![\"Issue35-KELLY-WILLIS-BRUCE-ROBISON\"](\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Issue35-KELLY-WILLIS-BRUCE-ROBISON.jpg\")
<\/b><\/p>\n<\/b><\/p>\nWhen this roots-country couple combines talents, the result is magic<\/b><\/h3>\n
It took singer-songwriters Kelly Willis and Bruce Robison nearly 20 years of marriage before they collaborated on a duets album, 2013\u2019s stunning Cheater\u2019s Game<\/i>. \u201cI always felt we were trying to be protective of our marriage,\u201d says Robison. \u201cWe finally agreed that if we were going to work together, we were going to do it the right way. We treated it like making a band\u2014and that made everything new again.\u201d<\/p>\n
The experience was so positive that the duo soon began planning a follow-up album, returning to Nashville to work with producer Brad Jones and several of the musicians who appeared on Cheater\u2019s Game<\/i>. The result is Our Year<\/i>, an album of sharp originals and several smart covers, including one that ended up on the record after Willis played a prank on her husband.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt a gig somebody called out a random request that Bruce had never done before, but he played it like he\u2019d been practicing, and he looked awfully proud of himself,\u201d says Willis, 45. \u201cSo I went to Twitter and asked people to come up with a complicated song that would be a surprise for Bruce if I knew it. For the next week, every time he left the house, I practiced \u2018Harper Valley P.T.A.\u2019\u201d At the next show, Willis planted an audience member to request the country classic. \u201cBruce was like, \u2018Oh, I don\u2019t think we can do this song,\u2019 but I said, \u2018I\u2019ll try it.\u2019 Then I locked into it. That was fun for me,\u201d she laughs.<\/p>\n
When searching for material, the duo isn\u2019t restricted by genre, as they prove with their cover of the Zombies\u2019 \u201cThis Will Be Our Year,\u201d which allows them to showcase their voices. \u201cI see us as a harmony act in the tradition of the Everly Brothers and even pop acts like Simon and Garfunkel,\u201d says Robison, 48.<\/p>\n
Willis explains the couple\u2019s creative process is largely based on something intangible. \u201cThere has to be mutual enthusiasm over a song,\u201d she says. \u201cThen we try singing together to see if any magic happens. It\u2019s all about what happens when we sing.\u201d Both Willis and Robison\u2014currently on tour and accompanied by their four children\u2014have plans to work on separate solo records next, but their two collaborative albums have set a high bar for future recordings. Says Robison, \u201cWhatever I do, I want it to hold together as well as what we\u2019re doing right now.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2013Juli Thanki<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
KELLY WILLIS & BRUCE ROBISON When this roots-country couple combines talents, the result is magic It took singer-songwriters Kelly Willis and Bruce Robison nearly 20 years of marriage before they collaborated on a duets album, 2013\u2019s stunning Cheater\u2019s Game. \u201cI always felt we were trying to be protective of our marriage,\u201d says Robison. \u201cWe finally […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[6],"tags":[6431,7652],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14586"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14586"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14586\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14625,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14586\/revisions\/14625"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14586"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14586"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14586"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}