For her next single with Billy Blue Records, award-winning singer and songwriter Donna Ulisse has picked one she wrote from her current album, Mountain Lily. It’s a song that celebrates the boundless optimism of youth, and the liberty of the open road, called Rollin’.
Long championed for her expressive lyrics and tuneful melodies, Donna explained a bit of the inspiration for this one.
“I remember the morning I wrote this song, because I had just run across a picture of my first car, with a big bow on top! It wasn’t the car I had wished for, but it was brand new, it was the color I wanted, and it had a great sound system. The red Buick Electra 225 was also the size of a boat, and that’s why my dad bought his 16-year-old daughter this rolling aircraft carrier. He felt it was safe. I never could park it, but I fell in love with it, and it screamed freedom to me and to my worried parents. I never dreamed it would also be the way I would spend my life…Rollin’ down the highways.”
With her in the studio were Jake Stargel on guitar, Greg Davis on banjo, Jason Burie on fiddle, Nate Burie on mandolin, Jeff Partin on reso-guitar, and Evan Winsor on bass. Donna’s husband, Rick Stanley, and Nate Burie sang harmony.
Have a listen…
Rollin’, and the full Mountain Lily album, are available now from popular download and streaming services online, and to radio programmers via AirPlay Direct.