Acclaimed musician and actor Sam Palladio has released the video for his new single Wake Me Up In Nashville, taken from his recently released debut album The Perfect Summer’s Day, Before We Lost The Light. The delicate acoustic ballad honours Palladio’s late grandfather which he has written to detail a heartfelt love story the decorated World War II bomber pilot experienced while based in America for training.
Nashville In Concert @ Hammersmith Apollo
The 37-year-old explains: “Wake Me Up In Nashville was the first song I wrote after moving to Nashville to shoot the TV show Nashville. It’s a song that I’m really proud of as it honours my late grandfather Owen Scott who was a famed Lancaster bomber pilot in World War II. He received the Distinguished Flying Cross for his service in over 30 missions throughout the war.
“The inspiration for the song came from his real-life wartime romance with a girl from Nashville. He met her while training in Pensacola, Florida and had started a romance until being sent back to England. He was put on a train that travelled across America, and on discovering he would be stopping in Nashville, managed to get a letter to her to say he would “meet her on the platform” at Union Station in Nashville to say their farewells.
Check out the video for Wake Me Up In Nashville below:
“The story goes that he tipped the train conductor to wake him up in Nashville as the train would be passing through early in the morning. Unfortunately, he was never awoken and never got to say goodbye to the girlfriend who had been waiting for him on the platform.
Nashville In Concert @ Hammersmith Apollo
“It’s a story that has captivated fans for all the years I’ve been playing this song live and to finally put it out on my debut record feels very special. I was able to record him telling the story before he passed in 2018 and made his voice the intro to the song, making it all the more personal and special. Living in Nashville and being surrounded by a community of songwriters where storytelling is at the heart of the craft, inspired me to follow that path and put my grandfather’s story to music.”
Watch Sam Palladio’s grandfather Owen Scott describe his time as a wartime pilot for the RAF Benevolent Fund below:
Palladio’s debut album The Perfect Summer’s Day, Before We Lost The Light speaks to the trans-Atlantic star’s lifelong experience in and around music, his deep immersion in Nashville and heartland Americana, while also retaining his obsessive fandom for rock and guitar music. It also addresses very personal and life changing moments, prompting a diverse record of moving emotions, textures and sounds.
The LP was born in Nashville, with some judicious nods back to the UK and finished in Los Angeles in the iconic Prince Room of the legendary Sunset Sound studios with GRAMMY®-winning producer Dave Sardy (Noel Gallagher, Band Of Horses, Royal Blood).
Biffy Clyro @ The O2 Arena
The Cornwall-hailing singer is also joined by collaborators on the record including Biffy Clyro’s Simon Neil on the laid-back anthem Spill Your Heart, which the pair performed together at Glasgow’s King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut on Sam’s UK headline tour last month, while Foo Fighters’ Chris Shiflett lays down scorching riffs and soloing on the rollicking barroom anthem Tennessee. Shiflett also joined Palladio onstage recently where the pair performed the single together at London’s 100 Club.
Chris Shiflett @ Water Rats
Sam Palladio has two Nashville Reunion tour shows in America this month where he will play the Coca-Cola Roxy in Atlanta on November 22nd and the famed Ryman Auditorium in Nashville the following day. He has more live shows and onscreen roles to be announced soon.
Nashville In Concert @ Hammersmith Apollo
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