genre country

On Kameron Marlowe’s third Sony Music Nashville album, Sad Songs For the Soul, out Friday (Feb. 21) he’s veered from crafting a standard country project to fashioning a concept album focused on those with shattered hearts.

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As he sorted through songs he’d written since signing with Sony Music Nashville in 2020, he realized he had a stack of solid songs—all heartbreak anthems—that he had never put on previous albums.

“They’d kind of been sitting in my music vault for a while,” Marlowe tells Billboard. “I’d want to put ‘em on the projects, but I didn’t want to have too many sad songs on a project. So, I was like, ‘It’d be cool to just have one project where I can put them all together.’”

The Red Light-managed Marlowe acknowledges the inherent stress in releasing a project that is outside the norm of what fans have come to expect but says crafting the project rejuvenated his creative impulses. “It sounds different than my music usually does,” Marlowe says. “It’s more of a passion project for me. I felt like I was getting stomped creatively and I needed to open my mind and produce this a little differently.”

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Echoing the raw feelings of heartbreak, the album is stripped back, with sparse snares and cymbals in lieu of a full drumkit. Though the nearly 10-song project centers around pain and disappointment, each song approaches from the topic from a different angle, such as the Kendell Marvel co-write “Dear God.”

Marlowe calls Marvel “one of my favorite writers in Nashville that I’ve gotten to work with,” adding, “We really wanted it to be this conversation between this person and God, just throwing out all your faults and knowing why [an ex-lover] is gone, but praying to God she’ll still give you another shot.”

Elsewhere, “The Basement” feels reminiscent of the rock-infused brand of ‘90s country from artists such as Travis Tritt. “It feels like something he would’ve done back in the day,” Marlowe notes. “Travis is definitely one of my inspirations — I learned a lot of my singing from listening to him.”

He wrote one of the project’s standout tracks, “How’s the Leaving Going,” with Country Music Hall of Famer Vince Gill and lauded songwriter/NSAI Board president Lee Thomas Miller during a songwriter’s camp in Nashville.

“It’s a bit terrifying,” he says of the prospect of writing with Gill. “He’s the sweetest guy in the world, but he’s also insanely talented in so many ways — singing, guitar playing, songwriting. So it was intimidating stepping into that room. I trust myself when I’m writing, but when you are writing with a caliber [of writer] like Vince and Lee, you can question, ‘Is that line going to be all right?’ before you say it out loud. But it was so worth it. We wrote something I think is very beautiful.”

Marlowe also included a blistering, soulful cover of Cam’s 2015 hit “Burning House,” a song Marlowe calls “the coolest heartbreak song I think I’ve ever heard. You can see everything she’s talking about in that song.” It was that decision that set Sad Songs for the Soul in motion, though Marlowe’s initial concept for the album left room to expand on the project.

“The title was actually Sad Songs For the Soul Vol. 1: Heaven and the Bottle,” he says. “It was the full concept, in case I wanted to do a volume two down the road. I still may one day.”

While Marlowe’s grizzled voice and the slate of sad songs glue the project together, Sad Songs For the Soul leans on songs that touch on an array of styles, from rock-tilted anthems, torchy R&B-fueled numbers and gospel-influenced songs. The North Carolina native grew up soaking in the sounds of gospel music in his local church and becoming a worship leader. But by high school he had segued from church songs to rock anthems, starting a band with some local friends.

“I had no idea what I was doing at the time, but my high school teacher was so excited that somebody was playing music,” Marlowe recalls. “He created a class for me and my buddies to rehearse and learn how to put songs together. He would set up shows for us, which was exciting for me because I was learning how to build songs out, build a band and how to play those songs live.”

Marlowe pursued music during a short stint in college but dropped out to work to support his family, serving as an auto parts salesman for General Motors. Throughout, he continued playing music, putting up videos of himself singing cover songs on Instagram. One of those videos — a powerful cover of Chris Stapleton’s “Tennessee Whiskey” — led The Voice to come calling.

“They found me on social media, and — this is terrible that I even had this going on — but back then, I had my phone number in the bio of my [profile], thinking girls might reach out to me. But it ended up turning out to be a good thing, that The Voice found that number and reached out.”

He competed on season 15 of The Voice, singing songs from Hootie & the Blowfish, Waylon Jennings and Bob Marley, and advancing to the top 24 before being eliminated. Encouraged by the competition, he moved to Nashville and quickly found that fans gravitated toward his independently released, solo-written song “Giving You Up,” which led to Marlowe signing with Sony Music Nashville.

In the five years that have elapsed, Marlowe has issued many songs that evince his gale force of a voice, bolstered by an ever-maturing songwriting style. He issued 2022’s We Were Cowboys and 2024’s Keepin’ the Lights On, featuring songs including “Steady Heart” and the Ella Langley collaboration “Strangers.”

“I’ve learned how to persevere through the tough times and I feel like that’s something that I’ve leaned on pretty hard the past couple years, where I’m by no means a massive artist yet,” Marlowe says. “I would love to get there one day, but I’ve really tried to persevere and keep just staying in my lane and not worrying about what other people are doing — just following my path.”

Beyond the new album, the WME-booked Marlowe is opening shows for Parker McCollum and will launch his 2025 Keepin’ the Lights On Tour March 7. Given his nimble voice, it’s possible that path could at some point mean Sad Songs for the Soul could be just the first “passion project” he releases.

“My favorite thing is just to discover new songs,” Marlowe says. “I would love to do a soul kind of record one day or a rock record. But those would all be passion projects for me, because I feel like country music is what I am the most — but I could see a record with maybe some Kings of Leon songs that I love so much.”

Bill Medley confesses that he thought “my recording days were over” since it had been more than a dozen years since the legendary baritone from The Righteous Brothers had released an album. But, thankfully, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee was wrong. On Friday (Feb. 21), Curb Records will release Straight From the Heart, a collection of country songs that pairs Medley with such artists as Vince Gill, Michael McDonald, Keb’ Mo’ and Shawn Colvin.

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The 84-year-old, who still performs with Bucky Heard as the Righteous Brothers — his original partner, Bobby Hatfield died in 2003 — is the voice behind such timeless, foundational ‘60s hits as “Unchained Melody,” “(You’re My) Soul & Inspiration” and, of course, “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin,’” which was one of Phil Spector’s first productions using his layered Wall of Sound technique. Until 2019, the gorgeous classic was BMI’s most performed song in the performing rights organization’s repertoire for 22 consecutive years. Medley also paired with Jennifer Warnes for the iconic Grammy-winning “(I’ve Had) the Time of My Life” from the 1987 movie, Dirty Dancing.

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Straight From the Heart isn’t Medley’s first flirtation with country: He had a string of entries on Billboard’s Country Songs chart from 1979 to 1985 — including “I Do,” which reached No. 17 in 1984 — and played with such acts as Kenny Rogers, Alabama and Loretta Lynn.

In an expansive phone interview, the creator of blue-eyed soul talked about why he wanted to make the new album, recording in the studio with Spector and if it was more fun to tour with The Beatles or The Rolling Stones.

The new album spans songs as far back as the 1940s, with Hank Williams’ “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry,” to the 2000s with Vince Gill’s “These Days.” How did you pick the songs?

[Producer] Fred [Mollin] made a list of songs, I made a list of songs — and it just came down to the writing of the song and the artist that did it. I would love to do 10 more of these albums, and pay tribute to a million more great country songwriters and singers.

It’s been a dozen years since you put out an album. How did this one come to pass?

Fred and I have been friends for quite a while, and we’ve been talking about doing this album. We started out to do kind of a small album, and then my manager called Mike Curb, and Mike has been a friend of mine since 1970. Good, good friend. So, it went from the small album to kind of this important album. I think Fred was just interested in getting my voice on tape while I was still able to do it.

Did you have any concerns about that?

[I’m] always worried about my voice, but I knew those songs. I’ve been locked in with a lot of great songs, like “You’ve Lost that Lovin’ Feeling” and “Unchained Melody,” and all those songs, they’re real melodic, and country songs give you the flexibility to do them the way you want. I’m 84, I’m not a country singer — but I love country blues songs. I’ve always thought George Jones was one of the great blues singers in the world.

Speaking of George Jones, many people consider “He Stopped Loving Her Today” the greatest country song of all time. What was your approach for taking on that one?

Fred mentioned it, and I just mentioned that I love the song. Who doesn’t? And I said, “No, I can’t go there.” But they thought that I could and should, and they made the track. They said, “OK, if you don’t like it, then we won’t put it on.” But after I sang it a few times, I just loved the song so much that I okayed it… I had the final say on all the songs, but that one for sure, if it just comes off like a bad version, I don’t want it on the album.

One of the first tracks that came out from the album was a cover of Ray Charles’ “Crying Time,” with Michael McDonald. You two have two of the most iconic voices ever. What was singing with him like?

Mike and I have known each other for years. He was a big Ray Charles fan. So was I. He’s just really musically open. He sounds phenomenal; he sounds like Michael McDonald. I did want Mike on the album, and I especially wanted him to sing with me on “Crying Time.” I knew that we could do a good job on that. I was concerned, and Mike probably was too, that because we have such distinctive voices, [we didn’t know] how we would sound when we were actually singing together, harmonizing with each other. And he’s just so good, it just worked out perfect.

Ray Charles is your all-time favorite singer, and you got to meet him when you did the TV show Shindig! Did you learn any good business pointers from Ray? He counted the money himself. 

No, I didn’t learn anything from him, but I learned awfully quick [about the business]. When we had a hit with “You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling,” the first thing our agent did is put us with a business manager. That just saved our life, and we didn’t do anything stupid with our money. We were pretty down-to-earth guys. He was our business manager for a long time. Then he became my manager — and just a few months ago, he passed away. He’d been my manager for 60 years.

Did he get to hear the album before he passed?

Yes, he did. He said, “This is what you should have been doing all your life.”

You toured with Loretta Lynn and Alabama. Who else were you hanging with in those years?

I was working at a place in Phoenix where upstairs was a rock n’ roll, pop joint. Downstairs was this country bar. I was upstairs doing my [solo] show. I’d always go down to the country [bar] and they would ice up about five Coors Lights for me, and I would sit there and watch this guy. He would come over, and we would have a beer together and get to talking. And turns out it was Waylon Jennings. And so we became friends. Kris Kristofferson was a friend. Glen Campbell was a real good friend. And Kenny Rogers was a good friend. I just loved all of those guys. All my guys are gone.

You do “Sunday Morning Coming Down” on here. Is that a tribute to Kris?

No, I just love the song. It has such a great lyric. I really thought it was maybe one of the best songs that he’s written. He’s written some phenomenal songs. The truth is, I’m 84 years old and I probably have lived that [song]. I’ve had all the ups and the downs. Been married three, four times. That’s kind of why I picked certain songs. That one song I did with Vince Gill, “These Days,” is just the truth. Boy, I’ll take these days over any other days I’ve ever known.

You and Vince have a history. You were both nominated for best new male artist at the ACM Awards in 1985. Vince won. Did it seem weird to you that someone who had been having hits as long as you had was nominated because you had switched to country?

I thought it was very, very unusual — and I didn’t feel that I should necessarily be in that. I was thrilled that country music was accepting me. I thought that was really amazing and they always have, but being a newcomer of the year, I felt that somebody else should have been in that spot and not me. It was perfect for Vince, and he did pretty good. [Laughs.]

You’re obviously used to singing duets. What is the key to a successful duet?

For the Righteous Brothers and even Jennifer Warnes, it was kind of the beauty and the beast. You know, Jennifer sang so pretty, and Bobby Hatfield had a beautiful voice — and I always had this raspy kind of rock n’ roll voice. And so, I think for duets, if the two guys are lead singers, they have to sound different, or it’s just going to sound like the same guy doing the whole song. Girls are just so magical, because it’s so different. Simon & Garfunkel were pretty similar, and the Everly Brothers, for sure, were very similar. But I like the beauty and the beast idea.

You’re making your Grand Ole Opry debut on Feb. 22. Ringo Starr just made his Grand Ole Opry debut, so you have two guys in their 80s making their debuts. 

That’s wonderful. He has a great band with him. I just don’t want people to think that I’m a rock n’ roll guy trying to sneak into country music. Country music has been a part of my life for years — and even in The Righteous Brothers show, I used to do what I would call a Ray Charles tribute, but it was all beautiful country songs like “Born to Lose,” “You Don’t Know Me” and “I Can’t Stop Loving You.” I just needed to do those songs.

Speaking of Ringo, who was it more fun to open for? The Beatles or the Rolling Stones?

Oh, you want to get me in trouble? [Laughs.] Well, it’s a pretty simple answer. The Beatles, when we opened for them, it was the first American Beatles tour — and the kids were just screaming and crying, yelling out, “John, John, Ringo!” Whatever. A lot of times when we were on, they’d be clapping and screaming, “We want The Beatles!” So then when they asked us to do The Rolling Stones, they hadn’t really made it yet. I think the next weekend after we worked with them, they became huge. So that was at least more musical, opening for them, so that was really more fun. But being with The Beatles was, obviously, more historic.

“You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’” ushered in the Wall of Sound. What was it like being in the studio with Phil Spector?

I remember he worked us real hard, real hard and real long, but it always got better so we didn’t mind it. Phil Spector was fine with us because we were kind of just a couple of street guys. He was used to working with a lot of girls. Working with him was fine, and we loved the song, but by the time the song was done, I think somebody asked us, “What do you think? Do you think it’s a hit?” I said, “There’s not a chance in the world that this will be a hit.” It’s way too long. It was over four minutes long — and, in those days, you did two-and-a-half minute records — and I sounded like I was on the wrong speed. I don’t know, it just sounded like a great record that could never be a hit. It’s just a remarkable record.

How was that different from making this album?

This was the most comfortable, easiest, rewarding album I’ve ever done. Working with those Nashville musicians was just such an honor, but, boy, just so easy and so good. I love the album and if something happens with it, that would be wonderful.