MIXTAPE: Shoals Gold with Mike Farris

Playlists are the new Mixtape – and who doesn’t love a good Mixtape? With the release of my brand new album, The Sound of Muscle Shoals, recorded at legendary FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, I thought it would be cool to highlight not only a few of the most important – albeit ubiquitous – classic songs, but more importantly some of the rare gems from the legendary Muscle Shoals canon. For a nerd like me, to be able to have personal access to reach out to guys like Norbert Putnam and David Hood and ask, “Where was this recorded?” is a surreal and cherished thing. I had no idea that Leon Russell’s “Stranger in a Stranger Land” was recorded down there– just amazing.

For this list, I didn’t want to put just the usual suspects on it, but how could you do a Muscle Shoals playlist and not include the song that launched Aretha’s career, “I Never Loved a Man”? For me, everybody on this list is owed some more attention, but the big three that jump out to me that should be way more well known, in my opinion, are Candi Staton, George Jackson, and Arthur Conley. Enjoy! – Mike Farris

“You Left the Water Running” – Otis Redding

Written by the great Dan Penn along with Rick Hall and Oscar Franks. I believe this may be the only record the Big O recorded at FAME – Rick Hall had merely asked Otis to sing the demo for an upcoming Wilson Pickett session – as this predates Otis’ ascension the King of Soul. This is one of the many great songs Dan Penn had a hand in, by the way.

“I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)” – Aretha Franklin

A must for any Shoals playlist. The song that launched the Queen of Soul!

“Stranger in a Strange Land” – Leon Russell

I actually had no idea “Stranger” was recorded with the Swamper crew. There was a lot of confusion online about this one, but in the sometimes surreal nature of the music business, I realized that I could just text the great David Hood and simply ask him about it, which is nice. And he did, in fact, confirm it was recorded at Muscle Shoals Sound.

“Mustang Sally” – Wilson Pickett

Another must-have. I always imagined being in the studio watching everyone’s expressions on their faces while WP sang. It had to have been unreal. Also, this groove is DEEEP!

“Ease On” – Mike Farris

I tried to demo this song a few times, but it never came close to what I was hearing. From the moment we stepped out on the floor with all the FAME guys in FAME Studios’ legendary Studio A, I knew this song was being delivered to the right guys. It’s everything I imagined it to be and then some…

“You Better Move On” – Arthur Alexander

Arthur Alexander gave Rick Hall and FAME Studios their first hit record with “You Better Move On” and he was just getting started.

“Heart on a String” – Candi Staton 

Candi is one of the greatest R&B singers, period. I could literally fill this playlist with all of the great Candi Staton songs.

“You Got a Lot to Like” – George Jackson

George Jackson was one of the most prolific and important writers in the Southern R&B and rock and roll world, make no mistake, but he was also a great artist in my opinion. This one highlights his great vocal ability.

“I’m Your Puppet” – James & Bobby Purify

A great song by the great Dan Penn and Spooner Oldham. In addition to being an all-around damn fine composition, “I’m Your Puppet” has to be one of the hardest hittin’ mid-tempo grooves of all time.

“When a Man Loves a Woman” – Percy Sledge

I once asked Spooner Oldham and the late Jimmie Johnson why they chose to use a Farfisa instead of a Hammond organ on “When a Man Loves a Woman.” I would actually throw these questions out knowing full well that it would spark a long, meandering, completely engaging conversation with them that could and would take you all over town and back before finally coming back around to what would typically be a simple answer. This question was no different. The answer, given by Jimmie and agreed upon by Spooner was, “We used the Farfisa because that was all we had.”

“I’ll Take You There” – The Staples Singers

Produced by Al Bell, possibly the biggest hit by The Staples features an iconic shoutout by Mavis to the legendary “Swamper,” David Hood, on bass. Jimbo Hart pays homage to his hero, David, on “Learning to Love,” from my new album, The Sound Of Muscle Shoals, which I am forever grateful for.

“Loves Me Like a Rock” – Paul Simon

One of my favorite songs growing up. I clearly remember hearing this song play over WCDT 1510-AM radio station in my hometown as a kid and being completely taken with the backing vocals of the great gospel group, The Dixie Hummingbirds.

“Sweet Soul Music” – Arthur Conley

Classic soul swing-dance groove with one of the most explosive and iconic horn intros of all time! Soon as they heard that intro in the control room, you just know that they knew they had a hit on their hands.

“I Worship the Ground You Walk On” – Jimmy Hughes

Jimmy Hughes at his best with a very underrated classic

“This Love of Mine” – Arthur Conley

Incredible number with an amazing arrangement by the one of the greatest soul singers of all time, Arthur Conley.

“Before There Was You & I” – Mike Farris

I had the verses and chorus when I showed up at FAME. What I didn’t have was the B section for the solo break and the outro, which the great Will McFarlane came up with. It made the song

“Lovin’ the Easy Way” – Candi Staton

This has to be one of the steamiest, sexiest songs ever.


Photo Credit: Ed Rodes

Sundance Head on Only Vans with Bri Bagwell

Sundance Head is not only one of my oldest friends in the Texas country scene, but also a previous winner of NBC’s The Voice – and probably the most insanely talented individual alive. In this episode we discuss divine intervention, OnlyFans, shooting yourself (accidentally), colonoscopies, and much more.

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Sundance Head has one of the most amazing voices of anyone I know and I was really thankful we got to showcase that at the last special live audience taping of this podcast at MusicFest in Steamboat, Colorado. Winner of the hit NBC TV show The Voice in 2016, Sundance has been showcased on a worldwide stage, but please go to SundanceHead.com and check out his current tour schedule so that you can go support him (and have your face melted off in person)!

Sundance is the son of Roy Head, who had a successful music career of his own; Roy Head and The Traits were inducted into the Rockabilly Hall of Fame in 2007 and that musical bloodline and those natural entertainer vibes shine in this episode. Sundance is so funny. Oh, and we talk about the bullet still lodged in his stomach. Everyone laughs and everyone cries. Enjoy!


Photo Credit: NBCU Photo Bank

Celebrating Women’s History Month: Emmylou Harris, Mother Maybelle, and More

Our partnership with our friends at Real Roots Radio in Southwestern Ohio continues as we celebrate Women’s History Month. We’re proud to bring you weekly collections of a variety of powerful women in bluegrass, country, Americana, folk, and elsewhere who have been featured on Real Roots Radio’s airwaves each weekday in March, highlighting the outsized impact women have on American roots music. You can listen to Real Roots Radio online 24/7 or via their FREE app for smartphones or tablets. If you’re based in Ohio, tune in via 100.3 (Xenia, Dayton, Springfield), 106.7 (Wilmington), or 105.5 (Eaton).

American roots music, historically and currently, has often been regarded as a male-dominated space. It’s certainly true of the music industry in general and these more down-home musics are no exception. Thankfully, American roots music and its many offshoots, branches, and associated folkways include hundreds and thousands of women who have greatly impacted these art forms, altering the courses of roots music history. Some are relatively unknown – or under-appreciated or undersung – and others are global phenomena or household names.

Over the last few weeks, radio host Daniel Mullins, who together with BGS and Good Country staff has curated the series, has brought you just a few examples of women in roots music from all levels of notoriety and stature. Week one featured Dottie West, Gail Davies, and more. Week two shone a spotlight on Big Mama Thornton, Crystal Gayle, Rose Maddox, and more. This week, we’ll pay tribute to Emmylou Harris, Wild Rose, Goldie Hill, Jenee Fleenor, and Mother Maybelle Carter. We’ll return next week for the final installment of the series – with even more examples of women who blazed a trail in roots music.

Plus, you can find two playlists below – one centered on bluegrass, the other on country – with dozens of songs from countless women artists, performers, songwriters, and instrumentalists who effortlessly demonstrate how none of these roots genres would exist without women.

Emmylou Harris (b. 1947)

Let’s spotlight a true legend of American music: Emmylou Harris. Born on April 2, 1947, in Birmingham, Alabama, Emmylou Harris grew up in a military family, moving frequently across the South. A straight-A student and class valedictorian, she initially pursued drama at the University of North Carolina. However, her passion for music led her to the vibrant folk scene of Greenwich Village in the late 1960s.

Her big break came when she collaborated with Gram Parsons, contributing to the birth of country rock as a genre. After Parsons’ untimely death, Harris embarked on a solo career, releasing her acclaimed album Pieces of the Sky in 1975. Over the next four decades, Harris became a musical chameleon, effortlessly blending folk, country, and rock. Her collaborations read like a who’s-who of music legends, including Rodney Crowell, Mark Knopfler, Ricky Skaggs, and as one third of “Trio” alongside Dolly Parton and Linda Ronstadt.

In 1992, Harris recorded an acoustic album at the Mother Church of Country Music. The historic building had been practically abandoned and nearly condemned, but the success of Emmylou’s live project At The Ryman is largely viewed as responsible for saving the historic landmark. Her 1995 album, Wrecking Ball, is also significant for Emmylou, as she leaned into more of an alt-country space, creating a landmark record for what is now referred to as Americana.

With over 25 albums and 14 GRAMMY Awards to her name, Emmylou Harris was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2008 and received a GRAMMY Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018, cementing her legacy as one of the most influential artists in contemporary music. ​Her distinctive voice and heartfelt songwriting continue to inspire artists and captivate audiences worldwide. Whether revisiting traditional tunes or exploring new sonic landscapes, Emmylou Harris remains a beacon of authenticity and artistry in the music world.​

Suggested Listening:
Roses In The Snow
Guitar Town” [Live At the Ryman]
All My Tears

Wild Rose (active 1988 – 1991)

A groundbreaking band in country history, do you remember Wild Rose? Founded by several veteran musicians in 1988, Wild Rose proved that a band with girl power can bring some serious fire power, too.

The group featured Pam Gadd (banjo/guitar) and Pam Perry (mandolin), who had cut their teeth in bluegrass as members of the New Coon Creek Girls, plus Wanda Vick (guitar/fiddle) and Nancy Given (drums) who had worked on the road with Porter Wagoner, and Kathy Mac (bass). Originally known as Miss Behavin’, they would change their name to Wild Rose. Combining country-rock, bluegrass, and more, they were full of energy and sass.

The title track of their debut album, Breaking New Ground, was written by Carl Jackson and Jerry Salley and would be a Top 15 Country Hit in 1989 (and a kickin’ music video as well). Their first album would also include the Top 40 Texas-flavored follow-up single “Go Down Swingin’” and the GRAMMY-nominated instrumental track, “Wild Rose.” With their tight harmonies and hot pickin’, Wild Rose was nominated for Top New Vocal Group or Duet at the 1990 ACM Awards. Their lively stage presence would earn them television appearances on Hee Haw, Nashville Now, and more. The band would release two more albums, Straight and Narrow and Listen to Your Heart, before disbanding in 1991. Many of the gals would continue to work in traditional music as session musicians, songwriters, and more. Although their time together was short-lived, their country-grass sound made waves and made history during country’s new traditionalist era.

Suggested Listening:
If Hearts Could Talk
Go Down Swingin’
Wild Rose

Goldie Hill (1933 – 2005)

Goldie Hill is one of country’s unsung legends. Born in 1933, Goldie was a trailblazer and a shining star in the early days of Nashville. She wasn’t just a pretty face–she was a powerhouse vocalist with a heart full of soul.

Goldie’s breakout hit, “I Let the Stars Get in My Eyes,” soared to the top of the charts in 1953. It was an answer song to “Don’t Let the Stars Get in Your Eyes,” so popular in 1952 that Perry Como, Sketch McDonald, and Ray Price all had separate hit renditions. “I Let the Stars Get in My Eyes” made her only the second female country artist to have a Number One hit song.

Goldie Hill would entertain audiences on radio airwaves through the Grand Ole Opry and the Louisiana Hayride and on television screens through the Ozark Jubilee. With a voice that blended sweetness and grit, she became a favorite of fans and fellow musicians alike. She would go on to have several hit duet recordings with Red Sovine and Justin Tubb. She married fellow country star Carl Smith in the late ’50s, releasing some albums under the name Goldie Hill Smith in the ’60s. Goldie largely retired from the music business by the end of that decade. She and Carl Smith were married for 47 years before Goldie’s passing in 2005. Along with her peers such as Kitty Wells and Jean Shepard, Goldie Hill helped open doors for women in country.

Suggested Listening:
Looking Back To See” with Justin Tubb
Blue Lonely Winter

Jenee Fleenor

When you think of today’s great country fiddlers, one name has to be a part of the conversation – Jenee Fleenor! Born and raised in Arkansas, Jenee picked up the fiddle as a kid after she heard Bob Wills’ “Faded Love” and never looked back. She dropped out of college when she landed her first professional gig playing bluegrass music with Larry Cordle & Lonesome Standard Time.

Since then, she has toured with some of the biggest names in country, including Blake Shelton, Terri Clark, Martina McBride, and George Strait, while also doing session work in Nashville, playing fiddle, mandolin, and guitar on all sorts of hit records – such as Jon Pardi’s fiddle-laden “Heartache Medication.” She’s the first-ever female to be named a CMA Musician of the Year – taking home the honors a whopping four years in a row.

Not only is Fleenor a top-tier musician, but she’s also a talented songwriter, penning hits for artists like Miranda Lambert, Blake Shelton, Darin & Brooke Aldridge, Del McCoury, Adam McIntosh, Rebecca Lynn Howard, Kathy Mattea, and more. Recently, she helped form the hit bluegrass and roots band, Wood Box Heroes, where she lends her talents as a picker, songwriter, and vocalist — a true triple threat! Her skills are shaping the sound of modern country and roots music.

Suggested Listening:
This Train” with Wood Box Heroes
Fiddle and Steel

Mother Maybelle Carter (1909 – 1978)

Referred to as the “Mother of Country Music,” there was only one Maybelle Carter. Born in 1909 in the hills of Virginia, Maybelle Carter didn’t just play the guitar – she changed the way it was played. With her signature “Carter Scratch,” she made the guitar a lead instrument, blending melody and rhythm like nobody had before.

Maybelle, Sara, and A.P. Carter formed the original Carter Family. Maybelle was eight months pregnant in August 1927 when the trio made the trek to Bristol, Tennessee/Virginia, to audition for RCA Victor’s Ralph Peer, part of what we now refer to as the “Big Bang of Country Music.” Peer immediately knew the Carter Family were stars.

The Carter Family’s music captured the heart of America – from “Keep on the Sunny Side” to “Wildwood Flower.” Epitomizing the “Sunday morning” aspect of country’s Saturday night/Sunday morning dichotomy, their songs of hearth and home told stories of love, loss, and life in the Appalachian mountains and became part of the bedrock of country, folk, and even rock and roll.

After Maybelle’s cousin Sara Carter divorced A.P. Carter, the original Carter Family went their separate ways by 1944, with Maybelle taking on a matriarchal role – literally! With her daughters Anita, June, and Helen, “The Carter Sisters and Mother Maybelle” began making waves on radio throughout the southeast, even hiring a young guitarist by the name of Chet Atkins as a part of their show in 1949 and bringing him with them to Nashville when they were made members of the Grand Ole Opry in 1950.

By the latter half of the 20th century, Mother Maybelle was a revered figure in American roots music. She would be a special guest of Flatt & Scruggs on their 1961 salute to the Carter Family. Maybelle and her daughters would frequently tour and collaborate with her future son-in-law Johnny Cash, and would find an enthusiastic new generation of fans thanks to the Folk Revival. In 1972, she would appear alongside other musical pioneers as featured guests on the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s platinum-selling Will the Circle Be Unbroken, shortly before her passing in 1978. Mother Maybelle’s influence still echoes today in every twang, every strum, and every song that dares to tell a story.

Suggested Listening:
Keep On The Sunny Side” the Carter Family with Johnny Cash
The Storms Are On The Ocean” with Flatt & Scruggs
Will The Circle Be Unbroken” with the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band


Photo Credit: Emmylou Harris by Paul Natkin/Getty Images; Jenee Fleenor by Katie Kauss; Mother Maybelle Carter via the Southern Folklife Collection at UNC.

You Gotta Hear This: New Music from the HercuLeons, the SteelDrivers, and More

Are you ready for some excellent new music? This week, You Gotta Hear This includes a heaping handful of stellar new tracks and a new music video, too.

Husband-and-wife duo Oh Jeremiah share an intimate performance video for “Rust,” a song about aging, maturing, and the rapid clip of time that features French horn by Corin Dubie. In a similar sonic space, the Couldn’t Be Happiers’ “Brown Mountain Lights” is a co-written eerie original about the mysterious lights that linger around Brown Mountain in North Carolina. You’ll also find a new track from singer-songwriter Olive Klug. “Train of Thought” is folky, bluegrassy, old-timey, and more, and is Klug’s favorite song from their upcoming album, Lost Dog. (You’ll quickly find out why, when you listen.)

Mandolinist Ashby Frank has a new single, “The Bug,” a traditional-meets-jammy rendition of a Mark Knopfler song that, like Frank, you may recognize from Mary Chapin Carpenter’s discography. It’s hilarious, rollicking, and so much fun. Frank’s longtime friend and brand new labelmate Vickie Vaughn unveils her debut single with Mountain Home Music, “Leavin’,” her rendition of a Bruce Robison song with a stacked roster of musicians and singers.

We have a couple legendary bluegrass lineups represented herein, as well! The SteelDrivers, purveyors of “uneasy listening” and bluesy bluegrass for decades now, announce their brand new album, Outrun – their first with Sun Records – by sharing the title track for the upcoming project, a Tammy Rogers and Leslie Satcher co-write. And the cherry on top of it all is the HercuLeons (that is, the duo of veteran multi-hyphenate roots musicians John Cowan and Andrea Zonn) giving us a sneak peak at their new album, John Cowan & Andrea Zonn Are The HercuLeons, with a rare full album stream on their momentous release day.

It’s all below, so get scrolling and enjoy listening. You Gotta Hear This!

Couldn’t Be Happiers, “Brown Mountain Lights”

Artist: Couldn’t Be Happiers
Hometown: Currently Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Song: “Brown Mountain Lights”
Album: Couple(t)s
Release Date: March 20, 2025 (single); June 13, 2025 (album)

In Their Words: “So many different explanations exist for the faint flickering lights that sometimes appear floating around the atmosphere of Brown Mountain in North Carolina. One theory is that the lights are lanterns from the ghosts of miners who died in their quest for gold and jewels in those hills. Maybe so, but we think the heart of every good ghost story, usually, is a love story.” – Couldn’t Be Happiers

Track Credits:
Jordan Crosby Lee – Vocals, acoustic guitars
Jodi Hildebran – Vocals
Doug Davis – Mandolin, high-strung acoustic guitar, melodica, Omnichord, Hammond organ, bass, percussion


Ashby Frank, “The Bug” 

Artist: Ashby Frank
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
Song: “The Bug”
Release Date: March 21, 2025
Label: Mountain Home Music Company

In Their Words: “I grew up listening to the great country music of the ’90s and first heard this song when it was recorded by one of my favorite singer-songwriters, the great Mary Chapin Carpenter. I wasn’t aware that it was a cover until several years later when I heard the original recording by Dire Straits and discovered that it was written by Mark Knopfler. That band had such a deep groove on that original cut that I really got into and I immediately started thinking about how a bluegrass arrangement might work. I brought the song up in the studio when we started recording my new album and we bounced it around until we came up with a groovy traditional-meets-jam band version that I’m super proud of. Seth Taylor (guitar) and Matt Menefee (banjo) added some wicked solos and my friend and labelmate Jaelee Roberts added some killer harmonies. I even threw in a couple of yodels, which is a career first for me. I can’t wait for everyone to hear it!” – Ashby Frank

Track Credits:
Ashby Frank – Mandolin, vocals
Seth Taylor – Acoustic guitar
Travis Anderson – Bass
Matt Menefee – Banjo
Tony Creasman – Drums
Jaelee Roberts – Harmony vocals


The HercuLeons, John Cowan & Andrea Zonn Are The HercuLeons

Artist: The HercuLeons
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
Album: John Cowan & Andrea Zonn Are The HercuLeons
Release Date: March 21, 2025
Label: True Lonesome

In Their Words: “For me, the making of this record was not about career, revenue streams, or anything else. I had been singing with, around, and listening to Andrea Zonn for 20 years. Like most of us, we were stranded during the pandemic. This record was truly born out of our combined desire to once and for all record our voices singing together.” – John Cowan

“Like John, I was only too happy to make an entire record with one of my favorite singers, musicians, and humans. With the help of our dear friend [producer] Wendy Waldman, we began exploring ideas, crafting a sound, and pursuing a collection of songs that spoke to our creative and spiritual centers. We’re so thrilled to be sending out into the world, at long last.” – Andrea Zonn


Olive Klug, “Train of Thought”

Artist: Olive Klug
Hometown: Portland, Oregon
Song: “Train of Thought”
Album: Lost Dog
Release Date: April 25, 2025
Label: Signature Sounds

In Their Words: “This is actually my favorite song on the album. Written in Sisters, Oregon, during a songwriting workshop that I led about writing a song inspired by the style of your favorite artist, ‘Train of Thought’ is my take on Paul Simon’s wordy magical chaos. Breaking out of my usual literal storytelling lyrical style and breaking into the world of abstract metaphors, I let the listener into what it’s like to be neurodivergent and how I’ve recently embraced this internal chaos instead of trying so hard to control and repress it.

“With lyrics like ‘and they try to button up my suit and tie in an attempt to hold me back but I’m this strange old conductor wearing pearls and a backwards baseball cap,’ I highlight how my nontraditional gender presentation is intrinsically linked to this neurodivergence and desire to resist societal pressures.” – Olive Klug


Oh Jeremiah, “Rust”

Artist: Oh Jeremiah
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
Song: “Rust”
Album: Jones County Ghosts
Release Date: March 21, 2025 (single); June 13, 2025 (album)
Label: Baldwin County Public Records

In Their Words: “I don’t know how it happens, one day you’re a kid getting your first kiss in sixth grade on the peewee football field and the next you’re in your mid-thirties. When Erin and I sat down to write ‘Rust,’ we wanted to capture the feeling of time running in a full sprint. Your only hope, it feels like, is to hang on to those things that keep you feeling young at heart. ” – Jeremiah Stricklin

“Most people think, because we’re married, that we write all the songs together, but this is actually the first co-write we’ve ever done.” – Erin Stricklin

Video Credits: Shot by Tim Sutherland. French Horn by Corin Dubie. 

The SteelDrivers, “Outrun”

Artist: The SteelDrivers
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
Song: “Outrun”
Album: Outrun
Release Date: March 21, 2025 (single); May 23, 2025 (album)
Label: Sun Records

In Their Words: “Leslie Satcher is a longtime SteelDriver co-writer with me. I happened to run into her the weekend before we were scheduled to go into the studio and told her we didn’t have any Leslie songs on the upcoming record. She made the time to get together and ‘Outrun’ was written in about an hour and a half! It was the last song we recorded. It is another song that really showcases that ‘SteelDriver Sound.'” – Tammy Rogers


Vickie Vaughn, “Leavin'”

Artist: Vickie Vaughn
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
Song: “Leavin'”
Release Date: March 21, 2025
Label: Mountain Home Music Company

In Their Words: “‘Leavin” is a song that Kimber Ludiker showed me when she was playing fiddle with its writer, Bruce Robison. I immediately fell in love with the stream of consciousness style of writing and the emotion present in the song. I’m a pretty emotional gal myself, so singing this and getting to record it felt cathartic. It is definitely a heartstring tugger.” – Vickie Vaughn

Track Credits:
Vickie Vaughn – Upright Bass, lead vocal
Colby Kilby – Guitar
Casey Campbell – Mandolin
Wes Corbett – Banjo
Dave Racine – Drums
Deanie Richardson – Fiddle
Lillie Mae Rische – Harmony vocal
Frank Rische – Harmony vocal


Photo Credit: The HercuLeons courtesy of the artist; the SteelDrivers by Glenn Rose.

Basic Folk: Bonnie “Prince” Billy

Will Oldham, also known as Bonnie “Prince” Billy, has led an illustrious, sometimes mysterious career which has spanned decades and genres. Hailing from and still living in Louisville, Kentucky, in our Basic Folk conversation Will reflects on his journey from a young artist struggling to find his place in the music world to a seasoned musician who embraces collaboration and creativity.

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We dive into his latest album, The Purple Bird, discussing the pivotal role of producer David Ferguson in Will’s artistic evolution. He reveals how working with Ferguson and a host of talented Nashville musicians transformed his songwriting process and solidified his sense of belonging in the music community. With a mix of humor and heartfelt honesty, Will describes the joy of collaboration and the unique energy that comes from working with seasoned artists, particularly those from older generations.

Throughout this episode of Basic Folk, Will also touches on the contrasting emotions evoked by his songs, especially when dealing with serious themes wrapped in upbeat melodies. He draws parallels to the works of Phil Ochs, highlighting the importance of addressing difficult subjects through art. As we wrap up, he shares personal anecdotes about his family and the influence of his daughter on his music. Thanks to Will for making a wonderful record and being so willing to get seriously deep into some of its themes!


Photo Credit: David Kasnic

David Ramirez Shares His Dreams on ‘All the Not So Gentle Reminders’

The first key to All the Not So Gentle Reminders, the sixth album by singer-songwriter David Ramirez releasing on March 21, is “Maybe It Was All a Dream,” the moody, elegiac song that opens his first LP in five years.

There are no lyrics to spell it out for the listener. It’s an instrumental, mostly a synthesizer riff over drums and a stately organ interspersed with a muffled, mysterious, and unintelligible voice. It’s more about mood – think Twin Peaks – than anything specific.

“The connection I have with it, which is a little too personal for me to share, it just felt right to open the record,” Ramirez said. “I had already gone into it knowing that I wanted some very long and dreamlike intros and outros to some of these songs. So it just seemed like a very fitting thing to have it all tie in by introducing the record with a musical number.”

The second key to the album is “Waiting on the Dust to Settle,” the second track, where Ramirez confides he doesn’t yet know where he’s headed.

“Amen, I can see it in the distance, the potential for a new beginning,” he sings. “I don’t recognize this place anymore … [I’m] waiting for the dust to settle.”

In our BGS interview below, you’ll learn the identity of the third key song on All the Not So Gentle Reminders, why it took so long to record and release the new material, and how the album’s lush string arrangements are a sign of the maturation of the artist.

The string arrangements on the album are very prominent, a counterpoint that duets with the lyrics. What brought that on?

David Ramirez: Yeah, for sure. I’ve never worked with strings before and just to kind of stay in the same lane of this dream world that I was trying to build, it made sense. … I’ve been doing this thing for a while now, but I feel like bringing strings into an album, I felt very adult for the first time. It felt good. It was really exciting.

Why did it take you five years to get this album out?

It was COVID and a breakup that kind of paralyzed me from being creative. I didn’t want to directly reference [the breakup]. There is one song on the album called “Nobody Meant to Slow You Down” that is direct from my last relationship. But the rest of it, I wanted to explore some other things.

You have Mexican heritage. Things are going badly for Mexicans and Mexican Americans — and immigrants and their families from many nations and backgrounds — in the U.S. now. Any reason you didn’t tackle that?

I have a couple of political tunes on past records and it’s something that I address during shows. This record for me, especially with the state of my heart recently going through a pretty big breakup that was extremely world-shaking for me, I didn’t want to put out for personal reasons a heartbreak record. … I did write some songs that were more social and politically heavy and I’m reserving those for an EP or my next album. I have this new song that I’ll release sometime later this year, called “We Do It for the Kids,” which is probably my most political tune to date and it’s a pretty heavy one.

To get the full effect of your songs, close attention must be paid to the lyrics. Is that a challenge during shows where people are also socializing?

I’m lucky enough to have people here in the states who’ve been following me for a while and they enjoy the lyrics. They enjoy how meditative it is. But the shows aren’t just that. I do not like going to see a songwriter and they sing for two hours and it’s just dark and depressing the whole time. So we mix in a lot of music from a lot of different records and make sure that there’s a dynamic and it’s fun and it’s funny and it’s upbeat.

Sure, there are slower and more contemplative moments. But we like to put on a show. … In Europe, they’re very polite and you can put on the most rocking show and they’re going to give you a golf clap. They’re there for the songs and the stories. So I generally have to curate a different set when I’m overseas.

You’re based in Austin, Texas. Did you grow up there?

I was born and raised in Houston, playing baseball growing up. It wasn’t until my senior year in high school that I met these fellow students who were all in theater and choir, and those relationships led me to stop playing ball and join choir and join theater and pick up an instrument and start writing my songs. I went to Dallas for a brief time to attend [Dallas Baptist University], and that’s where I started playing out in front of people for the first time, whether it was just open mics or the midnight slot at a metal club where they allowed an acoustic songwriter guy to show up and close out the evening. I was just so desperate to play that I didn’t really think twice about it. In 2007 and 2008 I lived in Nashville and then I moved here to Austin, Texas, in December of 2008 and I’ve been here ever since.

A third key track on the album is “The Music Man,” where you credit your father for helping spur you to make music.

“The Music Man” is a song I wrote about my father who gave me a Walkman when I was 10 years old. There are many people I can thank and [to whom I can] attribute my passion and my love for not just music itself, but for writing and performing it. But if I’m really upfront and honest, I think it goes back to when my father gave me his favorite cassette tapes and how that led to this life as a 41-year-old where I make records and tour the world full-time.

Who were the artists on those cassettes?

The Cars Greatest Hits. That’s obviously a rock band, but the song that I was so obsessed with was [the downbeat] “Drive.” Then I went to the Cranberries, and then to Fiona Apple, and then I went to Sarah McLachlan and that led to Radiohead.

… There’s this melancholy nature and mood that all those records have that at such a young age made a deep impression on me. I didn’t start playing music till seven, eight years after that, but by the time I did pick up a guitar or pick up a pen or piece of paper and start writing down my feelings, I think all those influences from such a young age really started to show their faces.

Any one artist in particular that inspired you to take up songwriting?

When I was 21 I got Ryan Adams’ Gold and that was just a big, massive influence musically for me. … That really locked in for the first time how I wanted to tell stories and what kind of stories I wanted to tell. Ryan and I don’t know each other, but his records led me to folks like Gillian Welch & Dave Rawlings, Neil Young, and Bob Dylan. He was the doorway to a lot of a lot of greats that weren’t really coming my way when I was in high school.

Are you comfortable with your music being categorized as Americana?

I don’t mind it, but I don’t really understand it either. If you say it’s Americana, people assume that it’s more country and I don’t feel that way at all. The more I do it, [I prefer] just “singer-songwriter,” because at least that offers freedom. Because every record I’ve released sounds different than the last. So at least with singer-songwriter, I can kind of have the freedom to evolve and change.


Photo Credit: Black Sky Creative

BGS 5+5: Amistat

Artist: Amistat
Hometown: Rosenheim, Bavaria, Germany
Latest Album: What We Are EP (releasing March 21)

Which artist has influenced you the most – and how?

The godfather of indie-folk, Ben Howard! When we first started out as Amistat playing and writing music back in 2012, his album Every Kingdom had just come out. It was the first time ever that we had heard a sound like his. His lyrics, melodies, especially the style of guitar tuning, and the way he used his guitar as a percussive element, captured us and had us mesmerized. It’s to this date the most inspiring piece of music we’ve ever come across and we listen to it on repeat, still.

What rituals do you have, either in the studio or before a show?

The last hour before going on stage is holy to us and very important for us to get in the zone. We meditate for about half an hour (individually), then Josef runs through his vocal warm up routine (15 minutes). We brush our teeth (most important!) and just before going on stage we have this ritual that the entire team meets backstage for a toast – it’s actually reciting an old Irish poem. Every day someone else gets to take the lead on it:

“There are good ships and wood ships, ships that sail the sea, but the best ships are friendships and may they always be.”

What’s the most difficult creative transformation you’ve ever undertaken?

We started out as buskers on the streets of Melbourne. We did that full time for about 7 years. After that time we felt like nothing is really changing and that in order to grow we needed to change something again. We moved to Brighton, England, and wanted to try busking there. After about three weeks and 24/7 of rain we decided to move to Berlin. There we had to kind of rethink the whole busking thing and came up with the idea of putting on small house shows in people’s living rooms. That’s what we did and lived of for about two years. Then COVID hit and everything kind of stopped. During that time we honed down on the social media content and it all grew from there.

What’s one question you wish interviewers would stop asking you?

“What’s it like being twins?”

If you didn’t work in music, what would you do instead?

Jan would be a golf professional, Josef would be soccer professional.


Photo Credit: Anja Kaufmann

MIXTAPE: What’s In a Name? Thin Lear’s Moniker Mixtape

Upon relaying my artistic moniker to people, I’m usually met with one of two reactions: 1. “Oh, weird…that’s interesting” or 2. “Oh, weird… I don’t get it.” (I guess a third option would be, “Well, that’s stupid.”)

My process of finding a moniker came out of a desire for artistic freedom in my writing, as I felt constrained performing under my government name, the far less interesting sounding “Matt Longo.” Within a moniker, my writing (in my mind) could be uninhibited despite me being, you know, the same human.

Originally, I was thinking I’d go by “Tin Ear,” as I simply liked the sound of the way the words sat together, but I quickly discovered that was already a glam band from the ’70s. Then, around the time of my name hunt, I had a very strange dream wherein I sat on a subway car across from a gaunt, regal-looking king. I awoke with the words “Thin Lear” in my head, no doubt the result of my brain privately re-working “Tin Ear” and conveniently giving me a dream origin story to go along with it.

What a journey, I know. So, to celebrate the release of my new EP, A Shadow Waltzed Itself, I’ve put together a Mixtape of some of my favorite solo artist monikers, for various reasons, all paired with choice tracks. Enjoy. – Thin Lear

“Maybe I’m the Only One for Me” – Purple Mountains

A sad and beautiful song from a modern master, David Berman. The moniker is pitch perfect; it conveys majestic sadness, like so much of his art.

“Golden Wake” – Mutual Benefit

An underrated moniker for an underrated artist, Jordan Lee. It’s off Love’s Crushing Diamond, which is really one of the finest complete albums of the 2010s, with its homespun warmth.

“Come Down in Time” – Bedouine

The thoughtful moniker of Azniv Korkejian, whose music is equally as carefully considered. Her take on Elton John’s track from the classic Tumbleweed Connection really rivals the original and wraps the melody in an achingly delicate arrangement.

“Beauty of the Shifting Tide” – Thin Lear

Oh, hey, would you look at that? It’s me. How’d that get in there?

This tune is the closing song off the new EP, A Shadow Waltzed Itself, and also the most personal, unfortunately. I had been walking along the beach in a bad mood for seemingly no reason one day, so removed from my surroundings, watching my partner and daughter enjoy themselves ahead of me. I began to envision myself as this sullen entity that was just kind of trudging behind joy – and the uselessness of that role in a family. This isn’t a place I find myself in all the time, but it happens; I wrote the song later that night as I was so disgusted with my default settings. In the song, my narrator acknowledges his envy of the tide, how it can change on a dime with all its might and that his own will “breaks in half the time.”

It sums up my greatest fears in a few minutes and is my least favorite song I’ve ever written, as I depict myself in such harsh lighting, but it felt like I needed to put it out for that very reason.

“Tyrant Destroyed” – Twin Shadow

A cool, catchy moniker for an artist who makes cool, catchy music. And what an opening track this is off his debut album, Forget. It’s such a sure-footed, fully-realized artistic mission statement to kick off a career.

“Noon” – Twain

I really can’t express why the moniker of Mat Davidson is so perfect. Maybe it’s because the arrangements and vocals in his music are so careful and delicate that the whole thing feels like it could split in two at any moment.

“Honey” – Drugdealer & Weyes Blood

Two excellent monikers for the price of one. Michael Collins & Natalie Mering doing a pitch perfect ’70s pastiche.

“Hood” – Perfume Genius

Maybe the most brilliant moniker on the list, achieving a level of poeticism we can only all aspire to with our monikers. “Hood” is one of the best songs ever written that clocks in at under two minutes, delivering a devastating gut punch in no time at all.

“The Mermaid Parade” – Phosphorescent

Matthew Houck’s music does indeed sound like a radiant glow in the dark. A killer breakup song from 2010’s Here’s to Taking It Easy.

“Only Son of the Ladiesman” – Father John Misty

Well, you knew this one was coming. Truly a perfect moniker for Josh Tillman, as it conveys a mystical sleaze and it’s funny, mysterious, and inviting.


Photo Credit: Shervin Lainez

The Herculean Story Behind Andrea Zonn and John Cowan Becoming The HercuLeons

Andrea Zonn and John Cowan have been among the hardest-working musicians around Nashville for the past few decades. Zonn has done tons of sessions both for her violin and vocal prowess as well as touring with superstars like Vince Gill, Lyle Lovett, and James Taylor. Cowan, a longtime member of the legendary New Grass Revival, also was a founding member of the country-rock supergroup The Sky Kings, has done solo projects, and currently tours as the Doobie Brothers’ bassist. However, they only really started playing together due to the pandemic. Their collaboration resulted in a band called The HercuLeons, whose debut album Andrea Zonn & John Cowan Are The HercuLeons arrives March 21 on True Lonesome Records.

Darrell Scott, Tom Britt, Greg Morrow, Abraham Parker, Gary Prim, and Reese Wynans represent the primary HercuLeons on the album, while Billy Payne, Michael McDonald, Jonell Mosser, John Hall, and John McFee number among the special guests.

Zonn and Cowan spoke separately to BGS for our feature interview all about their unique collaboration, becoming a band, and the debut album.

When did you two first meet?

Andrea Zonn: I moved to Nashville in 1986 and John I think got here two, three, four years before that. I was already a fan of his, but we met and our paths crossed over the years. Then at some point we got called to sing on a session together. I just love singing with him. We became friends and have been great friends. He’s like a brother to me, actually.

John Cowan: Our lives have been continually entwined because of our musical interests, our mutual respect for each other, and because we would get hired to do backing vocal sessions.

How did this particular collaboration come to be?

JC: Right during the pandemic, Andrea and I had gotten solicited to play on a custom project. It was like, “We’ve got three songs for you.” And we’re like, “Okay.” Well, it turns out they had like nine songs for us and we basically just went from the top of the list all the way to the bottom; we were there like 10 hours.

AZ: Then I was just about to call him on my way home, when he called me and we were both about to say the same thing, which is “God, I love singing with you.” We just decided to sort of become each other’s creative bubble during the pandemic. We were thinking we would do something sort of bluegrass-y with [mandolinist] Ashby Frank, [guitarist] Seth Taylor, and [banjo player] Matt Menefee, which was a blast. So, we did a couple of Facebook Live concerts, which is hysterical because we were playing just to the camera.

JC: These kind of young guns guys – Ashby and Seth and Matt – they’re at that time of their lives where they’re just running full speed. They’re just so impassioned and so full of music that you really can’t get somebody like that to commit to, “Hey, let’s be in a band.” By the time we got around to making this record, the personnel had just switched to basically me and Andrea and then we chose the band that we wanted to make the record with.

How did the record come about?

JC: It happened pretty organically. We were talking about making this record. We weren’t even as far as who’s playing on it, or who’s producing or what it is. But I was driving home from my sister’s house in Indiana back to Nashville one day and I heard Claire Lynch doing this song called “Barbed Wire Boys” and I literally pulled my car over because I thought to myself: “Am I hearing what I [think I’m hearing]?” The words were so unbelievably well-written. It was just stunning. I played it for Andrea and I said, “What do you think of this song? Are you just as stunned by the words as I am?” She said, “Absolutely!”

AZ: It just felt like such a timely message in this song, which is that there’s this generation of strong, stoic men who have this really soft underbelly. It feels like there’s not a place for that right now and there’s a real wistful longing for this gentle strength. We were listening to the song going, “What could we do with this?” We were just looking at it as this single standalone thing. Let’s just record this because we love it. We’ve got time on our hands. And the idea just kept growing. It’s like, “Let’s just figure out a way to make a record like this.” Also, with the pandemic [it was] a weird time to make long-term plans

Wendy Waldman produced the album – how did she get involved?

JC: We got a hold of Wendy Waldman, who’s one of my oldest friends and produced many things I’m involved with. Andrea and I made a vocal guitar demo and sent it to her.

AZ: We decided we wanted to slow down [the song], break it down, and make it more of what Wendy calls, “The prairie orchestra sort of thing.”

JC: She worked on it for us – it’s like she went away in a little hobbit in a village of stuff, she came back to us, and she’d written the most beautiful layers of mandolins and acoustic guitar tuned down low.

AZ: She’s like a shaman the way she creates. It’s like you just see glowing aura is coming out of her when she’s in that space.

The idea to do an album grew from there?

JC: That was the beginning of the record. We had that song and we started pursuing it and it would be about sharing tracks and files back and forth from California, which is where Wendy lived, and that was going swimmingly well.

AZ: Exactly. It was like, “Let’s put something beautiful in the world, because I feel like that’s our responsibility as artists.” Especially during these times we’re living in are so full of devastation and difficult things and people need healing. They need beauty. They need that balance. And so that’s where we come in. So, it just started as just this yearning to create something beautiful. And then it was just so much fun, and the chemistry was there.

The album features only 11 songs and those are mainly covers. Was it hard to decide what songs to record?

AZ: It was brutal actually picking songs, because there are so many beautiful and great songs and we weren’t really all that concerned with where the genre markers are. We just were like, let’s just do stuff we love. We’ve just been feeling our way through it. Things that we really felt like we could sing well together were sort of a consideration. It was such an organic process, and it was not a quick process.

JC: I think we got up to 30 songs that we wanted to have a stab at. We kept culling it down. So, this bushel of songs started to reveal itself to us. We opened it up a lot [like] a basket of fruit and you could see which one was going to make it and which ones might get a little too ripe.

One of the things that immediately stands out is the amazing way you two sing together

AZ: We have a lot of the same influences. You know, I call him “The Powerhouse” and I’m sort of a “Powder Puff” so [we] complement each other. He’s just so intuitive and such a great musician, such a beautiful sense of phrasing, and it’s just very easy to fall into place with him

JC: We know each other’s voice, so there’s some kind of internal resonance that’s going on there that you can’t see or feel or touch… You can’t necessarily write it out on a piece of paper. When two singers sing together like that it’s like Baez and Dylan.

The music is remarkably diverse – a vibrant mix of rock, soul, blues, country, funk, and bluegrass – but the album holds a real cohesiveness. There’s a sense of humanism and empathy that flows through the songs you picked.

JC: That’s just who we are. Andrea and I are the same. We’re the perennial man looking for a spirit greater than all of us to bond us to human beings in the world.

That seems to be spotlighted using your single “Face of Appalachia” (an old Lowell George/John Sebastian tune that Valerie Carter had on her 1977 debut album) to raise awareness for victims of Hurricane Helene. It’s a song that has many connections with both of you, right?

JC: Both Andrea and I became or were friends with Valerie before she passed a couple of years, so there’s a huge emotional connection for both of us.

AZ: We just love the song and we wanted to kind of do our little spin on it. Then when the hurricane hit, it’s like we all felt so powerless to help, so we wanted to raise awareness and direct people to organizations that are actually on the ground doing good work. I mean, John and I love the people, the region, the music that comes from there. It’s just such a meaningful place, you know, and your heart just breaks for what people are going through.

If you had to choose a song that’s a good entry point for listeners, what would it be?

AZ: You have to listen to the whole thing. You just have to suck it up and suffer through it, it’s only 11 songs! “Straight Up” would get their attention. Let’s say that it’s short and sweet and it’s just full of a lot of what we do, except for the slow pretty stuff and there’s a great message in that song.

JC: I might say “Face of Appalachia,” because there are two beautiful lead vocals on there, but they don’t appear to be lead vocals. They just appear as these two people singing together. … There’s so much about that track. How the words fit so well with the arrangement. It has shadows and light as well, but a lot of pathos.

The Gregory Porter song we do called “Take Me to the Alley,” I just think it’s a staggering song. It’s basically talking about how people are lining up all these shining things in front of their houses waiting for God to return and then he shows up and he’s like, “I don’t want to see any of this, take me to the alley, take me where the desperate ones are.”


Photo Credit: Courtesy of the HercuLeons.

Celebrating Women’s History Month: Crystal Gayle, Rose Maddox, and More

Our partnership with our friends at Real Roots Radio in Southwestern Ohio continues as we move from Black History Month to Women’s History Month! This time, we’ll bring you weekly collections of a variety of powerful women in bluegrass, country, Americana, folk, and elsewhere who have been featured on Real Roots Radio’s airwaves each weekday in March, highlighting the outsized impact women have on American roots music. You can listen to Real Roots Radio online 24/7 or via their FREE app for smartphones or tablets. If you’re based in Ohio, tune in via 100.3 (Xenia, Dayton, Springfield), 106.7 (Wilmington), or 105.5 (Eaton).

American roots music, historically and currently, has often been regarded as a male-dominated space. It’s certainly true of the music industry in general and these more down-home musics are no exception. Thankfully, American roots music and its many offshoots, branches, and associated folkways include hundreds and thousands of women who have greatly impacted these art forms, altering the courses of roots music history. Some are relatively unknown – or under-appreciated or undersung – and others are global phenomena or household names.

Over the next couple weeks, we and RRR will do our best to bring you more examples of women in roots music from all levels of notoriety and stature. Radio host Daniel Mullins, who together with BGS and Good Country staff has curated the series, kicked us off last week with Dottie West, Gail Davies, and more. This week, we’re shining a spotlight on Kristin Scott Benson, Crystal Gayle, Big Mama Thornton, Reba McEntire, and Rose Maddox. We’ll return next week and each Friday through the end of the month with even more examples of women who blazed a trail in roots music.

Plus, you can find two playlists below – one centered on bluegrass, the other on country – with dozens of songs from countless women artists, performers, songwriters, and instrumentalists who effortlessly demonstrate how none of these roots genres would exist without women.

Crystal Gayle (b. 1951)

She’s a country music icon with signature floor-length hair and a voice as smooth as silk – Crystal Gayle!

Born Brenda Gail Webb in Paintsville, Kentucky, Crystal Gayle stepped out of the shadow of her legendary sister, Loretta Lynn, to carve her own path in country and pop music. She scored her first Top Ten hit in 1975 with “Wrong Road Again.” However, her major breakthrough came in 1977 with the GRAMMY Award-winning “Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue,” a crossover hit that topped the country charts and even made waves on the pop scene. It peaked at Number Two on the overall Hot 100, setting Gayle up to be one of the premiere crossover artists of the era.

With 18 Number One hits, Crystal Gayle has the fourth most chart-topping songs for a female in country music history, even more than her older sister. She became a defining voice of the late ’70s and ’80s, blending country with soft pop for her signature sound. Who could forget those long, flowing locks – almost as famous as her music! A member of the Grand Ole Opry and the Kentucky Music Hall of Fame, she even has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in addition to scores of other awards, honors, and accolades. Crystal Gayle is still shining today, proving that true talent – and great hair – never go out of style!

Suggested Listening:
Wrong Road Again
The Sound of Goodbye

Big Mama Thornton (1926 – 1984)

Before Elvis shook his hips and Janis wailed the blues, there was Big Mama Thornton. Born Willie Mae Thornton in 1926, this powerhouse of a woman changed music forever.

Thornton’s deep, growling voice and raw emotion made her a legend in blues and rock and roll. She recorded “Hound Dog,” which was written specifically for her, in 1952 – years before Elvis made it even more famous. It sold over half a million copies and reached the Top Ten on the Billboard R&B charts. Her recording of “Hound Dog” is regarded as a pivotal recording in the birth of rock and roll, and truthfully, her female perspective makes the song make a lot more sense.

Like many Black artists of her time, she never saw the wealth or credit she deserved. Big Mama wasn’t just a singer – she played drums, harmonica, and wrote music, influencing generations of artists. Janis Joplin’s hit “Ball and Chain” was written by Big Mama.

As a blues icon, she toured the United States and Europe, worked at many prestigious folk, blues, and jazz festivals, and even recorded an album with Muddy Waters. Sadly, her life was cut short after years of alcohol abuse, passing away at the age of 57 in an LA boarding house; Big Mama was buried in a potter’s field.

Big Mama Thornton paved the way for rock and roll, blues, and soul, and was posthumously inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2024.

Suggested Listening:
Ball and Chain
Wade in the Water

Kristin Scott Benson (b. 1976)

A South Carolina native, Kristin Scott Benson is a six-time IBMA Banjo Player of the Year and an absolute force on the five-string. She was a mandolin player as a youngster, but caught the banjo bug at nine years old when she saw Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver in the 1980s with their exciting brand of bluegrass – and a young Scott Vestal on banjo. She joined the all-female bluegrass band Petticoat Junction when she was just a senior in high school, moving to Nashville in 1994 to attend Belmont University.

Unknowingly, she made history during her sophomore year in college when she was hired by The Larry Stephenson Band. She is viewed by many as having “broke the glass ceiling” in bluegrass, by playing in a male-dominated professional bluegrass band, without being married to, dating, or being related to any of the other members – she was simply a powerful picker. Kristin worked two different stints with The Larry Stephenson Band, in addition to working with Larry Cordle & Lonesome Standard Time. She joined The Grascals in 2008, where she has remained for over fifteen years.

Pointing to Sonny Osborne as her banjo mentor, she has fit The Grascals’ sound like a glove with their heavy Osborne Brothers influence. (It was actually Sonny who recommended her to The Grascals for their banjo job.) In addition to kicking tail on stage and in the studio with The Grascals, in recent years Kristin has formed a recording duo with her husband, mandolin master Wayne Benson of Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out. Together they are simply known as Benson.

Kristin Scott Benson received the Steve Martin Prize for Excellence in Banjo & Bluegrass in 2018, and was inducted into the American Banjo Hall of Fame in 2024.

Suggested Listening:
Up This Hill and Down” – The Grascals
Conway” – Benson

Rose Maddox (1925 – 1998)

She was bold, she was brash, and she helped shape country as we know it! Rose Maddox wasn’t just another singer, she was a trailblazer.

Born in Alabama and raised in Modesto, California, Rose and her brothers – The Maddox Brothers and Rose – became pioneers of the “hillbilly boogie” sound. Performing on radio as teenagers, their career really took off when Rose’s brothers returned from World War II, anchored by her powerhouse vocals. One of the first hillbilly bands to come from California, The Maddox Brothers & Rose cut a wide swathe, touring across the country, performing on the Louisiana Hayride, and making smash records.

With wild outfits, high energy, and Rose’s infectious laugh, they were country music’s first real rock stars, known as America’s most colorful hillbilly band. In the 1950s, The Maddox Brothers & Rose parted ways and Rose pursued a solo career. She broke barriers as a female country star, scoring over a dozen Top 30 hits like “Sing a Little Song of Heartache” and inspiring legends like Dolly Parton and Emmylou Harris. She also recorded several popular country duets with another legend with ties to southern California – Buck Owens. In 1962, she released the first bluegrass album by a female artist, Rose Maddox Sings Bluegrass, joined by Bill Monroe, Don Reno, Red Smiley, Donna Stoneman, and more.

She would continue to tour and record, even recording an album with Merle Haggard & The Strangers as her backing band. The Hag always pointed to The Maddox Brothers & Rose as one of his influences. Maddox also performed on stage and in studio with California bluegrasser Vern Williams, and even received a bluegrass GRAMMY nomination for her Byron Berline-produced album $35 & A Dream, shortly before her passing in 1998 at the age of 72.

Honky-tonk, bluegrass, rockabilly – Rose did it all and she did it first! So next time you hear a fiery female country singer, tip your hat to Rose Maddox, the original queen of country sass.

Suggested Listening:
Honky Tonkin’” – The Maddox Brothers & Rose
Sing A Little Song of Heartache

Reba McEntire (b. 1955)

From the heart of Oklahoma, one voice has echoed through the decades, captivating fans with her powerhouse vocals and undeniable charm. Reba McEntire, one of the true Queens of Country Music, has been breaking barriers since she first stepped onto the scene in the 1970s.

Her big break came in 1974 when country & western singer Red Steagall saw Reba perform the National Anthem at a rodeo event in Oklahoma. He then helped her land her first record deal. But she was hardly an immediate success, working to find her footing in the music industry and after four years, she scored her first Top Ten hit, “(You Lift Me) Up To Heaven.” After that, she hasn’t looked back!

Reba topped the Billboard country singles chart for the first time in 1983 with “Can’t Even Get The Blues,” the first of her many Number One hits. With over 40 chart toppers and a career spanning more than four decades, she’s done it all. From mega hits to her legendary TV show, Reba, she’s not just a country icon, she’s a cultural force. However, Reba’s most iconic hit only reached #8, from her classic 1990 album, Rumor Has It. A song she learned from Bobbie Gentry, that has been a signature song of Reba’s ever since, it has been certified double-platinum, selling over 2 million copies: everyone loves “Fancy.”

Known for her fierce spirit and down-to-earth personality, Reba’s music continues to inspire generations of fans. Whether she’s singing about love, heartbreak, or resilience, one thing’s for sure – Reba’s voice is timeless. Reba McEntire, a true legend and a voice like no other.

Suggested Listening:
Fancy
Swing All Night Long With You


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Photo Credit: Rose Maddox courtesy of Discogs.com; Crystal Gayle courtesy of the artist; Big Mama Thornton from Ball N’ Chain.