Tag: Sturgill Simpson

Tyler Childers: “Whitehouse Road”

Purgatory If you are looking for some brand new quality country music to check out, look no further than Tyler Childers.  The singer-songwriter released his first full album, Purgatory, on August 4, 2017.

On the new album, Childers has some help.  Sturgill Simpson produced Purgatory, and David Ferguson, who was Johnny Cash’s engineer, helps out.  But Childer’s songs and his voice speak for themselves on the autobiographical concept album that traces a young man’s growth into an adult.

Childers grew up in eastern Kentucky. And you may hear some of the Appalachian Mountains sound in his music. It’s great stuff, and he should be getting a lot more attention soon. Rolling Stone already has listed him as one of the 10 New Country Artists You Need to Know.

Because he is so good, he should get some help on the technology side so he can put up a website (his Twitter account currently has a link to a reverbnation page that isn’t there).

But it is the music that counts. One of the tracks on the album is “Whitehouse Road.”  Check it out.

What do you think of Tyler Childers? Leave your two cents in the comments.

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  • That Time Sturgill Simpson Played a Drug Song for a College Commencement
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    Sturgill Simpson and the Dap-Kings: “All Around You”

    Simpson Dap-Kings

    The 2017 Grammy Awards had several highlights.  While much of the buzz is rightfully upon amazing performances by the likes of Beyoncé, Adele, and A Tribe Called Quest, one wonderful performance that did not get so much attention was Sturgill Simpson and the Dap-Kings performing Simpsons’ “All Around You.”

    Simpson and the Dap-Kings make a perfect fit.  And, they were not thrown together by the Grammy folks as an attention-getting pairing.  The Dap-Kings, who attended the Grammys for a tribute to their former lead singer Sharon Jones, played on Simpson’s 2016 album A Sailor’s Guide to Earth.

    Check out Simpson and the Dap-Kings kicking it at the Grammys on “All Around You,” a song Rolling Stone described as “a tale of uplift in the face of adversity.”

    “All Around You” is from Simpson’s A Sailor’s Guide to Earth. Simpson wrote the album as a letter home from a man to his wife and newborn son. Working on the album, Simpson was inspired by his own time in the Navy, his separation from his own newborn while touring, and in a letter his grandfather wrote.  A Nirvana song also helped develop the album’s themes.

    Simpson’s performance was not the only highlight for him last night. He also took home the Grammy for Best Country Album. And then, after the show, he celebrated with a stop at In-N-Out-Burger.

    What was your favorite performance at the Grammys? Leave your two cents in the comments.

  • Sturgill Simpson: “You Don’t Miss Your Water”
  • Sturgill Simpson Covers Nirvana’s “In Bloom”
  • Johnny Blue Skies (aka Sturgill Simpson) Releases “Passage du Desir”
  • That Time Sturgill Simpson Played a Drug Song for a College Commencement
  • Picture Show Online Tribute to John Prine
  • Some Live Sturgill Simpson Bluegrass for Charity

    • (Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)

    Buy from Amazon

    Sturgill Simpson Live at Paradiso

    Sturgill Live Amsterdam

    Recently, Sturgill Simpson brought out a horn section for his performance at Paradiso in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Fortunately, rialto1961 did a great job of recording a large portion of the show in black and white before posting it on YouTube.

    In this segment of the show from September 26, 2016, Simpson performs a number of originals and covers. The video includes: “Water in a Well,” “Long White Line,” “When the Levee Breaks” (Led Zeppelin cover), “I Never Go Around Mirrors” (Keith Whitley cover), “The Promise” (When in Rome cover), “You Don’t Miss Your Water” (William Bell cover), “Sea Stories,” and “In Bloom: (Nirvana cover).

    Check out the video below.

    What is your favorite Sturgill Simpson song? Leave your two cents in the comments.

  • Sturgill Simpson: “You Don’t Miss Your Water”
  • Sturgill Simpson Covers Nirvana’s “In Bloom”
  • Johnny Blue Skies (aka Sturgill Simpson) Releases “Passage du Desir”
  • That Time Sturgill Simpson Played a Drug Song for a College Commencement
  • Picture Show Online Tribute to John Prine
  • Some Live Sturgill Simpson Bluegrass for Charity

    • (Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)

    Buy from Amazon

    Sturgill Simpson: “You Don’t Miss Your Water”

    You Don't Miss Your Water

    Although Sturgill Simpson’s voice is most often compared to Waylon Jennings, his choice in music often connects him to a wide variety of artists. So it was pretty cool recently to see he had performed “You Don’t Miss Your Water” live.

    “You Don’t Miss Your Water” was written by William Bell, who released his own version of the song on Stax Records in 1961. Most people, however, may be familiar with Otis Redding‘s version that appeared on his 1965 album Otis Blue: Otis Redding Sings Soul.

    Sturgill Simpson, however, is not the first person to take the soul song into country territory. The Byrds covered the song on Sweetheart of the Rodeo (1968), with Roger McGuinn doing lead vocal work on the official release even though Gram Parsons had originally recorded the lead.

    With such a rich history, a lot of people still do not know the song. So, it was great to see that Simpson performed “You Don’t Miss Your Water” at First Avenue in Minneapolis on Sunday, June 5, 2016. Check it out.

    “You Don’t Miss Your Water” is a heartbreak song. The singer explains how how he took his lover for granted, but then he only realized what he had when the lover left: “You don’t miss your water/’Till your well runs dry.” It is a perfect song for both soul and country artists.

    Simpson’s most recent album is A Sailor’s Guide To Earth (2016).

    What is your favorite Sturgill Simpson song? Leave your two cents in the comments.

  • Sturgill Simpson Live at Paradiso
  • Sturgill Simpson and the Dap-Kings: “All Around You”
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  • Sturgill Simpson Covers Nirvana’s “In Bloom”
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    Sturgill Simpson Covers Nirvana’s “In Bloom”

    A Sailor's Guide to Earth Sturgill Simpson’s upcoming album A Sailor’s Guide To Earth has been receiving positive reviews even before the CD has been released. As he did earlier for When in Rome’s “The Promise,” Simpson once again surprises listeners with a unique cover song, this time covering Nirvana’s “In Bloom” on the new album.

    Simpson found inspiration for the album A Sailor’s Guide To Earth from two sources, his grandfather’s letters from the South Pacific during World War II and the birth of Simpson’s own son. While Simpson struggled with watching his own son grow up fast while he was on tour, he turned to creating this album, which Mojo describes in a 4-star review as ruminating “on the transformative powers of parenthood, the weight and ecstasy of love.”

    Considering the conceptual context of Simpson’s new album, it may at first appear an odd selection to include a cover of Nirvana’s “In Bloom.’ The song was the fourth and final single from the band’s 1991 album Nevermind (1991) and was the band’s message to those who did not understand their music: “And he likes to sing along / And he likes to shoot his gun / But he knows not what it means.”

    But in the context of the album, “In Bloom” does seem to fit as part of a parent’s message to a child as perhaps a warning against ignorance. Similarly, Simpson closes the album with “Call to Arms,” a diatribe against authority and in particular the military. “Bullshit on the TV/ Bullshit on the radio/ Hollywood telling me how to be/ Bullshit’s got to go.”

    In this context, Simpson takes a great Nirvana song and explores the hidden love behind the song as not so much a message to the ignorant but as a warning to the ones we love. Check it out.

    A Sailor’s Guide To Earth hits stores and the Internet on April 15, 2016.

    What is your favorite cover of a Nirvana song? Leave your two cents in the comments.

  • Sturgill Simpson and the Dap-Kings: “All Around You”
  • Sturgill Simpson Live at Paradiso
  • Sturgill Simpson: “You Don’t Miss Your Water”
  • Johnny Blue Skies (aka Sturgill Simpson) Releases “Passage du Desir”
  • That Time Sturgill Simpson Played a Drug Song for a College Commencement
  • Picture Show Online Tribute to John Prine

    • (Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)