Darrell Scott on literature and hits
Darrell Scott is a singer and songwriter from London, Kentucky. He has a successful solo career, as well as cuts by the Dixie Chicks and Travis Tritt. Recently, he joined Robert Plant’s Band of Joy. His latest is Long Ride Home.
You majored in English at Tufts University. How did that affect your songwriting?
It exposed me to a lot of literature. I still love Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass. The broad stroke of humanity is what appeals to me. The first song I wrote was a takeoff of “Delia’s Gone” by Johnny Cash. I was twelve. But going to school was taking a break and trying to find something else or do it a different way. In hindsight it made me become a better songwriter.
As a musician and songwriter, you seem pretty content to be in the background.
Having a monstrous commercial hit doesn’t really matter to me, but it is good money! I didn’t set out to write hits; they just became hits afterward. Celebrity does not matter to me. It’s an awkward undertaking. I don’t think I’ll ever have a number one hit with me singing.
from this interview