One thing that bluegrass hasn’t really enjoyed, that old time country has had in spades, is the spunky male/female duet. We all remember the hilarious novelty songs that Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn did together, like You’re The Reason Our Kids Are Ugly from 1978. They were amusing and memorable numbers that were fun for radio listeners, and made for an entertaining break from the serious music on their live shows.
Now Chris Roberts and Ashley Campbell have resurrected one of these from George Jones and Tammy Wynette, and given it a bluegrass spin. Remember Something To Brag About from 1971? Written by the incomparable Bobby Braddock, it had been recorded first a year earlier by Charlie Louvin and Melba Montgomery, and their version even made it into the Billboard Top 20.
Roberts has replaced the country shuffle with a bluegrass beat, and otherwise largely replicated those classic cuts from nearly 50 years ago. Assisting on the track are Scott Vestal on banjo, Cody Kilby on guitar, Casey Campbell on mandolin, Rob Ickes on reso-guitar, Aubrey Haynie on fiddle, and Dennis Crouch on bass. It’s a groovin’ little track that should find a home on bluegrass radio.
Something To Brag About by Chris Roberts & Ashley Campbell will be available from all the popular download and streaming sites on June 28. Pre-orders are available now from the Engelhardt Music Group web site. It will also be included on Chris’ next EMG album, Mountain Standard Time, expected sometime this fall.
Radio programmers can pick up the track at AirPlay Direct.
Let’s get this out of the way up front… Ashley Campbell‘s The Lonely One is not a bluegrass album, and she is not a bluegrass artist. She is a young country singer on the way up with a peerless pedigree behind her. And she’s bringing her banjo along for the ride.
Born into country music royalty as the daughter of the late Glen Campbell, Ashley was interested in stringed instruments all her life, but it was an unexpected request in college, followed by a baptism by fire in 2012 that cemented her desire for a career in music.
We had last spoken with her six years ago, when she was touring with her dad on the five string, and had been the featured musician and actor in Rascall Flatt’s Banjo video. Her blond locks and long lean look – coupled with some fiery banjo licks – captured the attention of the music world, but Ashley wasn’t yet ready for her star turn.
She spent the next few years writing songs, determined to create her own sound, following in the footsteps of her songwriting hero, Taylor Swift. Campbell appreciates how Swift took a song wherever it dictated, and refused to be bound by genre or convention.
As co-producer for The Lonely One, with her older brother and LA studio engineer Cal Campbell, we asked if she went in determined to make the banjo part of the album’s overall sonic vibe. Her response was instantaneous and emphatic.
“Absolutely! The banjo is a huge part of who I am as an artist.”
You hear it in almost all of the album’s 13 tracks, sometimes out front like on the grassy How Do You Know and the instrumental she wrote with godfather and banjo mentor Carl Jackson, Carl & Ashley’s Breakdown. On other tracks it provides texture, tinkling away in the background even on a slow country ballad like Good For You.
The first single, Better Boyfriend, is a banjo driven country rocker which combines twinges of old time five string with Swiftian lyrics telling a former flame that she would be a preferable partner to what he has been.
So how did a west coast teenager from a privileged background end up playing the banjo?
“I was a theater major in college, at Pepperdine University. I got into a play that needed a character that played banjo. The university paid for the banjo (a junker) and my first few lessons.”
Did you dad help at all as your were learning banjo?
“He played banjo, but he mostly would play guitar with me. He would know all the songs that I was learning.
Carl Jackson was the one who helped me the most. He’s been in our family’s life for many years, since the ’70s. When we came to Nashville to play the Ryman shows with my dad, I connected with Carl.”
And now she has her own solo record, on her own Whistle Stop Records, and will play the Grand Ole Opry tonight to celebrate The Lonely One’s release. Campbell has her own band, who can support her whether a song leans towards bluegrass or country, and they played with her in the studio.
The grassier tracks were cut in Nashville, with her band members supplemented by flatpicking superhero Bryan Sutton on guitar, and Jackson helping out on both guitar and vocals. Ashley played guitar, mandolin, and banjo on the album herself.
At 31 years of age, she finally feels ready to pursue her own music under her own name.
“I’ve settled into my voice and accepted it for what it is. When I was in school I was trying to sing like the musical theater crowd. I feel so much more confident in my singing now.”
And it shows on this record.
The songs are very female, and very young. Older listeners might be too jaded to dive in, but pop music has always been herded by the thoughts and concerns of younger people. As the world spins on, the externalities may change, but the uncertainty and vulnerability of young love remains the same.
Lastly, Campbell wanted to remind everyone that she won’t be dropping the banjo if her career takes off. It’s often the instrument she picks up when she starts writing a song, and feels that it helps define her sound.
And she appreciates the company that has supported her from the start.
“I proudly play a Deering Banjo – they are incredible. I just love the way they sound.”
The Lonely One is available now wherever you find your music online.
Folks who caught any of the shows on Glen Campbell’s ongoing Farewell Tour will have noticed a striking young woman playing banjo in the show.
You may also have noticed her in the video for country superstars Rascall Flatt’s current hit, Banjo, appearing as the star attraction.
And if you followed college theater in southern California, you might have seen her appearing in student productions at Pepperdine.
This talented young lady is Ashley Campbell, Glen’s 25 year old daughter, who is making quite a mark in the banjo world this year. One of three talented Campbell siblings – all of whom are involved in music – Ashley spent some time with us last week sharing her story about coming to the banjo and bluegrass music.
Despite her famous dad, it seems she found a love for the instrument on her own.
“Ever since I was a little girl, I have always loved hearing the banjo and have always wanted to learn. Every time I would come across one at a friend’s house or at a store, I’d always pick it up and try to plink out When The Saints Go Marching In. But for some odd reason I never started playing until college.
In 2008, right before my senior year I was cast in a play at Pepperdine that was supposed to take place in 1800’s Kentucky (The Kentucky Cycle), and the director asked me if I could learn banjo for the show. So they bought me a cheap banjo and paid for my first lessons. I traded in the cheapo almost immediately for a Deering Goodtime open-backed banjo, started picking, and by 2009 I was playing on tour with my dad in Australia and New Zealand.
I think that’s a cool story to show that it’s never too late to pick up an instrument if you love it.
I had some friends in LA who were in a bluegrass band called The Dust Bowl Cavaliers, and their banjo player was giving me lessons every week in Scruggs style. They introduced me to a lot of bluegrass music and I found so much joy in playing those songs. It wasn’t until I learned to play Foggy Mountain Breakdown that I really felt like I was beginning to get the hang of the banjo.
I listened to Scruggs radio on Pandora every time I got in my car to go somewhere and would buy the songs that I liked later on iTunes. Scruggs was such a wonderful player.”
Ashley says that the past few years have turned her attention towards a career in music, a change in direction for a young woman who had trained to act on the stage instead.
“Up until I started playing banjo, I was dead set on being an actress on Saturday Night Live.
When I went on the Australia tour with my dad, I was originally supposed to be going for a vacation, but they said, ‘Well hey, why don’t you play banjo on Gentle?’ And I have been touring with him ever since. Seeing my dad play music and seeing the love the fans have for him has been one of the biggest inspirations of my life.
My friends outside the music world have been very supportive since I’ve started playing music full-time, however, the downside is that I barely ever get to see them. Since the tour started in August, I haven’t been home for more than a week. It is such a strange feeling, being away from home for so long. Sometimes I really miss home a lot, but I love what I am doing so much, it makes it worth it.”
While Ms. Campbell turned a lot of heads performing with her dad, it has been the visibility in the Rascall Flatts video that seems to have really put her on the map.
“The Rascal Flatts shoot was a lot of fun. A lot of people who have seen it have had very positive things to say to me, but surprisingly, most end up asking me, ‘Where’d you get those boots?!’ A lot of people also have been asking me if I played the banjo part on the album and the answer is, ‘I wish I was that good!’
But I did learn the song when I found out I was going to be playing banjo in the video. I learned it by listening to the song over and over until I came up with a pretty good copy with my own flair. I really wanted to get the fingering right so that it looked like I was actually playing on the video. It bothers me when I see music videos where the person playing the instrument obviously has no idea what they are doing.
It took me some exploring to get the triplets down, but I had a little help from my godfather, Carl Jackson. He’s such a cool guy. I am really glad that I learned how to play the song, because the Flatts ended up asking me to play the song with them in a live show a little after the shoot. That, too, was a very fun experience. The Rascal Flatts guys are very nice people and lovely to work with.”
But this wasn’t her first rodeo in the music video world.
“The experience of being on the set of a big music video was surreal.
When I was in college, I was trying to get into the acting business, so I did extra work sometimes. I was an extra in Justin Timberlake’s What Goes Around Comes Around video, so I had been on a big film set before, but this time, instead of being an extra, I was a bigger part of the shoot, so the director actually talked to me by name, which was a big step forward for me!
It was a great shoot and everyone involved was so much fun to work with. The Nashville shoot, as opposed to the LA shoot had a much more laid-back vibe.”
Spreading the family love around, Ashley not only performs with her dad, but separately with her two brothers as well.
“My brother, Shannon, and I have a duo project that we are working on called Victoria Ghost. He plays guitar, I play banjo and we sing harmony together. We’ve been told it’s a very fresh sound with elements of indie/folk and country. We are very excited about this music and we are constantly writing together.
I also play in a band with my other brother, Cal, called Instant People. Instant People has been opening for my dad for over a year now and is in more of an indie/pop/rock genre.
I love how diverse the two bands are. It enables me to express myself through a wide range of music.”
For someone who has only been playing banjo for 4 years, Ashley Campbell has made the most of her time with the five string. She is now an official Deering Banjo endorser, and taking the banjo to a large, worldwide audience.
But there is nothing of the big head be found.
“I am flattered that Bluegrass Today has asked me to do this interview and I hope that people enjoy reading what I had to say. I guess one thing I could say is, never stop learning.”
The newest video from country music superstars Rascal Flatts is the debut single from their upcoming album, Charged, due April 3.
Though not a specifically bluegrass song, the title is Banjo, and the message is one of getting far enough away from the concrete jungle to where you can hear the banjo.
The video also includes a leggy, blond banjo picker who, though uncredited, would appear to be Ashley Campbell, daughter of country superstar Glen Campbell. Her banjo has been a prominent part of papa Glen’s Farewell Tour, and it seems she could have a future in the music business based on her playing.
There are rumblings that Rascal Flatts intends to capitalize on the appeal of the old five string when they begin touring in support of the new album this summer. It will be interesting to see what transpires.
