Though she’s not keen on duets, Melissa Etheridge was thrilled to collaborate with Chris Stapleton on her track ‘The Other Side of Blue.’
Making an exception based on the 47-year-old country star’s “writing, his view and his voice”, the 64-year-old singer/songwriter knew Chris would be the ideal co-singer on the song that addresses the grief of her 21-year old son, Beckett, who died from opioid addiction in 2020.
Addressing their meeting in Nashville, Tennessee, the mother to daughter Bailey, 29, and 19-year-old twins Johnnie and Miller, and Stapleton opened up about their lives, and the duet that essentially wrote itself.
“I talked about my four [kids] and how I have three now, and I said I’d lost one to opioids.” “And he said, ‘Oh, I’m so sorry.’ And I said, ‘No, no, no, he was my greatest teacher. I’ve learned so much from him.’ ” “And Chris looked at me and said, ‘Wow, Melissa, you talk in song.’ And that’s the first line of the song, ‘Sometimes I listen when she talks in song,’ ” said Melissa.
About the ‘The Other Side of Blue’ that appears on Rise, her 17th studio collection, Etheridge added:
“The chorus is, ‘Sometimes there’s dreams that won’t come true/But it’s brighter on the other side of blue.’ ” “You’ve got to keep knowing that there’s better coming; this pain or loss is there to learn and grow from, and you’ll be grateful for it someday. That’s what it’s about.”
Stating that getting older has given her a greater understanding of the world’s struggles, and wanting to use her “wisdom” to inspire others, the two-time Grammy award-winning rocker explained: “I’m 64 now, and I think I’ve lived a lot of life and I’ve seen things come and go.” “I think I can say I have a bit of wisdom now, and I see a lot of the fear and pain that my world is in, and I want to inspire, because I know how much can inspire.”
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Author: Saul Goode
Photo: InSapphoWeTrust from Los Angeles, California, USA