Description
Heartbreak, Misery & Death is the seventh studio album by beloved Alabama-based troubadour Grayson Capps. For this latest effort, Capps turned his attention to 16 long-lost folk songs and traditionals performed by artists ranging from Doc Watson and Jerry Jeff Walker to Randy Newman and Gordon Lightfoot. Introduced to these timeless touchstones as a child by his father, they’d catalyze Capps’ love for music at a young age, while informing the Southern Gothic vernacular that he’s gone onto so eloquently explore and reimagine in his own body of work.
As Capps explains in his own words:
I grew up with music, whether hearing Fred Stokes, Bobby Long and my dad, Ronnie Capps, singing around the house on Fridays and Saturdays, or listening to vinyl records in the den, my youth seemed to always be surrounded with music. One of the first artists I gravitated toward was Doc Watson. I first found my own voice by emulating him singing “Wake Up Little Maggie.” We had The Essential Doc Watson and Doc Watson Memories, and I wore those records out. “Columbus Stockade Blues” was one of the first songs I learned to play on the guitar.
“Barbara Allen” was a favorite song of Bobby Long’s to sing. I remember him saying to Fred, “Come on Fred, give me a chord,” pronouncing the ‘ch’ like ‘chore.’ Fred would hit a chord, and Bobby would start in singing. I guess that’s where I learned the joy associated with singing and playing guitar.
I love Doc’s version of “Moody River,” and that song led me to appreciate more complex chord progressions. “Today” was another favorite of Bobby’s and my dad’s. I figure I’ve known that song ever since I can first remember. “Early Morning Rain” holds a special place in my heart and memory. We listened to the Peter, Paul & Mary version of the song after taking a severely hung-over Bobby Long to the airport on a rainy morning with no shoes on his feet, headed to Las Vegas. I see him there every time I sing that song.
