The Whitmore Sisters' new single "The Ballad of Sissy and Porter" out today

Article Contributed by Compass Records | Published on Tuesday, November 16, 2021

The Whitmore Sisters, siblings Eleanor and Bonnie Whitmore, have released the third single from their highly anticipated debut, GHOST STORIES, today via all streaming services. The Bluegrass Situation premiered the song, "The Ballad of Sissy and Porter," inspired by one of the "ghosts" referred to in the title, their late bandmate and friend Chris Porter. The song was written by Bonnie Whitmore with Bonnie Montgomery and features an Acadian feel, with labelmate Dirk Powell adding accordion.

LISTEN TO "THE BALLAD OF SISSY AND PORTER" HERE

Bonnie tells The Bluegrass Situation: "Several of the songs on 'GHOST STORIES' were inspired from the loss of friends. I penned this tune with Bonnie Montgomery via The House of Songs and it was inspired by the love and close friendship of Chris Porter, a singer-songwriter who died tragically on tour in 2016. Porter was many things to a lot of people, but his humor and his ability to spin a yarn was pretty remarkable. Even when you were present in the events of the story, Porter had a way of telling it that always seemed more interesting than what my mind could recall. The tall tales of Porter live on in the song that is dressed in Cajun fiddle from my sister Eleanor and accordion from Dirk Powell.”

GHOST STORIES has been in the making for more than half The Whitmore Sisters' lives and deals with loss, both on a personal level and looking out to the inequality in America. But it took the pandemic, with both sisters off the road for a stretch, to bring the project together. The sisters shared song ideas on Zoom during quarantine and finished the album when Bonnie came to stay with Eleanor in Los Angeles, encouraged by Chris Masterson, Eleanor's husband and co-bandmate in The Mastersons, who produced the album.

Fans of Americana music will recognize the two and their corkscrew curls from their many projects: Bonnie has four solo albums under her belt and has toured with Hayes Carll, Justin Townes Earle, James McMurtry and recorded with John Moreland, The Mastersons and many others. Eleanor has made four critically acclaimed records as one half of The Mastersons and has also been a member of Steve Earle and The Dukes for over a decade. She is also an accomplished session musician and was in the tracking band for Tanya Tucker’s multi-grammy award winning comeback album, While I’m Livin’.

Along with their original songs, "Learn to Fly" (the entire family are pilots), "Hurtin' For a Letdown" and others, tthey lend their harmonies to a cover of “On the Wings of a Nightingale,” a song written by Paul McCartney for the Everly Brothers. There's also a ridiculously catchy version of “Big Heart Sick Mind” contributed by their pal Aaron Lee Tasjan and the title track, dedicated to victims of police violence.

The Whitmore Sisters will be performing in the UK and Europe in early 2022 opening for The Mastersons; for more info go to https://www.thewhitmoresisters.com.

PRE-SAVE/PRE-ORDER GHOST STORIES HERE

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