William Elliott Whitmore

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Hailing from a horse farm along the banks of the mighty Mississippi River, William Elliott Whitmore has developed an intense love and spiritual understanding of the land, which he flawlessly conveys through his second Southern Records release, Ashes to Dust.

With a voice that sounds decades older than he is and full of emotional depth, William again delivers his unique signature style. While comparisons to the gravely voice of Tom Waits and the lyrical story telling of Johnny Cash fly throughout reviews of William’s music, all agree that this Iowan is onto something more than just regenerating the music of the past.

Perhaps one of the reasons can be found in the instrumentation William uses in recording his songs, relying mostly on the basics while allowing his vocal delivery to provide a true sense of rural being. But clearly, it is heard in his stories: personal stories of death, love found and then lost, to never be found again. “Midnight”, the opening track for instance, was born out of the feeling of displacement. “Diggin My Grave” which originally appeared on a limited edition self-titled cd, speaks of the need, for some reason or another, to kill yourself slowly. “Lift My Jug” (songs for Hub Cale) is a song of the first, honest to god hobo he ever knew and how meeting him at the young impressionable age of six, greatly influenced his life. The closing track, “Porchlight”, is the story of William’s father, one of a dying farmer’s last request.

Tagged as:

folk, alt-country, americana, blues, singer-songwriter
See more…

1	Dry	71
2	Old devils	54
3	The Chariot	49
3	One Man's Shame	49
5	When Push Comes to Love	45
6	Take it on the Chin	39
7	Does Me No Good	38
7	Diggin' My Grave	38
9	Midnight	37
10	Sorest of Eyes	36
10	Lee County Flood	36
12	Gravel Road	34
12	The Day the End Finally Came	34
14	Everyday	33
15	Porchlight	32

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NadyaV wrote:
last month

Saw him just a couple of hours ago. His soulful voice, mixed with the banjo & guitar had me transfixed. so good to see him live.

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despise13 wrote:
last month

saw him last night for the first time with Murder By Death and it was amazing. A whole basement captivated by a single man with a banjo was an amazing sight. also his cover of MBD dynamite mine was killer.

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elkpop wrote:
October 2008

One of the most humble dudes i have ever met. And he can drink like a mother f****r.

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oldgwa wrote:
August 2008

saw this guy on jolly old blighty (England ;)) at a small festival and the guys blew my socks off. What a voice

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xEbayx wrote:
August 2008

he appeared on the chorus of Until Morale Improves, the Beatings Will Continue

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ninah90 wrote:
July 2008

I second the comment below me. Forgot how good he sounds.

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ThisIsMedia wrote:
July 2008

This guy is punk as fuck. I love this shit!

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xspikex wrote:
June 2008

Now that's punk rock. On which Murder by Death song did he appear on? I don't remember.

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MikeDrawback wrote:
June 2008

great stuff

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latenightcat wrote:
March 2008

Blues describes his voice perfectly!

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rickmoranis25 wrote:
January 2008

this guy is amazing, his music, his style, saw him 1/18 in chicago and he drank more whiskey than any man I've ever seen and played one hell of a show

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Dan-The-Eskimo wrote:
December 2007

he needs to come to europe and tour. heard him on Murder By Death's CD and have loved him ever since

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BernieFranks wrote:
December 2007

Heads up for Chicago fans: he's gonna be playing here January 18 at Reggie's Rock Club.

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Aristotlekh wrote:
November 2007

Saw this guy supporting the Pogues on Halloween. He needs to get Johnny Law on an album as soon as FUCKING IMMEDIATELY as possible. He was so awesome on that song it's unbelievable.

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SolitudEE wrote:
September 2007

Dark voice. cool

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horse_glue wrote:
July 2007

i'd love to see this guy live. just discovered him not long ago but i'm really impressed.

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thymeismatter wrote:
June 2007

He puts on one of the rawest, most sincere live performances I've ever seen.

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HolteEnder wrote:
April 2007

<3

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TheSunEatsHours wrote:
January 2007

I love this guy.

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mrnephilim wrote:
December 2006

His work for the Southern Latitudes series is the best. Raw and perfect.

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12 Next

Events

Jan 11 City and Colour The Middle East Downstairs, Boston, United States
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Jan 12 City and Colour Bowery Ballroom, New York, United States
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Jan 15 City and Colour Trocadero Theatre, Philadelphia, United States
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