Sturgill Simpson

Broken Record with Rick Rubin, Malcolm Gladwell, Bruce Headlam and Justin Richmond

Pushkin Industries

Music, Society & Culture

4.5 • 4.2K Ratings

🗓️ 12 November 2020

⏱️ 59 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Kentucky singer/songwriter Sturgill Simpson was in his mid-30s when he found fame as a country artist in Nashville. He had already lived a full life including a stint in the Navy, and years spent working in Salt Lake City rail yards. His outsider status in Nashville boosted his outlaw appeal. But as time passed, Sturgill began to despise the relentless expectations of the major label system. In true rebel fashion, Sturgill has now taken back control of his career and returned to his independent roots with the release of a bluegrass album: Cuttin’ Grass - Vol. 1 (Butcher Shoppe Sessions). In this interview with Rick Rubin, Sturgill explains why his bluegrass album is the purest expression of his work, why it bothers him that people often overlook the stories in his songs, and why being classified as a country artist has been, perhaps, the biggest detriment to his career.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey y'all it's Justin Richmond and growing up I was told that college would be my
0:05.4	ticket to success. No one in my family had ever completed a degree so when I
0:10.4	transferred to UC Berkeley in 2011 I thought as long as I had made it to the
0:14.3	next two years I'd made it. Of course it was really only the beginning. I had no
0:20.4	idea what came next, what I wanted to do for living or what making a living even
0:24.6	meant. I was lost so I started doing what I did as a kid whenever I saw a person
0:29.0	of color and fans or suit. I started asking successful black men and women I'd
0:33.6	see around what they did for them and that's when the idea for this show struck.
0:37.8	To start interviewing successful people grew up on the outside.
0:42.1	Lundy shows called Start Up From The Bottom. It's a podcast where I interview
0:46.2	people who had to strive and struggle to reach the top. Women, people of color,
0:51.4	those who weren't part of the old boys in the world. How did they beat the odds?
0:55.3	From media fire branch, Charlemagne to God to personal finance guru, Susie
1:00.2	Orman to heavyweight fighting champion Francis and Ghana. Here are their stories in
1:04.8	their own words. Listen to Start Up From The Bottom wherever you get your podcast
1:09.5	and if you want ad free episodes available one week early, sign up for Pushkin
1:14.2	Plus. Check out Pushkin.fm or the Apple Show page for more information.
1:25.3	Pushkin.
1:36.1	Kentucky singer songwriter Sturgel Simpson is used to doing what he wants, what he wants.
1:41.4	At least until contracting COVID in early March, sideline them. After a rough month-long
1:46.3	battle with the virus, Sturgel was itching to get back into the studio. So in October,
1:51.9	he released a surprise bluegrass album that masterfully reworks his back catalog called
	...

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