Photo by Alysse Gafkjen
The very first song on Molly Tuttle’s new album, When You’re Ready, her full-length debut, is “Million Miles,” which was a collaborative effort right from the start. Here’s how it came to be, in Tuttle’s own words:
My friend Steve Poltz and I had been writing together a lot after I moved to Nashville. When we were finishing up one of our writing sessions, he played me a song that he and Jewel had started years before. They had written a verse and a chorus but never finished it, and so he asked if I would be interested in working on it. I absolutely loved it, but I was kind of nervous to attempt writing another verse. I carried the song around with me for a while, and kept being drawn back to it. When I finally sat down and started writing, the rest of the song just flowed out, and I knew I wanted to record it.
We were in the studio recording the song, and my producer Ryan Hewitt and I thought this song could use a male harmony voice. Just before we started recording, I had met Jason Isbell at the opening of an exhibit at the Country Music Hall of Fame that we were both featured in. Ryan and I had talked that night about how amazing it would be to get him to sing on a song. I am such a huge fan of Jason’s, and was SO excited when he agreed to come into the studio to sing on “Million Miles.” His voice adds the perfect contrast to the rest of the track. Finally, we had my friend and hero Sierra Hull play mandolin, which brought everything full circle for me since I met her at a bluegrass festival when we were both kids! I feel lucky to have collaborated with so many amazing friends and heroes on this track.
