‘Everything’s Gonna Be Alright’ for David Lee Murphy

After much persuasion from his longtime friend and writing partner Kenny Chesney, David Lee Murphy decided to release his own album.

Written by Annie Reuter
‘Everything’s Gonna Be Alright’ for David Lee Murphy
David Lee Murphy; Photo credit: Kristin Barlowe

It has been nearly 15 years since David Lee Murphy released an album and thanks to Kenny Chesney, the “Dust On the Bottle” singer dropped his first project since 2004 on Friday (April 6). No Zip Code was all co-written by Murphy, who serves as producer alongside Chesney and Buddy Cannon.

In the basement studio of Universal Music Group Publishing in Nashville, Murphy discusses the album and his longevity with Sounds Like Nashville. Noticing handwritten lyrics framed on the studio walls, Murphy says he’s penned many songs in the building including Chesney’s 2006 chart topper “Living In Fast Forward.” Chesney recorded several songs by Murphy like “Till It’s Gone,” “Pirate Flag” and “Bar At the End of the World,” among others. Longtime friends, Murphy would frequently send the singer his songs to cut and Chesney reasoned it was time he put out a record himself.

“He goes, ‘Man, you need to make a record. You’ve been sending me all these songs. You’re out touring, you’re playing. There’s no reason why you shouldn’t put out a record,'” Murphy recalls with a smile. “So, we talked about it over the course of a few months and traded songs back and forth. I had thought about it over the years. I never did follow through with it because I was pretty happy writing songs.”

Chesney wasn’t the first person to suggest Murphy release an album. Before his death in 2002, Waylon Jennings also urged the singer to record another project. When Murphy explained that he was content writing songs, the late singer told him never say never.

“I remember him going, more or less, ‘Don’t ever say you’re not gonna do it.’ Which was like, ‘You need to get out there and make another record,'” Murphy says.

Murphy listened and whittled down his extensive catalogue to 11 songs that serve as the perfect road trip soundtrack. Well acclimated with country audiences as he’s been touring throughout the majority of his career, Murphy knew firsthand the songs that allow people to have the most fun.

“That became my calling card for awhile, writing for other people, writing those up-tempo, driving, party, sing at the top of your lung songs. We were aiming for a fun record and we had a good time doing this. Hopefully, that’s how it comes off,” he explains in his slow drawl.

The album’s lead single, “Everything’s Gonna Be Alright,” embodies this mentality and has Murphy singing of feeling low and seeking some inspiration from his bartender. It’s a song that Murphy says is a staple in his live show and has people singing along word for word.

Murphy penned “Everything’s Gonna Be Alright” with Chris Stevens and Jimmy Yeary and remembers it being a cold, grey, rainy day when the song came together.

“We were inside and maybe, subconsciously, that’s why we wrote the song. Because it was just one of those days [and] that song just popped out,” he recalls.

Song ideas can strike at any moment and it was a familiar phrase that inspired another track on the album, “As the Crow Flies.” Murphy wrote the tune with Dean Dillon, Jamey Johnson and Phil O’Donnell while in Colorado at Dillon’s house. The men were visiting around Fat Tuesday and following a night out for Mardi Gras, they discussed taking a trail ride over the hills of Vail. Murphy asked Dillon how far it would be to Vail and he responded, “Well, as the crow flies, it’s just ten miles that way.” Murphy wrote the phrase in his phone and later the four friends penned the swampy bluegrass song.

“When you’re writing a song, you’re looking for something that we’ve all said or we’ve all heard. Everything is going to be alright, that’s been said a bunch of times. As the crow flies, I’ve heard that,” he notes. “We got in there and we started writing that song and I think because of the nature of the title, it came out a swampy, backwood-y, hillbilly, bluegrass thing. I love the whole sound of that record because it’s got the big kick drum and the little acoustic stuff going on.”

Murphy shares writing credit with his son, Jesse, on several of the album’s tracks and says he failed at trying to persuade his kids to not follow in his footsteps.

“I guess they saw their dad going off with shaggy hair, carrying the guitar, getting on the tour bus and it looked like more fun,” he says with a laugh. “They love making music, too. Seeing my kids play music is fun.”

The joy of writing songs was what kept Murphy going during the lean times and he attributes his longevity to never giving up. This attitude can be heard on the anthemic “I Won’t Be Sorry,” where he sings about living life to the fullest.

“You have to be kind of nuts to get in the music business in the first place. I got in the music business at a young age. That’s all I’ve ever done. I’ve always gone at it head first,” he admits. “In life, in general, I always want to do everything. I want to go everywhere. I want to have a good time. I want to stay up all night. When my number comes up, I’m not going to go, ‘Well, I wish I would’ve done that.’ That’s why I stayed up all night the other night listening to Merle Haggard and classic country songs on the bus on the way home from Biloxi, Mississippi. I didn’t feel too good the next day but I wasn’t sorry.”

With the release of No Zip Code, Murphy surely isn’t sorry he listened to Chesney and Jennings’ advice to record an album of his own. His current top 15 single “Everything’s Gonna Be Alright” marks an exciting new chapter for the singer.