Dee White might qualify as a perennial prodigy of sorts, given the fact that he was discovered making music while still in high school. Granted, he was older than some, but still younger than most. Championed by Alison Krauss and Dan Auerbach, the young Alabamian released his first album Southern Gentleman early last year and has since become an Americana sensation thanks to a flood of critical kudos.
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When White made his first-ever Facebook appearance for American’s Songwriter’s “Behind the Mic” series, he had shorn his long locks and looked comfortably nestled in the house where he was raised. Naturally, he took the opportunity to share some thoughts about several songs from his initial album. He described “Ol’ Muddy River” as “a simple song, one of the first songs I ever wrote,” but, he added, it was also one that he never thought would be released. “Rose of Alabama” is, naturally enough, about his home state, but he also added, “about infidelity for the most part.”
He elaborated a bit more when it came to “Wherever You Go,” a breezy caress of a tune that he said was inspired by “an old Southern rock song” that he declined to name. Built in stages, it took shape once he and his noted collaborators, Pat McLaughlin and the aforementioned Dan Auerbach, came up with a basic guitar riff, which they then refined. “We started with a groove and then a groove came out of that,” White recalled. “After playing it live many times with several really good player, the groove worked its way into the melody. The lyrics can after that.”
White admitted that the words aren’t, as he described it, “super deep.” “They’re mainly about being in love with somebody,” he said. “The implication is that you’ll follow somebody you love, and that sometimes you’re willing to do anything with somebody, no matter how ridiculous.”
That’s evident in the song’s seductive refrain: “Where ever you go, I’m going with you.” That’s a sweet sentiment to be sure, one indicative of what happens when one falls head over heels for another individual and gives themselves entirely to that new potential partner.
Given his progress so far, there’s little doubt that plenty of people will continue to follow Mr. White as well.
