Margo Price recently became part of some pretty distinguished company.
Videos by Wide Open Country
The singer/songwriter recently shared a story about writing her upcoming album, Hard Headed Woman, with Rodney Crowell. The tale also involves a special black acoustic guitar he owns.
Who Is Rodney Crowell?
Rodney Crowell is now an influential songwriter in country music in his own right. However, he got his start working with Emmylou Harris and Vince Gill, writing songs for Bob Seger ("Shame on the Moon"), and producing albums for Rosanne Cash, to whom he was also married between 1979 and 1992. Crowell's early records helped him amass a cult following, but they didn't sell very well.
That all changed in 1988 with Diamonds and Dirt, a rollicking progressive country album that once set a record for having the most No. 1 hits from a country album. In the years since, Crowell has crafted well-reviewed albums for independent labels with a roots-oriented sound while co-writing songs with Keith Urban and Tim McGraw.
This is all to say that Price was already in the company of a legend before this mysterious guitar came into play.
Margo Price Has Worked With Some Pretty Big Names Herself
Over the course of her still relatively young career, Price has worked with a long list of legends, including guitarist Mike Campbell, Willie Nelson, and Bonnie Raitt. Recently, she reflected on working with Crowell on her Hard Headed Woman album for the Broken Record Podcast with Bruce Headlam.
Price was already a fan of Crowell's when they met up for a writing session. Then, she played with him and Emmylou Harris at a benefit. She called the experience "intimidating," but discovered "they were so supportive."
Crowell was "more than happy to write" with her, Price added. She went out to his home and loved "just watching him turn a phrase in real time and seeing kind of how he does it. He'd try one thing and then he'd keep taking it further."
Crowell Showed Price His Special Guitar
Price continued to reflect on her day with Crowell during the interview. Then came a moment when he showed her what had to be one of his most prized possessions.
"And he has this really old black acoustic guitar that everybody has signed," recalled Price. "It's got Johnny Cash's name scratched into it, and at the end of the write, he had me sign his guitar. It was like a rite of passage. And I had him sign mine, too. It was really surreal."
To listen to more of the interview with Price, check out the video below.
