Artist:Sturgill Simpson
Song:Turtles All the Way Down
Album:Metamodern Sounds in Country Music
In today's marketplace, country singer songwriter Sturgill Simpson's music is Alt Country. He has been favorably compared to the Outlaw Country of the 70s. This has led to critical acclaim and even Grammy awards. But he hasn't been able to cross over to mainstream country music which would boost record sales. In frustration, Simpson is now calling himself Johnny Blue Skies. He was born June 8, 1978 in Jackson, KY. His father was a Kentucky State Police trooper. After graduating from high school, Simpson was in the US Navy for three years. After returning home, he formed the country rock band Sunday Valley in 2004. They moved to Nashville. But when that didn't work out, Simpson moved to Salt Lake City to work for the Union Pacific Railroad. His wife convinced him to return to music. After Sunday Valley released an album, they split up and Simpson moved to Nashville. He released his 2013 album High Top Mountain on his own label with Thirty Tigers distribution. This was followed by the 2014 album Metamodern Sounds in Country Music. Both albums were produced by Dave Cobb who had previously worked with Shooter Jennings and Jason Isbell. Simpson wrote all the songs including Turtles All the Way Down which has a neo psychedelic vibe and drug references. Critics raved about both albums comparing Simpson's music to Outlaw Country and mentioning the psychedelic references. Simpson appeared on all the late night talk shows. Metamodern Sounds in Country Music sold very well for an indie release. The album is available on CD. Simpson soon signed with Atlantic Records. The question is can his music cross over to mainstream country. His first album for Atlantic was A Sailor's Guide to Earth. Simpson wrote and produced and brought in The Dap-Kings from New York to back him up. Simpson appeared on Saturday Night Live. And he won a Grammy for Best Country Album and was nominated for Album of the Year. Despite all of that and the critical acclaim, not only did the album not cross over to mainstream country but it sold less than Metamodern Sounds in Country Music. So I'm sure Atlantic was disappointed. For the 2019 album Sound & Fury, Simpson decided to make a "sleazy, steamy rock & roll record". He was moved to Elektra Records. This did not go well. The album didn't sell plus Simpson started criticizing the record business including claims that his Grammy nominations were a scheme to help Atlantic recoup their investment in him. Not surprisingly, Simpson returned to his own label. For his 2024 album Passage du Desir, Simpson announced that he would release all future albums under the name Johnny Blue Skies, a nickname he was given in Kentucky. He also toured under that name. Simpson appeared in the 2023 film Killers of the Flower Moon and was a regular on the 2023 season of the HBO series The Righteous Gemstones. If he thinks the record business is bad, wait until he gets a load of the movie business. Here's the video for Turtles All the Way Down by Sturgill Simpson.
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