Ep. 154 - John Paul White

Music Makers and Soul Shakers with Steve Dawson

John Paul White is an amzing performer, singer, songwriter and studio nerd who lives in Florence, Alabama and is known by many for all his amazing work with his Grammy-winning band The Civil Wars. John Paul has also worked as a professional songwriter, and runs a studio and a label called Single Lock Records. This all goes down in Florence, which is part of the 3 cities known as The Shoals, or as us music nerds know it as, Muscle Shoals. This small, almost rural area unbelievably housed 2 amazing studios where some of the greatest soul music of all time was recorded - Fame, and Muscle Shoals Sound. Those 2 studios are still standing today and really are amazing places to visit! John Paul continues that tradition by carving out his own scene in the very same area today. He grew up in a small town in Tennessee, very close to Florence, and during his college days, started playing gigs in bands and on his own. He eventually discovered that he loved songwriting, especially as a vehicle to sing and perform. That led to him recording an album with his band, and eventually a solo album called "The Long Goodbye". But it was at a songwriting workshop that he was paired up with the already successful Joy Williams - they hit it off and immediately started working on music that became The Civil Wars. Their debut album, "Barton Hollow", came out in 2011 and was a huge success, winning a Grammy the following year.

They worked mostly with producer Charlie Peacock, but also with others like T-Bone Burnett and Rick Rubin, which we get into today as well. The Civil Wars came to a crashing halt in 2013, and John Paul has since re-started his solo career, the label and now the studio. His albums "Beulah", and the most recent "The Hurting Kind" are both stellar records to check out. They’re very different and sonically really deep and interesting. It was great to speak with John Paul about all of these projects, his creative process and what he’s up to these days. You can follow him for any shows, and news on albums he’s making or producing for others at johnpaulwhite.com - Enjoy my conversation with John Paul White!

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