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Watch: Dierks Bentley Predicted That Chris Stapleton Was Bound To Be A Star… More Than 15 Years Ago
Prior to 2015, Chris Stapleton was the best kept secret in country music, perhaps all of music in general, except it really wasn’t much of a secret to anyone actually in country music.
In fact, Dierks Bentley more or less predicted Chris Stapleton’s rise to fame…. more than 15 years ago.
Back in 2010, Dierks was recording a a passion project titled Up On The Ridge, a stellar bluegrass record that featured the likes of The Del McCoury Band, Alison Krauss, Punch Brothers, Chris Thile, Jamey Johnson, Miranda Lambert, and even the great Kris Kristofferson. Dierks has always been a passionate fan of bluegrass, and has since then, has followed that up with an EP titled Live From Telluride that he released in 2021 while hiding out from the pandemic in Colorado. Dierks can always be found at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival, and has even featured a number of bluegrass acts at his own Seven Peaks Festival. He’s a longtime fan, and a legit one.
I’d love another full-length bluegrass project from Dierks someday, and his most recent studio album Gold featured shades of it with Billy Strings, Charlie Worsham, and bluegrass legends Jerry Douglas, Sam Bush, and Bryan Sutton teaming up for a song called “High Note.” And on his upcoming album, Broken Branches, set for release on June 13th, he’s promised us some more bluegrass on tracks like “Well, Well Whiskey.”
But back in 2010, Dierks was working with another bluegrass name, a guy in this little band called The SteelDrivers. Chris Stapleton joined the SteelDrivers in 2007 and recorded a couple albums with them until he left the band in 2010 to focus on his family. He was making his money as a songwriter, with cuts by Josh Turner, Blake Shelton, Faith Hill and more, and he would also sing background vocals on a number of those songs that got recorded.
And when Dierks was recording Up On The Ridge, he brought Chris in to sing backup vocals on a track called “Fallin’ For You,” written by Shawn Camp, Paul Kennerley. But what he said in the studio foreshadowed what was in store for Chris Stapleton… a whopping 10 years before his big break and the release of his debut solo album, Traveller.
Dierks says:
“Chris is probably the best singer in the world. He’s so powerful, when you hear him on ‘Fallin’ For You,’ his voice is so strong.”
Best singer in the world is QUITE the ringing endorsement… and we all now know that it was probably true at the time. Dierks spoke it into existence way back in 2010, and now 15 years later, Chris is still arguably the best singer in the world, and EVERYBODY knows it. And everybody wants him to sing on their albums… and I’m not just talking about country music, we’re talking Justin Timberlake, Ed Sheeran, Adele, Taylor Swift… THE biggest stars in all of music.
It’s just a shame that it took so long for that talent to be unleashed on the rest of the world, and it’s really a shame that it took a CMA Awards duet with Justin Timberlake of all people to make that happen. If Chris was writing all these songs for mainstream country music stars, songs for huge acts like Tim McGraw, Kenny Chesney, and Darius Rucker, among others, and if way back in 2010, Dierks was calling him the best singer in the business… then what were all the record labels waiting for? Let me guess… he didn’t “look the part”? We’ve heard that one before… from another burly dude with a beard… Luke Combs. Look where he wound up…
I guess it’s just a case of talent winning out in the end, a tale of when the good guys win. These days, the man is a full-blown superstar, selling out stadiums across the country, and even George Strait, who only plays a handful of shows a year, wants Chris on the bill. Chris’ audience changed, his bank account changed, but one thing stayed the same… he’s still the best singer in the world.
Hear Dierks and Chris sing “Fallin’ For You” from the 2010 record, Up On The Ridge.
Chris Stapleton was also featured on a song called “Hurt Somebody,” which is the final track off Dierks’ 2014 Riser album.
This was really a next-level album for Dierks in some ways, the one that seemingly catapulted him from country music radio mainstay and hitmaker to consistent “Best Male Vocalist” kind of territory. Don’t get me wrong, Dierks had #1s and even Top Male Vocalist nominations way back in 2006, but from 2014-2017, he went on a major run of headlining festivals, multi-Platinum singles, playing arenas… it was a big step up for a guy who already had a ton of success.
But for my money, “Hurt Somebody” was one of the best songs on the album. Check it out:
The post Watch: Dierks Bentley Predicted That Chris Stapleton Was Bound To Be A Star… More Than 15 Years Ago first appeared on Whiskey Riff.
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