Bluegrass singer and songwriter Shannon Slaughter has made a considerable mark on the music during his time in the business. While in college in Virginia, he performed with notable acts like Lost & Found and The Larry Stephenson Band, before eventually becoming a member of Lonesome River Band, Lou Reid & Carolina, and Grasstowne.
Now living in Alabama where he is a high school history teacher, Shannon turns out music of the highest professional caliber as an independent artist, primarily with songs he has written or co-written. His single releases regularly find a spot on our Bluegrass Today Weekly Airplay chart, as will surely his latest this month, which he wrote with Tim Stafford, called Silent As The Grave.
Slaughter says he built this song from a single line commonly used in conversation, and turned it into a deadly story.
“I heard my good friend Tim Stafford say this exact phrase when describing something several years ago, and I jotted it down, anticipating at some point that I’d get Tim to help me write it. The song was inspired by too many episodes of any crime show you’d like to choose from!”
Recording with some of his favorite musicians, Shannon has turned in a gritty, lonesome track about a faithful, hard-working man, with a spouse that was never satisfied. Things don’t go well for her, though not as you might initially suspect.
With Shannon on guitar and lead vocal, studio support came from Ron Inscore on mandolin, Aubrey Haynie on fiddle, Trevor Watson on banjo, Gary Hultman on reso-guitar, and Cliff Bailey on bass, who also sang the tenor vocal.
“I really love what the guys did here with the intro. Gary’s reso and Trevor’s banjo underpinning the topside vocals really worked well in setting the tone of the song.”
It’s a good’n. Have a listen…
Silent As The Grave is available now from popular download and streaming services online, and to radio programmers via AirPlay Direct.
