Becky Buller Celebrates New Single: Muddy Waters
Becky Buller celebrates the release of her new single Muddy Waters from her up-coming album of cover songs that had a huge impact on her musical career.
I’m thrilled to have Muddy Waters given new life in this creative rendition by Becky Buller and the band. It’s especially nice to have Seldom Scene offspring Chris Eldridge and Jay Starling on board – Phil Rosenthal, song writer.
Muddy Waters was on my short list for this album well before Hurricane Helene’s historic destruction of the Southern Appalachian region. With so many friends in our bluegrass, old-time, and roots music community directly impacted, I heard this song in a profoundly more visceral way. I lament and mourn with them through the arms of Phil Rosenthal’s bleak lyric – Becky Buller.
When she sent me her funky version of Muddy Waters, originally performed by the Seldom Scene, I knew it was powerful. It occurred to me that we should invite a couple of Scene Sons. With Chris Eldridge (guitar) and Jay Starling (dobro/vocal) on the session, joined by Casey Campbell (mandolin) and Jeff Picker (bass), we gave it a fresh coat of paint and dug deep into the meaning and story of the song. As we started doling out solos, Chris asked if he could have the beginning section so he could quote some of his dad’s legendary banjo break… of course we said yes. It’s amazing! I’m really proud of the arrangement, the sonics, and the powerful performance that each musician brought to this track – Stephen Mougin.
Fans can download and preview the new single here.
Full Credits: Becky Buller on vocal and fiddle; Jay Starling on harmony vocal and Dobro; Chris Eldridge on guitar; Casey Campbell on mandolin; Jeff Picker on bass; Stephen Mougin on harmony vocal and Jana Mougin on harmony vocal.
Main photo: L-R: Jay Starling, Chris Eldridge, Casey Campbell, Becky Buller, Jeff Picker and Stephen Mougin at Dark Shadow Recording studio. Photo by Jana Mougin.
About Becky Buller:
Becky Buller
Becky Buller is a multi-instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter from St. James, Minn., who has traversed the globe over performing bluegrass music to underwrite her insatiable songwriting habit.
Becky has written songs for three Grammy award-winning albums: she co-wrote Freedom, the lead-off track of The Infamous Stringdusters Laws of Gravity (2018 Best Bluegrass Grammy), The Shaker on The Travelin’ McCoury’s self-titled release (2019 Best Bluegrass Grammy), and Good-bye Girl on Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway’s Crooked Tree album (2023 Best Bluegrass Grammy). Her compositions can also be heard on records by Ricky Skaggs, Rhonda Vincent and Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, to name just a few.
Becky is the recipient of 10 IBMA awards, including the 2016 Fiddler and Female Vocalist. She is the first woman in the history of the awards to receive the Fiddler nod; she is also the first person ever to win in both vocal and instrumental categories. Her other awards include the 2020 Collaborative Recording for The Barber’s Fiddle and the 2020 Song for co-writing and fiddling on Special Consensus’ Chicago Barn Dance.
She has made multiple guest appearances on WSM’s Grand Ole Opry and tours extensively with the Becky Buller Band. Becky has released seven albums. Distance And Time, her third album for the Dark Shadow Recording label, was a nominee for the 2021 IBMA Album award.
Becky’s new album, Jubilee, debuted at #1 on the Billboard Bluegrass Album Chart for the week of June 1st, 2024. It features her brilliant road band along with special guest and co- writer Aoife O’Donovan. Jubilee is a song cycle that shares the story of Becky’s lifelong struggle with depression and anxiety, how it reached a crisis point during the pandemic years, and how she made it to the other side.
In April 2023, Becky was inducted into the Minnesota Music Hall Of Fame.
Becky moonlights with the First Ladies Of Bluegrass, an all-female ensemble composed of the first women to win in their respective instrumental categories at the IBMA awards: Alison Brown (banjo), Missy Raines (bass), Sierra Hull (mandolin), Becky (fiddle), and Molly Tuttle (guitar).
Equally passionate about bluegrass music education, Becky has over 20 years experience teaching fiddle, singing, and songwriting, both privately and at workshops and camps around the world. She currently serves on the board of the IBMA Foundation, which awards $50,000 annually in scholarships and grants to spread the word about bluegrass music and support those who create it.
Becky proudly calls Manchester, Tennessee, her adopted hometown, where she lives with husband and daughter. Visit her website here.
