New York, NY (Top40 Charts) BILLBOARD TOP 10 recording artist Grant Maloy Smith's ambitious new album, MISSISSIPPI: AMERICAN STORIES, celebrates America's greatest river in all her majesty, tragedy, and power. In 16 songs, Smith tells stories of the river's rich history and influence on people and the culture. An exquisitely crafted work of Americana mixed with Blues, Country, and Folk influences, the album has been a lifetime in the making.
"The Mississippi River grabbed my imagination when I was a boy," Smith said. "I was fascinated by Mark Twain's seminal writings, His work represents the complexity of the river, from our struggle with slavery and treatment of Native peoples and our efforts to build a great nation around her."
The Mississippi geographically divides
America from east to west and metaphorically from north to south. Subjects on Smith's album cover a broad range, from the forgotten to the well-known. "Caernarvon Levee (feat. Carrie McDowell)" looks through a poor couple's eyes at the intentional destruction of the Caernarvon Levee to save New Orleans from the Great Flood of 1927. "End of the Line" is about the Sultana steamboat disaster of 1865, which resulted in the deaths of over 1,000 Union soldiers after the end of the Civil War. "Paddle Wheels" is the story of the great 1870 steamboat race from New Orleans to Saint Louis. "When the Devil Comes" conveys the terror settlers must have felt during the 1811 and 1812 earthquakes in the Missouri boot heel. ("Trees rose and broke in two / Lord, tell me what to do / Ground shook beneath my feet / The Devil's on to me...")
The album's best-known historical subject is
Martin Luther King, Jr. and his tragic assassination just blocks from the river in Memphis. Smith's powerful song, "Lord Knows I Cried," is a fictional first-person account of that day.
"I was just a boy when Doctor King was assassinated in Memphis, but it had a profound effect on me," Smith recalled. "I grew up in the segregated south, where some of my friends were not allowed to go to my school, and I couldn't understand why. I recorded this song at the legendary Sun Studio in
Memphis to honor him."
The backstory of each song on MISSISSIPPI: AMERICAN STORIES is explained in detail in a beautifully produced 80-page hardcover coffee table book, written and designed by Smith, complete with photographs and illustrations, available as an option with the CD or digital download. The song credits are also worth reading, as they are impressive, including Smith's collaboration with Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Janis Ian. Despite retiring from singing due to vocal issues, she enthusiastically agreed to play piano and guitar on Smith's recording of her and Deanna Carter's song "Memphis," the only cover song on the album.
"I love Grant's voice," Ian posted on Facebook. "It sits on that ground between Willie
Nelson and
George Jones, two of the greatest singers of my era, for my money. His vocals do the song justice, and I was thrilled when he invited me to play on the track."
Other performers include multiple Grammy nominees and winners, like Carrie McDowell (vocals), Kim Fleming (background vocals), Jeff Taylor (accordion and pennywhistle), Rob Ickes (dobro), Matt Combs (fiddle, cello, mandola),and Roy Agee (trombone), Marc
Franklin (trumpet), Scott Vestal (banjo), Evan Cobb (saxophone), and many more.
Released by The Cabin Record Company and Suburban Cowboy Records, MISSISSIPPI: AMERICAN STORIES is Smith's 10th album overall and the third in his "American Stories" series, preceded by APPALACHIA: AMERICAN STORIES (2021) and DUST BOWL: AMERICAN STORIES (2017).
"I love setting American history to music," Smith said. "I hope my MISSISSIPPI album conveys how important this river has been for some 30,000 years ago when the first humans arrived, and the much more recent arrival of the Europeans and eventual founding of America. She represents the human condition's best and worst. She is us, and we are her."
MISSISSIPPI: AMERICAN STORIES by Grant Maloy Smith available on CD and digital download now.
Tracks:
1. All I Gotta Do
2. Headstrong Waters
3. Carnarvon Levee (feat. Carrie McDowell)
4.
Memphis (feat. Janis Ian)
5. River of Ages
6. Lord Knows I Cried
7. Vicksburg Town
8. End of the Line
9. If the River Keeps Rising
10. Paddle Wheels
11. You Don't Love Me Anymore
12. Fade to Gray
13. Mother Mother
14. When the Devil Comes
15. O Faithful Heart
16. The River Runs for Everyone
Running time: 61:50
