Grammy-nominated songwriter, singer, producer, and musician Adam Wright is one of the most sought-after songwriters in Music City. There's a reason his songs have been recorded by Alan Jackson, Lee Ann Womack, John Legend, Trisha Yearwood, Garth Brooks, Bruce Robison and Kelly Willis, Solomon Burke and more.
But on his forthcoming album I Win (out Oct. 9), Wright clearly kept some of his best material for himself. Ahead of the album release, Wright shares "Never Mine" and "Worry" with Wide Open Country.
"Both of these were recorded the same way as the rest of the album. I'd record myself playing and singing the song at the same time, just performing it like you would live, and then when I got a decent take, I'd start adding things," Wright tells Wide Open Country. "But everything had to be whole, live takes. No punching in or tuning or editing. I tried to keep some spontaneity in the recordings even though I'm doing it all myself. Ever seen that movie Multiplicity? Kind of like that."
"Never Mine" is an irresistible rootsy tune that finds humor in heartache.
"I had been messing around with using 'nevermind' as 'never mine' in a song for a while and finally just sat down and did it," Wright says. "I really like how the recording turned out. I don't usually enjoy listening to my own music, but I don't get tired of this one. There's a little accidental harmonic that happens on the slide guitar that is one of my favorite noises on the whole album. "
Wright says "Worry," a reminder of the futility of agonizing over the future, was partially inspired by his grandfather.
"'Worry' was one of the few songs on I Win that I'd written last year. 'Worry' and 'Sure Wanna Stay' kind of got me thinking about making another album, but it wasn't until the lockdown that I wrote almost all of the other songs. The message is not complicated. If you're looking to worry, you're in luck! There's plenty to worry about," Wright says. "My Mom said that when she and her siblings were kids and would cry, that my Grandfather would hold his hand under their cheeks and say, 'Go on and cry a little bit for me!' I always thought that was funny. That's where the 'cry a little, cry a little, cry a little more, 'til you make a little lake on your linoleum floor' comes from."
Wright released his full length solo album Dust in 2018, followed by two 2019 EPs: Big Ideas from a Small Window Overlooking Legendary RCA Studio B (or Rodeo) and Queen of the Meadow.
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