{"id":21047,"date":"2023-07-07T10:56:06","date_gmt":"2023-07-07T17:56:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/?p=21047"},"modified":"2023-07-07T10:56:40","modified_gmt":"2023-07-07T17:56:40","slug":"dale-watson-whatever-happened-to-the-cadillac-video-premiere-with-web-exclusive-interview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/2023\/07\/dale-watson-whatever-happened-to-the-cadillac-video-premiere-with-web-exclusive-interview\/","title":{"rendered":"DALE WATSON &#8220;Whatever Happened to the Cadillac&#8221; Video Premiere &#8211; with Web-Exclusive Interview"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>DALE WATSON \u201cWhatever Happened to the Cadillac\u201d Video Premiere \u2013 with Web-Exclusive Interview<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Musician:\u00a0 DALE WATSON<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Video:\u00a0 \u201cWhatever Happened to the Cadillac\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/2n6GqE0oAvA\" width=\"660\" height=\"440\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong><br \/>\nDALE WATSON \u201cWHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE CADILLAC\u201d VIDEO PREMIERE<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Dale Watson is like a chameleon when he picks up his guitar takes you on a journey along the backroads of America. <em>Starvation Box<\/em>\u00a0begins with the captivating title track, which Watson co-wrote with CMA award-winning songwriter Mike Henderson, of Chris Stapleton\u2019s \u201cBroken Halos\u201d fame. The song rides a bluesy 12-string guitar riff backed by a sparse rhythm track that gives ample room for Watson\u2019s leathery baritone voice.<\/p>\n<p>As Watson explains, \u201cLiving in Marshall, TX, the area so influential to Lead Belly, I went down the Lead Belly rabbit hole. It led me to a 1957 Stella 12-string guitar just like the one Lead Belly had, which his father called a \u2018starvation box.\u2019 I knew I had to write that song as an ode to Lead Belly. What I wrote was ok but with Mike Henderson\u2019s additions and of course, his slide guitar and harmonica, I think we came up with a fitting tribute that I hope people like.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s plenty more bluesy, folk and roots rock in store on\u00a0<em>Starvation Box<\/em>, the album, including an ode to Elvis Presley\u2019s mechanic, \u201cBilly Strawn,\u201d a fantastic cover of Percy Mayfield\u2019s \u201cLike A Stranger In My Own Hometown,\u201d and the superb closer, a gospel rave-up called \u201cAin\u2019t Nobody Everybody Loved.\u201d But one of the tracks that caught our attention and made us smile was \u201cWhatever Happened to the Cadillac.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>We talked with Dale Watson about his new album and what made him want to record this new album.<\/p>\n<p><strong>From Alt-Country to Roots\u2014why did you choose to record <em>Starvation Box<\/em> at this particular time?<br \/>\n<\/strong>I listened to a podcast called\u00a0<em>History Cache<\/em>\u00a0and the lady did a four-part series on Leadbelly. I had thought I knew a lot about him and his music, but I was wrong. So after going down the Leadbelly rabbit hole, I was inspired to try a 12-string guitar. My wife bought me the best playing acoustic 12-string I\u2019ve ever owned, and I was immediately inspired to write new songs. And that is this album.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What one main thing did you learn about yourself after recording this new collection of songs?<br \/>\n<\/strong>I learned an appreciation for solo acoustic performers. You\u2019re naked, so to speak, and there\u2019s nowhere to hide the bad notes.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How did this album evolve?<br \/>\n<\/strong>It evolved from the guitar inspiring me to write song after song, until I realized I had enough to make an album.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What inspired \u201cWhatever Happened to the Cadillac\u201d?<br \/>\n<\/strong>I had reserved a Cadillac to drive from Austin to Memphis, where I have an Airbnb that is all mid-century, modern and Elvis decorated. So Celine (my wife) and me, and my singing\/writing partner were planning to take this big Caddy and fill it with antiques and vintage home decor. Well, I was going by my memory of driving a 1978 Cadillac. But when we got to the rental place and said proudly, \u2018We have a caddy reserved.\u2019 The guy pointed us to this little SUV-looking thing. I said, \u2018No no no! I reserved a big Cadillac.\u2019 He said, \u2018That <em>is<\/em> our biggest one.\u2019 I said, \u2018But it has bucket seats! Real Cadillacs didn\u2019t have bucket seats!\u2019 I ended up writing the song on that drive in this miserable excuse of a Cadillac.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Which song squeaked by and made it onto this album collection?<br \/>\n<\/strong>\u201cTwo Peas in a Pod\u201d is a song I love singing with Celine, and I wrote that song for and about us. So glad it made it onto this collection.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Which 5 songwriters continue to influence you?<br \/>\n<\/strong>Tom T Hall, Billy Joe Shaver, Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard and Willie Nelson.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Is there a songwriting tip you\u2019d like to offer?<br \/>\n<\/strong>Read Tom T Hall\u2019s book\u00a0<em>How I Write Songs<\/em>\u2014it\u2019s open your mind.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Which song of yours do you continue to include in almost every live show?<br \/>\n<\/strong>\u201cCarryin\u2019 On\u201d\u2014because it\u2019s been 20 years, and I am still Carryin\u2019 On like I haven\u2019t learned a thing.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Tell us 5 albums that inspired you to be a musician.<br \/>\n<\/strong>Ray Price \u2013 <em>Night Life<\/em><br \/>\nWillie Nelson \u2013 <em>Live at Panther Hall<\/em><br \/>\nJohnny Bush \u2013 <em>Live at Dancetown USA<\/em><br \/>\nJohnny Cash \u2013 <em>Live at San Quentin<\/em><br \/>\nWaylon Jennings \u2013 <em>Honky Tonk Heroes<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>Tell us about the song \u201cStarvation Box\u201d and how this song came together.<br \/>\n<\/strong>\u201cStarvation Box\u201d is what Leadbelly\u2019s Dad called his guitar. I had written it from facts I knew, but something was missing. I asked Mike Henderson to help finish it, and he was the perfect guy to ask. His touches were exactly what was needed. He did the same doctoring to \u201cCadillac,\u201d as well.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Tell us about a moment in your musical journey so far\u2014that you are real proud of\u2014and that continues to inspire you to keep making music.<br \/>\n<\/strong>Every time I play the Opry, I\u2019m proud and inspired. But the one moment had to be Austin City Limits\u2014doing my own segment. It was for hometown folks and it was very emotional for me. I felt like each one of the people in that audience knew that <em>they<\/em> personally had a hand in getting me there. Music without people to share it with would be sad. The fans are my sole inspiration to keep playing. If they stop showing up, I\u2019ll quit\u2014but not until then!<\/p>\n<p><strong>Where can new fans get more info and stay updated?<br \/>\n<\/strong>I do my own social media, with a lot of help from Celine.<br \/>\nFacebook Instagram and Twitter:<br \/>\nI\u2019m TheDaleWatson (<em>the CIA Director Dale Watson had dibs on my name<\/em>)<\/p>\n<p>And of course, my website (<em>I beat him to that<\/em>)<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.DaleWatson.com\">www.DaleWatson.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>DALE WATSON \u201cWhatever Happened to the Cadillac\u201d Video Premiere \u2013 with Web-Exclusive Interview Musician:\u00a0 DALE WATSON Video:\u00a0 \u201cWhatever Happened to the Cadillac\u201d &nbsp; DALE WATSON \u201cWHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE CADILLAC\u201d VIDEO PREMIERE Dale Watson is like a chameleon when he picks up his guitar takes you on a journey along the backroads of America. Starvation [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":21049,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[7725],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21047"}],"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\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21047"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21047\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21051,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21047\/revisions\/21051"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21049"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21047"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21047"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21047"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}