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Colter Wall

Colter Wall
Wall in October 2017
Background information
Born (1995-06-27) June 27, 1995 (age 29)
Swift Current, Saskatchewan, Canada
OriginCanada
Genres
Occupations
  • Singer
  • songwriter
  • musician
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • guitar
Years active2014–present
Labels
Websitecolterwall.com

Colter Wall (born June 27, 1995) is a Canadian singer, songwriter, and musician. Known for his deep, gruff baritone voice and narrative songwriting, Wall's music encompasses country, folk, and western styles. In June 2015 he released an EP "Imaginary Appalachia". His self-titled debut album was released in May 2017, and his second album Songs of the Plains in October 2018. His third album, Western Swing & Waltzes and Other Punchy Songs, was released in August 2020. His fourth album Little Songs was released on July 14, 2023.[1]

Early life

[edit]

Colter Wall was born in Swift Current, Saskatchewan, on June 27, 1995, the son of Tami and politician Brad Wall. His father served as the 14th premier of Saskatchewan.[2] He has an older sister named Megan and a younger sister named Faith.[3] He attended Swift Current Comprehensive High School and graduated in 2013. He then studied at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon.[4] He made demos of his songs while he was a student, and in 2015, he decided to take a break from his studies at the university to focus on his music career when his first EP was released.[4]

Career

[edit]

Wall recorded a seven-song EP, Imaginary Appalachia, with Jason Plumb as producer in 2015 at Studio One in Regina, Saskatchewan.[2] He collaborated on the EP with other artists from Regina such as Belle Plaine and The Dead South.[4] He described his music as a blend of blues, folk and Americana.[5] The EP was released on March 9, 2015,[6] and "The Devil Wears a Suit and Tie" was released as his first single. His music gained more attention in late 2015 when professional wrestler Brock Lesnar mentioned him as a favorite artist during an interview with "Stone Cold" Steve Austin.[7] Songs from the album were featured in the television show Dog the Bounty Hunter,[5] and the films Hell or High Water and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.[8][9] The track used in the films, "Sleeping on the Blacktop", gained more than a million streams on Spotify.[10] The song was also used in episode 3, season 1 of the Netflix series "The Peripheral".

In 2016, Wall opened for Lucinda Williams at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville.[11][12] He was signed to Rick Rubin's American Songs publishing company.[13]

His first full-length album, self-titled Colter Wall, was produced by Dave Cobb at the RCA Studio A in Nashville. Wall was accompanied by Cobb on acoustic guitar, Chris Powell on drums, Mike Webb on piano, and Robby Turner on pedal steel.[10] The album was released on May 12, 2017[14] and according to Wall, most of the songs on the album are autobiographical.[15]

His second album, Songs of the Plains, was announced in July 2018 and was released on October 12, 2018.[16]

In June 2020, Wall announced his third album, Western Swing & Waltzes and Other Punchy Songs which was released on August 28 with independent label, La Honda Records.[17]

Three of Wall's songs are featured in the fourth season of the Paramount series Yellowstone, including a rendition of Rex Allen's 1951 classic "Cowpoke", plus Wall's own "Plain to See Plainsman" and "Sleeping on the Blacktop".

In 2023, Wall released two singles, entitled "Evangelina" and "Coralling the Blues" ahead of his third album Little Songs, which released on July 14, 2023.

In 2024, "Sleeping on the Blacktop" is featured in the Netflix series Kaos.

Influences

[edit]

Wall was familiar with country music growing up, as country artists such as Johnny Cash were played at home.[18] He started learning guitar at the age of 13, playing music of rock bands such as AC/DC and Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin. Later he became interested in old blues artists, and then started to listen to folk music.[19] According to Wall, he first heard Bob Dylan's song "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right" around grade 10 or 11 (aged 15 or 16), and he was inspired to start writing and singing songs instead of only playing guitar.[4][20] Other early musical influences he cited include Woody Guthrie and Ramblin' Jack Elliott, and he had also expressed interest in country singers such as Gram Parsons, Townes Van Zandt, George Jones, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, and Hank Williams.[4][18][19] He also covered Marty Robbins's hit Big Iron on his album Western Swing & Waltzes and Other Punchy Songs.

Discography

[edit]

Studio albums

[edit]
List of studio albums, with selected details, chart positions and sales
Title Album details Peak chart positions Sales
CAN
[21] 		AUS
Country
[22] 		UK
Country
[23] 		US
[24] 		US Country
[25] 		US
Folk
[26] 		US
Heat
[27] 		US
Indie
[28]
Colter Wall 90 — — — 50 16 2 11
Songs of the Plains
  • Release date: October 12, 2018[16]
  • Label: Young Mary's
  • Formats: CD, digital download, vinyl
 36 — — 180 17 7 2 9
Western Swing & Waltzes and Other Punchy Songs
  • Release date: August 28, 2020[31]
  • Label: La Honda / Thirty Tigers
  • Formats: CD, digital download, vinyl, streaming
 63 31 1 103 8 3 1 17
Little Songs
  • Release date: July 14, 2023[32]
  • Label: Black Hole / La Honda / RCA
  • Formats: CD, digital download, vinyl, streaming
 82 25 9 75 17 4 — —
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

Extended plays

[edit]
List of extended plays, with selected details and chart positions
Title EP details Peak chart positions Certifications
US
Heat
[27]
Imaginary Appalachia 22

Singles

[edit]
Title Year Certifications Album
"Sleeping on the Blacktop" 2015 Imaginary Appalachia
"Caroline"
(Colter Wall featuring Belle Planne)
"Kate McCannon" 2017 Colter Wall
"Fraulein"
(Colter Wall featuring Tyler Childers)
"Cowpoke" 2020 Western Swing & Waltzes and Other Punchy Songs

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Colter Wall Announces New Album Little Songs With The Release Of New Single "Evangelina"". RCA Records. Retrieved 2023-06-11.
  2. ^ a b "Colter Wall debuts first songs, including The Devil Wears a Suit and Tie". CBC News. March 13, 2015.
  3. ^ Willett, Edward (2009). "Premier Brad Wall: "The luckiest guy in the country in terms of a job!". Fine Lifestyles Regina.
  4. ^ a b c d e Liebenberg, Matthew (May 25, 2015). "Swift Current's Colter Wall celebrates debut album". Prairie Post. Archived from the original on September 9, 2018. Retrieved May 28, 2017.
  5. ^ a b "Sask. musician Colter Wall finds new audience with wrestlers and bounty hunters". CBC News. October 15, 2015.
  6. ^ DeDekker, Jeff (May 7, 2016). "Colter Wall can scratch an appearance at the Ryman off his bucket list". Regina Leader-Post.
  7. ^ Hudak, Joseph (May 25, 2017). "How Country Troubadour Colter Wall Got a Boost From Brock Lesnar". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on May 28, 2018. Retrieved August 25, 2017.
  8. ^ "Sask.'s Colter Wall heard in soundtrack of Oscar-nominated film". 650 CKOM. February 24, 2017. Archived from the original on June 21, 2017. Retrieved May 28, 2017.
  9. ^ Fuller, Cam (March 31, 2017). "Colter Wall contributes to another movie soundtrack". Saskatoon StarPhoenix.
  10. ^ a b "Colter Wall Debuts at No. 2 on Billboard's 'Heatseekers Albums' Chart". Broadway World. May 23, 2017.
  11. ^ Leahey, Andrew (November 7, 2016). "10 New Country Artists You Need to Know: November 2016". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on November 22, 2017. Retrieved August 25, 2017.
  12. ^ "Colter Wall performing Sunday at former Grand Ole Opry". May 4, 2016.
  13. ^ Newman, Melinda (February 12, 2016). "Lana Del Rey, Rivers Cuomo, Josh Groban Gather to Fete Rick Rubin at Grammys Event". Billboard.
  14. ^ Crawford, Robert (March 9, 2017). "Hear Canadian Troubadour Colter Wall's New Dave Cobb Produced Song". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on December 7, 2017. Retrieved August 25, 2017.
  15. ^ "Meet Colter Wall, the Steve Earle- and Rick Rubin-endorsed Saskatchewan country singer". CBC Music. May 24, 2017.
  16. ^ a b Gage, Jeff (July 25, 2018). "Colter Wall Details New Album 'Songs of the Plains'". Rolling Stone.
  17. ^ "Colter Wall Announces New Album 'Western Swing & Waltzes and Other Punchy Songs' & Shares Single".
  18. ^ a b Ells, Blake (June 6, 2017). "Young Musician, Old Influences: A Conversation with Colter Wall". Weld.
  19. ^ a b Armstrong, Chuck (June 4, 2017). "Interview: Colter Wall Talks Vinyl, Personal History and His Debut Album". The Boot.
  20. ^ McCarthy, Amy (August 31, 2016). "Follow Singer-Songwriter Colter Wall's 'Road to Made in America'". The Boot.
  21. ^ "Colter Wall - Chart history (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Archived from the original on October 22, 2018. Retrieved October 23, 2018.
  22. ^ "ARIA Report" (PDF). ARIA. August 15, 2020. Retrieved September 7, 2020.
  23. ^ "Official Country Artists Albums Chart Top 20: 11 September 2020 – 17 September 2020". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 15, 2020.
  24. ^ "Colter Wall Chart History: Billboard 200". Billboard. Archived from the original on October 23, 2018. Retrieved October 23, 2018.
  25. ^ "Colter Wall - Chart history (Top Country Albums)". Billboard. Archived from the original on October 23, 2018.
  26. ^ "Colter Wall - Chart history (Americana/Folk Albums)". Billboard. Archived from the original on October 23, 2018.
  27. ^ a b "Colter Wall - Chart history (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard. Archived from the original on October 23, 2018.
  28. ^ "Colter Wall - Chart history (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Archived from the original on May 24, 2018.
  29. ^ Bjorke, Matt (May 22, 2017). "The Top 10 Country Albums Chart: May 22, 2017". Roughstock.
  30. ^ Bjorke, Matt (March 3, 2020). "Top 10 Country Albums In Pure Sales: March 2, 2020". Roughstock. Retrieved March 7, 2020.
  31. ^ Wine, Steven (August 26, 2020). "Review: Distinctive, 'punchy' set from Canadian Colter Wall". ABC News.
  32. ^ Mower, Maxim (May 2, 2023). "Colter Wall - Little Songs: New Album 2023 Release Date and Tracklist". Holler Country. Retrieved May 28, 2023.
  33. ^ "American certifications – Colter Wall". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved May 13, 2024.
  34. ^ a b c d e "American certifications – C418". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved August 29, 2023.