Melissa Carper Makes Memories With Her Latest Single

By Eryn Brothers, Staff Writer

Y’all remember … doing things? I know for all of 2020, we’ve sat around and mooned, getting nostalgic over the things we used to do. For music lovers like myself (and most likely you, if you’re reading this) I miss bars, being thrown around on a dance floor and making memories other than trying to remember what’s in my fridge as I walk from the bedroom to the kitchen.

Maybe this is why Melissa Carper (of Sad Daddy, Buffalo Gals, and The Carper Family) and her debut single off her upcoming solo album Daddy’s Country Gold (out March 19th, 2021) “Makin’ Memories” hits so hard.

I remember first hearing this song performed at The White Horse in Austin many moons ago, and hearing some of the staple dancers of my old haunt get a shout out in the chorus — “I’m meetin new people/I’d like to recall/Some of their names, like Larry and Steve/I’m makin memories, I’d like to keep” — gave my heart a thrum of hope. I could see the sway of people in that dark hall, the smell of Lonestar beer from the bar, the whisper of grease from the taco truck from the patio as Carper’s sweet, classic lilt playfully crooned. It’s a nostalgic country western stroll, and I found myself, without a lead or partner, dancing in my living room to it. 

There’s something so absolutely refreshing about straightforward, old-fashioned playing. An homage at points, but very much of Carper’s sound, “Makin’ Memories,” touts the right amount of rascally sweetness of a country night out.

Its swooning lyrics call to hold on to the things we might forget either by living or drinking while the Willie Nelson-esque piano (played by Jeff Taylor) and backing band (Dennis Couch, Chris Scruggs, Matty Meyer, Billy Contreras, Lloyd Green, Rebecca Patek, Brennen Leigh, Sierra Ferrel, Ranger Doug, to name a few of the stellar musicians on this album) hold it down in its lackadaisical stroll. 

“[This song] was inspired by a conversation with an old friend about makin’ memories and keepin’ your memories,” Carper said. “I knew I had some song material there because sometime in my mid 30’s I started forgetting everyone’s name and forgetting the lyrics to my own songs.  I started calling everyone Bob or Dave or Larry or Steve, and I usually wasn’t right, but I figured those were good guesses.  So it’s just a light-hearted song and hopefully makes people laugh.”

“Makin’ Memories,” not only reminds us of the times that we miss, but the good things that are truly waiting around the corner, the places we’ll fill, and the musicians that help us create these moments in our life. It’s a tasteful, laid back, and charming single to lead us into the excitement of going out, even if it’s getting dressed up to sit in the living room and play it loud.

Recorded at The Bomb Shelter in Nashville (a studio that touts musicians like Margo Price, Hurray For The Riff Raff, Mercy Bell, Paisley Fields and more), Daddy’s Country Gold is sure to not only dust off the corners of early 20th century western swing, but get you dusting your boots off in the anticipation of making memories of your own.