For Georgia-bred country artist Channing Wilson, writing great songs means living each day with an immense depth of empathy, curiosity, and devotion to inspiration. “A songwriter can’t live 50 lifetimes…but if he’s worth his weight in anything, he’d better be able to write like he has,” Wilson says.
With his past triumphs including penning songs for heavy hitters like Luke Combs, as well as sharing bills with talent such as Steve Earle, Billy Joe Shaver, and Robert Earl Keen, Wilson now brings his warmly nuanced truth-telling to his long awaited debut album Dead Man. Produced by eight-time Grammy Winner Dave Cobb (Sturgill Simpson, Jason Isbell, Chris Stapleton), the result is a timeless and truly singular body of work, revealing Wilson’s rare gift for turning the most painful aspects of the human condition into songs of life-affirming beauty.
Originally from the small town of LaFayette, Wilson first discovered his love of spinning stories into song in his late teens. “When I was a kid, I was always coming up with ideas for inventions,” he says. “So, once I found songwriting, I was excited to have a way to create something without a hammer and a nail.” After attempting college twice, Wilson formed a band in his mid-20s and quickly made his name as a formidable local act, but eventually felt called to take his music to the next level. In 2009, he began making frequent trips to Nashville and landed a deal with EMI Music Publishing then started working with his longtime musical hero, the late Guy Clark. “There’s that old saying that goes, ‘I just hold the pen and God does the writing,’” he says. “But I know from spending time with Guy that everything he did was incredibly intentional and meticulous. His ability to say so much in such a simple way is an art form.”