Sarah McCulloch “The Hard Times”
Americana Highways brings you this premiere of Sarah McCulloch’s song “The Hard Times” from her forthcoming album Live with The White Knuckle Flyers, set for release on August 7. The album captures a performance in front of an audience at Temple Beth El in Hollywood, Florida. It was produced and mixed by Jim Bickerstaff with executive producer Sarah McCulloch; engineered by Mark Thompson and mastered by Joseph Freeman.
“The Hard Times” is Sarah McCulloch on lead vocals and guitar; Savannah Bickerstaff on harmony vocals; Jim Bickerstaff on harmony vocals and guitar; Raiford Starke on guitar; Stan Geberer on harmonica; William Ellis on bass; and Jonathan Hodge on fiddle.
As Sarah McCulloch tells us, “This song is about ordinary people. So ordinary, in fact, that I wasn’t sure it would be of interest to anyone. But my mom, as well as my producer and his daughter, Savannah, really championed it and encouraged me to bring it forward. It’s a tender song about real people that I loved very much, and it’s been a thrill to hear it elevated by such beautiful voices and instrumentation. When I’ve played it live, several people have told me it reminds them of a John Prine song… and that’s not a bad thing.”
This song is truly excellent – easy, insightful, and it tells a great story with real characters that’ll make you cry: “he’s in the back yard drinking beer and telling lies, he can’t remember how that story goes, he can’t remember the hard times.” It touches on the hard realities of so many people’s lives in relationship. And the musicianship and the vocals, including the harmonies, are rich and spine chilling.
Enjoy some of our previous coverage here: Song Premiere: Sarah McCulloch “Hippie Tattoo”
https://show.co/SJXP8RJ and here on her website: https://www.sarahmacmusic.com/