Singled Out: Scott Mulvahill

04-10-2019

Americana star Scott Mulvahill tells us about the song "20/20 Vision", which is a track from his latest album "Himalayas". Here is the story:

One of my favorite stories of the album goes with the song "20/20 Vision," because that song led me to the sound I have today with my voice and bass. It's an old bluegrass standard, and I learned it during the time I spent playing in Ricky Skaggs' band, Kentucky Thunder.

We were touring with Bruce Hornsby, and he had a version of that song that he arranged with the great jazz bass player Charlie Haden. So when it came time to play that song live, I adapted Charlie's moody, gutsy bass intro, and then Bruce would come in singing. It was always a special, otherworldly moment in the show because it was so different from the rest of the set. After the tour with Bruce, we kept doing the song and Ricky let me sing it.

So I performed it most nights for a few years actually, which helped me grow as a singer, and taught me that this concept works - the bass and voice together, and without other instruments, can be really powerful. It led me to where I am now, and even though it isn't my song, I wanted to include it on the album. And of course, I wanted Ricky to play on it, so that's his mandolin you hear on the recorded version.

Hearing is believing. Now that you know the story behind the song, listen for yourself and learn more about the album right here!