Old Settler's Music Festival : Artists : Elizabeth Cook

In contemporary country music, it’s a rare performer who will dare to take on the industry on her own hogs-and-kisses terms. But for the artist whom Nanci Griffith has called “this generation’s Loretta Lynn,” it takes a certain tenacity to meld smart attitude with classic tradition, the credibility of a life lived with genuine hillbilly passion, and the integrity to write an acclaimed cache of uncommonly cool songs. In other words, for Elizabeth Cook, it takes balls.

Balls is the bold declaration of an uncompromising artist unafraid to be exactly who she is. Produced by Rodney Crowell, 9 of the album’s 11 tracks are written or co-written by Elizabeth – including the brash anthem “Sometimes It Takes Balls To Be A Woman” – and the album stands defiant in its devotion to smiles, tears and sexy, sassy swagger. It’s a fiercely independent ride where shuffles, ballads and even the occasional juice harp can soar alongside an exquisite cover of The Velvet Underground’s “Sunday Morning.” Balls is, quite simply, Elizabeth Cook’s unabashed breakthrough. “I still can’t believe I got away with going into the studio and cutting these songs,” she says with a laugh, “I feel like I’ve just robbed a convenience store.”

“In an era of fabricated fame, Elizabeth is the real deal,” says Rodney Crowell, the legendary singer/songwriter whose work as producer has also included acclaimed records with Guy Clark, Beth Nielsen Chapman, Jim Lauderdale and five landmark albums with Roseanne Cash. “Elizabeth has a quirky Loretta sensibility that is positively poetic. She’s got that Emmylou quality that inspires those around her. Then factor in her amazing family history – You simply cannot make that stuff up.”

To say that Elizabeth Cook’s background is like something out of a country song would be wildly underestimating the entire genre. The youngest of 11 half-brothers and sisters, she grew up in rural Florida where her musician parents met while playing in local country bars. Her father learned to play upright bass in a Georgia prison band while serving 11 years for running moonshine. Her mother, a singer and mandolin player from the hills of West Virginia, wrote her daughter’s first songs, including “Does My Daddy Love The Bottle More Than He Loves Me,” and had Elizabeth singing on stage at 4 years old. Elizabeth had her own band at 9 – as well as the regional hit “Homework Blues” – and performed prolifically throughout her school years. “The way I sound and my musical references came from what I heard and learned as a child,” Elizabeth explains in her rich twang, “I had this accent when I was 2 years old. It’s not an apology or even an explanation; it’s just what I am. My way of talking, singing and writing is just how I use language, my cultural vernacular. The only difference between me and most of my family is knowing that there’s actually a word such as ‘vernacular’.”

Elizabeth graduated from Georgia Southern University in 1996 with dual degrees in Accounting and Computer Information Systems, and accepted a job offer from Price Waterhouse’s Nashville office. But her gift for music proved inescapable and the young accountant signed a publishing deal within a year. She released the independent album Elizabeth Cook/The Blue Album in 2000, and made her major label debut in 2002 with Hey Y’All. But following a corporate re-structuring that left the album virtually abandoned, Elizabeth fought back with her 2004 independent release This Side Of The Moon, drawing raves ranging from The New York Times (which named her One Of The Top Ten Unheard Artists Of The Year) to No Depression (who called her “an artist to whom attention must be paid, reminiscent of Dolly Parton or a more burnished Julie Miller). Through it all, Elizabeth remained a relentless performer, playing shows across America – as well as in South Korea, Japan, Norway, Sweden, Poland and France – and well over 200 performances at The Grand Ole Opry.

All of this leads directly to Elizabeth’s Balls. “This is a very ‘indie’ album,” Crowell says. “In order to get it made, we all had to pull together and pitch in. But, Elizabeth brings out the best in people. Most of the record was performed live. There’s very little overdubbing and no layering. What I wanted was a snapshot of Elizabeth’s sensibilities. In the end, it was almost as if we filmed these songs. “ The album bounces from the box with the hardcore hillbilly abandon of “Times Are Tough In Rock N’ Roll,” which boasts such plucky couplets as “All my feelings, all my fears/Were confirmed with Britney Spears.” “Don’t Go Borrowing Trouble” and “What Do I Do” are torchy roadhouse shuffles, while “He Got No Heart” sears like the second coming of Wanda Jackson, and “Gonna Be” is a fiery honky-tonk affirmation. “Mama’s Prayers” is a loving testament to simple spirituality; the delicate “Down Girl” is a tender ode to survival, and “Always Tomorrow” – written by Elizabeth’s husband, the iconoclastic songwriter Tim Carroll – is both plaintive and powerful. “Rest Your Weary Mind” is a stirringly cinematic mountain ballad performed with Bobby Bare Jr., and Elizabeth transforms Lou Reed & John Cale’s elegiac “Sunday Morning” into a stunningly beautiful declaration of love and hope. “I think that country music and country people can sometimes be associated with ignorance,” Elizabeth says, “But being poor does not equal being stupid. Country music and country people can be funny and smart and quirky and unique, and that’s exactly what I love about it.”

But it’s the album’s centerpiece that has already taken on a life of its own as a runaway anthem for strong women everywhere. “I started writing ‘Sometimes It Takes Balls…’ as a joke,” Elizabeth says, “and never thought I’d ever perform it live. But when I started playing it at shows, the song would get this crazy response whether I was opening for Nanci Griffith in the Northeast or playing the NASCAR Festival in downtown Nashville.”

“If you mention Emmylou or Lucinda or Patty Griffin or other artists who have longevity, it’s because their work is based on recognition of their artistry,” says Rodney Crowell. “My hope for this album is that Elizabeth is recognized as the same kind of artist that deserves to be heard. She has something to add to it all.” And for the artist who dares to describe herself as “a girl with an affinity for vintage cocktail dresses but believes in baiting her own hook,” her new album is the twanged clarion of a bold new stage in an already fearless career. “I write what I love,” says Elizabeth, “And I love to communicate what I write. Most of all, I write to help heal myself. Music has traditionally helped people feel better and gotten them through hard times. With this album, I want people to feel like they got a laugh and got a cry. I want people to feel understood, if only for a few minutes.” Because for Elizabeth Cook, having Balls is just the beginning.

• Iron & Wine
• Amos Lee
• Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit
• Railroad Earth
• Lissie
• Steep Canyon Rangers
• Psychograss
• Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver
• JJ Grey & Mofro
• Greensky Bluegrass
• Sarah Jarosz
• Marshall Crenshaw
• The Bottle Rockets
• Bob Schneider
• Gaelic Storm
• Audie Blaylock and Redline
• James McMurtry
• Dale Ann Bradley
• Sunday Service
• Flounders Without Eyes
• Ha Ha Tonka
• Slim Richey's Jitterbug Vipers
• Frank Solivan & Dirty Kitchen
• The Wheeler Brothers
• Eilen Jewell
• New Country Rehab
• Pine Leaf Boys
• Fiddle Workshop with Darol Anger
• Yoga
• Sam Baker
• The Blue Hit
• SHEL
• Vocals with Doyle Lawson
• Harmonica with Cara Cooke
• 2012 Youth Talent Competition Winner
• Mandolin with Sarah Jarosz & Joe Walsh
• Shakers with Mike Meadows of Swan Percussion
• Banjo Workshop with Tony Trischka
• Youth Talent Competition
• Youth Competition Winner Grace London
• Songwriting with Dale Ann Bradley & Steve Gulley