Jeanette Williams, Johnny Williams, and Louisa Branscomb
With Kiss on a Cold, Cold Stone, Louisa Branscomb has formidably and unapologetically returned to bluegrass, as certain as words etched in granite on a cold stone. Highly recommended.
Branscomb, an iconic songwriter known for an extensive contribution of originals to the bluegrass canon, refuses to be stereotyped. She has given us the lyrical classic Steel Rails sung by Alison Krauss; the chart-topping old-time Barefoot Girl sung by Becky Buller and Russell Moore; and an unsurpassable ballad in the 2017 Song of the Year, Dear Sister, co-written and sung by Claire Lynch.
Kiss on a Cold Stone is another haunting Branscomb original (song and music video), released just in time for Halloween and beyond. This production marks Branscomb’s re-entry into recording following a hiatus.
After her 2025 life-saving surgery, Branscomb has rebounded to record not one, but two diverse albums with iconic casts this year: one a boundary-pushing project and the other a classic bluegrass record with longtime performing colleagues, Johnny & Jeanette Williams. With Kiss, Branscomb offers a savory sample of her latest work and a reminder of her capability to compose quality bluegrass tunes.
Branscomb shared…
“After I recovered, I found myself standing on a moment like the pinnacle of a hill. I could see forward and back. I wanted to push new boundaries with one project. But I was also called to look back, to reflect on my musical home in bluegrass, where my professional songwriting began over 50 years ago.”
Kiss is a sneak peek at the latter, fearlessly bluegrass and fearlessly Branscomb. The upcoming album will be her fourteenth, and it features all originals performed with the Williams. This first single delivers a powerful roots composition, co-written with Geri Byrd, featuring Johnny on high lead who is perfect to render this number.
Branscomb stressed, “I picked this song because there just is no better high lonesome singer in our times, I feel, than Johnny Williams, and this is the lonesomest song I think I’ve ever written. I call it ‘Rawgrass’.”
The tension in this song is the agonizing plight of someone’s longing for their lost love, and the torturous search for one more kiss. The singer makes the trek to the family graveyard, overgrown with wildflowers, but can get no closer to his love than a kiss on a cold, cold stone. He finds the stone rough and cold, indifferent to his broken heart. Kiss on a Cold Stone is as haunting, plaintive, and raw as the granite that meets his grieving lips.
“The closest I can get to you, darling, is a kiss on a cold, cold stone,” are the heart-wrenching last lines of the chorus.
The Williams were totally involved with the project.
Branscomb explained…
“I am lucky to have Johnny Williams to produce and deliver a song like this, and hammer out the rhythm guitar, too. And equally fortunate to have Jeanette on bass and vocals. When I play with Johnny and Jeanette, it’s like coming home.”
In addition to the Williams’ input and Branscomb on guitar, instrumentalists on the album include Jason Davis on banjo, Stuart Duncan on fiddle, and Nick Goad on mandolin. It was recorded in Cana, VA at Eastwood Studios and engineered by Wes Easter.
