Alison Krauss
A Reason To Smile
We are celebrating a birthday as our reason to smile this weekend. Today we toast bluegrass stunner Alison Krauss. Did you know Krauss is second only to Beyoncé in the number of Grammys won by a singer? She has 27 of them.
Krauss is credited with ushering in a renewed interest in Americana and bluegrass after appearing on the popular soundtracks for the films “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” and “Cold Mountain.”
The American spiritual “Down In The River To Pray” is one of my favorites. Krauss introduced the song to a new generation with her rendition on the “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” album. Her stripped-down version, here with the band Union Station, is hard to beat.
Though the origin is unknown, the song has been labeled an African American spiritual, an Appalachian song, and a Southern gospel song. The earliest published version appeared in 1867 in a book titled “Slave Songs of the United States.” Some American music historians believe the song may have contained coded messages for enslaved people. When an enslaved person was planning to escape, they were told to walk “in the river” because they were harder to track. Also, the “starry crown” might have referenced navigating by the stars. And the lyric “Good Lord, show me the way” could have been a prayer to find an escape route.
Krauss is currently touring with Robert Plant — yes, that Robert Plant, of Led Zeppelin! Apparently, the unlikely duo have been collaborating on and off since 2007. Rather successfully … winning six Grammys, including Album of the Year. They recorded this Tiny Desk concert for NPR a few years back.
“A funny thing happens with them. When the two of them sing, it creates a third voice, a third part in their harmonies when there are only two parts. You know, one plus one equals two unless you’re counting, say, drops of rain,” their producer, T Bone Burnett, explained to The New York Times. “Then one plus one could equal one, or one plus one could equal a fine mist. Their voices are in that relative space where they sing together and it creates a fine mist.”
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Stay Steady,
Dan
Mr. Rather, I've come to very much anticipate and appreciate your Sunday morning essays and "Reasons to Smile"...along with everything else you write. Thank you for remaining a ray of light and integrity during this seemingly endless moment of existential crisis in America.
I have long been an admirer of Alison Krauss, and both of her albums with Robert Plant are absolutely amazing. Her music indeed is a reason to smile!!! Thank you for highlighting her!