Missouri-raised singer-songwriter Forrest McCurren's music is a celebration of the "luckiness of life." In fact, you could consider his debut album Oh Me, Oh My (out August 19) a soundtrack to those moments of human connection that feel almost cosmic. ("To me, the best songs are human and help us to realize how much we all share," McCurren says.)
Videos by Wide Open Country
Debut single "Little Rock," inspired by John Prine, a long roadtrip and a roadside motel, finds the Midwest troubadour penning a homesick love song for his wife Margaret.
"I had been on the road for a couple days, following different rivers (mainly the Mississippi) and listening to different records (mainly CCR and John Prine's 'Sweet Revenge') when I pulled into Little Rock. I booked the motel room based on the roadside, neon sign I had seen on Google images, usually a safe bet, but when I checked-in the room was a complete mess and the AC wouldn't turn off," McCurren tells Wide Open Country. "I probably could have had my room switched but the owner, and from what I could tell the only employee, was a sweet lady named Ramona that had run the place since the 60's and I didn't want to trouble her so I decided I'd go out and stay up late enough that I didn't care that the bed sheets hadn't been washed. I woke up the next morning with a hangover and a heartache for home and Margaret. I sang the lines into my phone on my drive back to Missouri and wrote it down as soon as I got home (after hugs and kisses)."
The song's video features Forrest and Margaret hitting the road for a scenic Missouri road trip.
"Margaret and I met up with buddies, and creative-forces-of-nature, Brett Jackson (also a mid-Missourian) and Aaron Lawrence of Intrepid Creative. One of my favorite movie lines is from Cool Hand Luke when Paul Newman says, 'I never planned anything in my life' and this video was no exception save one 'planning' aka whiskey-drinking session the night before," he says. "I wanted the video to reflect the chorus of the song, being away from home and missing it and/or someone. The result was a long, winding drive from Kansas City back to my Papaw's (Big Forrest) farm in Mid-Missouri with Margaret in the passenger seat and the Intrepid Creative boys right behind. Important stops included: highway firework/cigarette store, hidden Missouri river lookouts, small town main streets, Crazy Good Burritos in Columbia, and the fields and forests of Callaway County."
Watch the video for Forrest McCurren's "Little Rock" below.
Raised on the lyrics of Willie Nelson, Bruce Springsteen and Townes Van Zandt, McCurren values truth and human connection above all in his songwriting.
"I never had a plan in my life; music has always given me something to keep mefocused," he says in a press statement. "I always try to write one true sentence. Most of the songs I have kept, the first line I wrote was the first line of the song. Words come first, then melodies get inspired by the words. I trust the quickness of the way I write. I am always jotting down rhymes. Songs have given me a way of understanding who I am and relating to people."
