Less than one year after his critically acclaimed 2024 theme album, MISSISSIPPI: AMERICAN STORIES, Billboard Top 10 songwriter and recording artist Grant Maloy Smith is set to release a new album. Entitled PENNY BALLADS, the album features 11 beautiful, “American Rootsy” ballads. It will hit the digital services on 20 June 2025, but it’s already available on CD from the artist’s website. Fans are already ordering the CD, which will be delivered in early May. It includes links to stream and download digital MP3s to phones, tablets, and computers.
Grant’s albums in the AMERICAN STORIES series have spent 17 weeks on the Billboard charts, including 11 weeks in the Top 10 of the Americana/Folk album sales charts.
Grant says, “I’ve been making American Stories theme albums for ten years, and I always end up with more songs than I can use. I decided to dedicate 2025 to recording these lost songs. Ultimately, I divided them into three albums, separated by type. This first album contains the ballads. I play many of these songs in my live shows; fans always ask which album they’re on. Finally, they will be available!”
A penny ballad was a popular, inexpensive printed song sold widely from the 16th through the 19th centuries, especially in England and later in colonial America. Typically printed on a single sheet of paper (a “broadside”), these ballads were sold for a penny or less, making them accessible to a working-class audience. Ballad hawkers—street vendors who sang the verses to attract buyers—distributed news and entertainment. They featured various themes: love and romance, murder and crime, historical events, and compelling stories.
Players on the album include ACM-winning pedal steel player Mike Johnson (Reba McEntire, Jason Aldean, Carrie Underwood, Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard), Grammy® and IBMA winning dobro master Rob Ickes (Earl Scruggs, Tony Rice, Alison Krauss, Willie Nelson), fiddle and mandolin player Steve Stokes (Alabama, John Michael Montgomery, Rick Springfield), and more.
Grant sang all the vocals, bringing his unmistakable voice to the project. He also played acoustic and electric guitar, piano, organ, dulcimer, and bass.
“I love the pace of this ballad album. These songs are close to my heart. I hope my fans enjoy listening to it as much as I have in making it,” said Smith.
Fans can order the CD right now and receive the digital files immediately, and the CD in early May. Grant signs and dedicates each CD to the name of your choice. It can be ordered here.
For more information about the album and special offers, please visit here.