Artist Guide

"Cowgirl Trailride (w/ S. Dott)"

Tonio Armani (Enters New Gen. Chart w/ #1 Single)

SEE THE CHART.

June 1, 2025: Originally published in Daddy B. Nice's Top 10 Singles.

Daddy B. Nice's Top 10 "BREAKING" Southern Soul Singles For. . .

June 2025

1. "Cowgirl Trailride (Re-Entry)"-----Tonio Armani & S. Dott

S. Dott's "Cowgirl Trailride" was Daddy B. Nice's #1 Single in August 2023, esconced comfortably enough in the past for it to be long forgotten. But "Cowgirl Trailride" is no ordinary song, and Tonio Armani---the main driver of its renewed popularity---is no ordinary singer. In one of the unlikeliest of events, "Cowgirl Trailride" has been reborn as the newest southern soul line-dancing sensation, with hundreds of Tik Tok dancing shorts capturing fans' avid homages to its sensual melody, mystifying lyrics ("Horses in the stable / I love the way you ride...ride...ride it...") and passionate Armani vocal. For the entire story read Daddy B. Nice's new artist guide to budding star Armani, who enters the New Generation chart at #38.



Listen to Tonio Armani & S. Dott singing "Cowgirl Trailride" on YouTube.

June 1, 2025

Daddy B. Nice's Profile:

There are good songs and there are great songs. Tonio Armani's "Country Girl," "Help Me Find My Drawls" and "Sooner Or Later" are good songs, arguably even very good songs. However, "Cowgirl Trailride," Armani's collaboration with zydeco/southern soul artist S. Dott, who released the tune under his name and label, is another thing altogether. "Cowgirl Trailride" is a great, once-in-lifetime song, and Tonio Armani's performance on the record is the high point of his career to date, far surpassing his own distinguished work.

"Cowgirl Trailride made Daddy B. Nice "Top 10 Singles at #1 in August of 2023. Here is the bullet review:

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Daddy B. Nice's Top 10 "BREAKING" Southern Soul Singles For. . .

-------AUGUST 2023-------

1."Cowgirl Trailride"-----S. Dott feat. Tonio Armani

Mystery, romance and excitement swirl around this masterfully-produced southern soul anthem by young zydeco sensation S. Dott ("Slow Wind"). "Horses in the stable" (or is it "Horse is in the stable"?) reverberates in the subconscious long after listening. I believe I hear it in my sleep. And "Palomino that I met in Pasadena..."? Even the rapping soothes. The addition of Armani is essential, especially on the uplifting choruses.

Listen to S. Dott and Tonio Armani singing "Cowgirl Trailride" on YouTube.

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The 2023 entry is relevant for two reasons. First, it was my first attempt describing the elixir-like sensual depth the tune creates: a rootsy though barely discernible rhythm section bottom, a symphonic synth wash of melodic chording that tugs at the listener's emotions like breaking surf or looming storm clouds, an inspiring rap interlude and, above all, the incredibly-seasoned vocal of Tonio Armani. I didn't know at the time it was mostly Armani on the lead vocal with Dott on the rap verse and choruses.

Second, as soon as the "#1 Single bullet review appeared, S. Dott pulled the only YouTube video of "Cowgirl Trailride," the one I had hyper-linked in the commentary. I was so disappointed in the short-sightedness of this response that I called out the artist in public, telling him that in one fell swoop he'd lost thousands of potential fans for the song.

This was a battle I thought I'd fought and won in the aughts, when YouTube was just becoming a powerful, radio-rivaling platform for music and paranoid, money-stretched artists were still hesitant to put their music online for free. The exposure, I argued, was the name of the game. How can recording artists sell music if no one knows who they are or what they're singing? And this is what happened to S. Dott, Armani and "Cowgirl Trailride". The song, good as it was, inevitably faded.

Two years passed. Armani's career took off for other reasons. "Country Girl" a grinding dance jam in the mode of West Love's "Work It," became a line-dancing staple, enlarging his profile. "Help Me Find My Drawls," despite its mis-spelled allusion to "drawers," not a spoken "drawl," gained more fans with Armani's intoxicating blend of country, gospel and blues vocalizing. "Sooner Or Later" proved so popular Snoop Dogg signed Armani (along with King George) to Death Row Records and put the tune in his compilation DEATH ROW REVUE.

Then came 803Fresh's "Boots On The Ground," a benign cataclysm absolutely no one had foreseen---easily the greatest line-dancing event in contemporary southern soul. Suddenly line-dancing was all the rage. YouTube began peppering their pages with Tik Tok entry options. Once clicked, reels of shorts followed, filled with people from all walks and ages of life dancing to "Boots On The Ground". Other southern soul line dances gained popularity, most notably Mike Clark Jr.'s "Keep On Stepping," a natural to play back-to-back with "Boots On The Ground."

Then, in May of 2025, "Cowgirl Trailride" "shorts" began to appear. Initially I thought this was the most unlikely tune for a line-dance possible. It's slower than most line dances. But as more and more shorts were created, it became obvious that not only did fans have the same reaction to the originality and musicality of the song that had overwhelmed me in 2023. They were dancing with an affinity for the sensuality of the song, which the line dance (with its emphasis on swaying hips and undulating groins) perfectly captured. I went back to the YouTube video, and it had been re-activated a year prior. "Cowgirl Trailride" was a monstrous hit and it was the next big line dance for all the would-be Tik Tok dancers across the globe. The song has rocketed in popularity and become bigger than even your Daddy B. Nice had originally envisioned. Women in particular like it---a testament, I think, to its passion and eroticism---so much of it a part of the rousing vocal Tonio Armani gifts the project.

--Daddy B. Nice

About Tonio Armani (Enters New Gen. Chart w/ #1 Single)

Tonio Armani, the performance name of Travis Antonio Gardner, was born in Columbus, Georgia. No Johnny-come-lately to the music business, Armani has been publishing music, mostly albums of R&B sprinkled with hiphop and some gospel, since 2017. Weirdly, the last of his lengthy series of "traditional" soul albums, Intimacy, marked his exit from mainline R&B and the beginning of his infatuation with southern soul, the genre that seems perfectly suited to his temperament and talents. Everything he's released since has been in the single format, much of it deliriously successful. His masterful vocal in "Cowgirl Trailride" in particular has established his identity as one of the most promising and inspiring young artists in southern soul music. And all the years of laboring in the rhythm and blues genre formed the seasoning that made the Tonio Armani's vocal in "Cowgirl Trailride" so intriguing. It's the storybook ending to a wild and fascinating journey. And ask anyone in southern soul today and they'll tell you Tonio Armani is for real.

Honorary "B" Side

"Country Girl "