walking upstream…
Chris Stapleton
photo: steve kwak - maryland govpics · cc by 2.0 ↗Chris Stapleton
Christopher Alvin Stapleton is a Kentucky-born singer-songwriter and guitarist who spent nearly two decades as one of Nashville's most in-demand hit songwriters before stepping out as a solo artist. His 2015 debut Traveller paired an outlaw-country backbone with a deep, gospel-and-soul-inflected howl, and his cover of "Tennessee Whiskey" became a generation-defining crossover hit. Since then he has become one of country music's most decorated artists, fusing honky-tonk songcraft with blues-rock guitar and Southern-soul phrasing.
the sound in question
2015
Tennessee WhiskeyChris Stapleton
walk the tributaries ↓
Otis Redding1960s · Soul / R&B
Stapleton has repeatedly cited Otis Redding and classic Stax-era R&B as formative listening, and it comes through most clearly in his slow-burn ballads, where he builds from a hushed verse to a gospel-scale vocal peak the way Redding did.
listen: upstream & here
1966
Try a Little TendernessOtis Redding
2017
Broken HalosChris Stapleton
listen forPlay Redding's 'Try a Little Tenderness,' which spends its first two minutes as a murmur before erupting into full-throated soul, next to Stapleton's 'Broken Halos' — both let the arrangement swell slowly under a vocal that keeps finding another gear.
Waylon Jennings1970s · Outlaw country / Country
Stapleton has named the outlaw country of Waylon Jennings, alongside Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard, as part of his earliest musical memories, and it surfaces in his plainspoken, unhurried baritone and his refusal to smooth his band's sound down for radio.
listen: upstream & here
1972
Good Hearted WomanWaylon Jennings
2015
Outlaw State of MindChris Stapleton
listen forCue up Jennings's own '72 recording of 'Good Hearted Woman,' with its lean, road-band groove, then Stapleton's 'Outlaw State of Mind' — both wear the outlaw stance as a badge, trading studio polish for a rougher, live-band feel.
The Allman Brothers Band1970s · Southern rock / Blues rock / Jam band
As his tastes widened beyond straight country, Stapleton has pointed to Southern rock bands like the Allman Brothers as influences, and it shows in his taste for extended, blues-based guitar solos layered over a jam-band groove rather than a tight three-minute country arrangement.
listen: upstream & here
1973
Ramblin' ManThe Allman Brothers Band
2015
Might as Well Get StonedChris Stapleton
listen forListen to the snaking, dual-guitar interplay on the Allmans' 'Ramblin' Man,' then Stapleton's 'Might as Well Get Stoned' — both stretch out past the radio-single format to let the band trade blues licks.