement of my range. But I also love to challenge myself and go up into the tenor range as well. When my voice changed, it got dramatically deep, and it frustrated me at first, because I loved singing songs like “Hotel California,” which is a very difficult song to sing, and I’m a huge fan of The Eagles. But then I discovered that I could sing Johnny Cash songs and Sinatra songs, which I wasn’t able to do before. But, yes, if I had to answer that question directly, I would prefer to stay in the “Bourbon Whiskey” land. I can sing those songs in my sleep.

What do you think was missing for Chris Stapleton and anyone else who may have recorded a demo of “Honky Tonk Blue”?

I don’t know if there was anything missing, but I still have Stapleton’s original demo. There’s a lot of fiddle in it, and it was VERY slow. I’ve never had a ton of fiddle in any of my records. He’s from Kentucky, so, to me, it sounded like a backroad, Kentucky type of track. We had to fight for that song. He liked it for himself, but never put it on any of his albums. When we asked permission to record it, they initially declined. I have mad respect for the guy, so I didn’t take it to heart.

Then, about a month later, I asked my label to reach out one more time. Again, they said no. Then, Ben Vaughn, who was the President of Warner Chappell and the guy who signed me to my publishing deal, picked up the phone and called Stapleton directly and said, “Man, this young guy… he’s a little self-conscious that he’s bugging you, but if you’d consider, I think he’d do the song justice,” and he finally caved in and let us record it.

When we got to the studio, Jon Randall showed the demo to the band, and told them, “Instead of making it sound like you’re in the woods of Kentucky, let’s try to speed it up and make it sound…” [stops mid-quote] I’ll never forget this, because I was in the room, he said, “Try to make it sound like a half drunk Texas bar band.” And the band was like, “Got it.” If it was missing anything, it was the honky tonk feel. The song is called “Honky Tonk Blue,” so I knew it had to sound like you were in a loud honky tonk bar.

The title track seems like it’s some pseudo idea of the effects of liquor… drinking to forget, “make a bad thing feel good,” but is the title of the project overall in any way a nod to the “whiskey community”? 

Not really, I just thought it was a unique title. The song was written with Jesse Joe Dillon and Jesse Frazier, who are also the same writers on “Lonely Over You.” I like things that are timeless. I like things that are expensive. A good whiskey. I’ve always tried to approach my art and records in the same way. I want them to feel… I don’t know if a delicacy is the right word, but I want them to feel valuable and top shelf. Robust, maybe. That’s still prevalent in the music itself and the way the songs are recorded. I’ll take pedal steel and a baritone guitar over a fiddle over a banjo, because those things will put you in a, like I said earlier, haybale country feel. My music is much more speakeasy. Dirty martini type of vibe. So, the title itself isn’t necessarily a nod to that, but my vibe and aesthetic is more in line with what you’re talking about.

Was there ever a key change planned for after the bridge of “Game I Like To Play” that never happened?

No, there was never a key change, even in the demo. That’s another outside cut, so I didn’t write that song. The only thing we did that wasn’t on the demo was that big dropout… that big climactic moment, and that was Jon Randall’s idea. But, the original demo was in the key of D, which was just a little out of my comfort zone, so we dropped it a step and put it in C. A dear friend of mine named Ryan Beaver, who had a lot of cuts on this album, wrote that song with Jesse Alexander, Jon Randall’s wife… she wrote “The Climb” for Miley Cyrus, a massive hit song. He’s just got a higher voice than I do. It sounds great in D, and I wanted to do it in D, but I was like, “Man, if I’m gonna have to sing it every night, I think it’d be best in C.” It’s funny, though, I’ve always wanted a song with a key change. I don’t have a single song that does that. 

Is it fun for you to play that high roller, “she’s too good for me,” “she’s gonna vanish in the morning but I’m with her tonight” kind of character? 

I’ve always loved, especially with some of the more vulnerable songs of mine, that sad boy… I don’t know if self-deprecating is the right word, but I’ve always loved those kinds of songs. I love a lot of Bob Dylan, and I was a big Ryan Adams fan. I don’t want to call it self-pity, but if you listen to a song like “In The Dark,” which is one of my favourites I’ve ever written, and I wrote it by myself, I love tunes with a bit of introspection. There’s a confidence thing I’ve always tried to uphold, especially on stage, but the songs themselves are really vulnerable, which I honestly think that, in a way, is the most badass thing you can do as a dude. To be able to be so blatantly open. That’s what I lean into when I write songs. There’s nothing macho about what I do, but I’m confident in the vulnerability. That has always been my personality, and it comes through in my writing. 

This is making me want to hear you cover Alanis Morrisette or Patty Griffin…

Ha! I love both of them! 

Is there anyone you listen to that people wouldn’t expect you to want to cover? 

Man, I love Lana Del Rey, I love Billie Eilish. She’s one of the greatest talents in pop music right now. She has no problem being so vulnerable in her music, and I think that’s why she connects with so many young people. She’s saying the things that other people are too afraid to say. I love it when people are able to do that. In Nashville country, that’s kind of rare. Especially the bro stuff. I have to choose my words carefully here, but I hear some songs in country music, and I don’t think there’s any substance… the dirt road and bar stuff.

A lot of my songs are about drinkin’ and bein’ in a bar, but I always want there to be some substance and something I’m trying to convey. If it’s not worth saying, I’d rather work on something else. Billie and her brother Finneas are fantastic songwriters. I love picking their songs apart and trying to figure out what it is that went into writing it. I’m a big lyricist, man. If it’s not a well-written song, I’ll skip it.

Alright, since you said Lana, I have to challenge you to do “White Dress”.

I’d love if I got the chance to meet her, and I’d love to hear our voices together. What I love about her is that, vocally, she’s got a bit of that old-school crooner thing too. Mind you, for a female, she likes staying down there as well, so I think, together, our voices would mesh well. 

How do you quantify what is happening in the genre right now? Do you think the world is just finally catching up to where you all have been? 

I think so! The bro thing is definitely on its phase out. It’s a testament to the fans. I think people just like substance. That’s why I think Zach Bryan is so huge. It’s because of his lyricism… It’s poetry. If you’d have asked someone 10 years ago if they thought someone like Zach Bryan would be a massive superstar, everyone would have voted no. I think country music fans are hungry for things that are real, and I think, now more than ever, there’s a lane for people to have that in their music. You talk about someone like Ty Myers… to be so young and doing his own thing. There are a bunch of horns in his songs. Nobody is doing that. If I can’t see or hear something from anyone other than that person, I think it’s great.

Zach Top is inspired by 90’s country, but you have to remember that so many young fans might not know who Vince Gill is. To someone who’s discovering it for the first time, it’s brand new to them. Older people might be like, “Oh this reminds me of Tim McGraw in the early 90’s,” but for some 15-year-old, this is groundbreaking to them. It’s almost like a social experiment. At the end of the day, I think if it’s good songs and good writing, people will just naturally gravitate towards it. 

The way that this album is structured in terms of its tracklist, you have a pocket of songs that are very swagger-heavy, a pocket geared towards self-doubt, and then you end with… I’m not gonna attempt to say the name.

Por Mujeres Como Tú? 

Yes! What went into your mindset of ending the album with that song, considering 1. That you didn’t write it, and 2. It is a song that is extremely… adult, talking about, ‘There are men for women like you… I’m flawed.’?

With the exception of a couple of songs, the album was intended to be a breakup record. That was definitely on purpose, and was a reflection of what I was going through at the time when I was writing it. But the song, in Spanish, is called “Por Mujeres Como Tú,” which translates to, “Because of women like yourself.” The chorus says, “Por mujeres como tú, aye hombres como yo,” which means, “Because of women like yourself, there are guys like me.” The premise of the song is… It’s this guy at a bar who is heartbroken because he found out that his girl was not being faithful. He’s saying, “It’s because of women like you that there are brokenhearted men like me, at a bar, drowning his sorrows away.”

It went in line with the sentiment of the whole album, and that’s the main reason I picked that song. “Que se pueden perder en al alcohol,” “There are men like me who can get lost in the alcohol,” “Por una decepciòn” “over being deceived.” I’ve loved that song for a long time, and both the artist who originally sings it, Pepe Aguilar, AND the songwriter, named Fato, have given my version a thumbs up. I’ve always wanted to have an official track in Spanish, and this is kind of my debut. I’d love to continue to do it… I know my fans are hungry for it. Storyline-wise, it was a perfect song to end the record with. 

Whiskey Lies & Alibis is out now.

Interview Noah Wade