Kentucky-born country singer Chris Stapleton continues to impress us with his talent with the recent release of his video for “Fly Away,” a song he co-wrote with Danny Green that appeared on Stapleton’s debut solo album Traveler (2015). The video documents the challenges facing a couple as a woman struggles with mental illness. The video ends with a link to The Campaign to Change Direction, an organization that works “to change the culture in America about mental health, mental illness, and wellness.”
It is great that Stapleton is helping a worthy cause, but the video and song are outstanding too. The song is a haunting ballad that hints at the subject matter without being an explicit story: “Your love might be my damnation / But I’ll cry to my grave.” Meanwhile, the video does tell a heartbreaking story, with the help from actors Ben Foster (Lone Survivor (2013)) and Margarita Levieva (TV series such as The Blacklist and Revenge).
Although Traveler was Stapleton’s debut solo album, he has been around awhile in different bands like The Steeldrivers and as a songwriter (i.e., Josh Turner’s “Your Man”). Still, like his performance at the Country Music Association Awards show with Justin Timberlake, this album continues to be a breakout project for him, winning him two Grammy Awards: Best Country Album and Best Country Solo Performance.
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(2015). But he has been around a while. Although he was born and raised in Kentucky, the 37-year-old singer-songwriter moved in 2001 to Nashville, where he has written best-selling songs for other artists like George Strait. Notably, he co-wrote Josh Turner’s hit song “