In recent years we’ve seen the emergence of songwriter recordings as a common occurrence in bluegrass music. Songwriters hiring musicians and singers to produce radio-ready tracks as opposed to demos, and releasing them to the public instead of circulating them among artists and producers.
New England writer Rick Lang has been a prominent example of this trend, and he has seen great success with it, even finding label support. Others have followed suit.
Today we have one from Arkansas songwriter Marty Denton, who has been writing and performing since he was in his teens. He’s still going at 74, and he tells us he’s had approximately 100 songs produced and recorded, with several hundred others ready to go in the bluegrass, country, and gospel vein.
He has released one that means a lot to him called Below The Poverty Line, telling of the struggles of many people in today’s world, just getting by, but still trying their best. Marty enlisted vocalist Michael Lusk to sing in the studio, and produced this track in a style somewhere between acoustic country and bluegrass.
See if it grabs you the way it does Marty.
Look for Below The Poverty Line from popular download and streaming services online.
