Mason Ramsey Evolves Beyond His Viral Past With a New Retro Sound: ‘We Just Write What Is on Our Hearts’
It’s been six years since Illinois native Mason Ramsey, then 11 years old, caught the world’s attention after a video of Ramsey yodeling the Hank Williams Sr.’s classic “Lovesick Blues” went viral. In the years following, he’s proven adept at adding more musical milestones — from his song “Famous,” which reached No. 4 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart in 2018, to joining Lil Nas X on a remix of “Old Town Road” the following year.
Now 17, Ramsey is keen to show the world that his appreciation of classic music extends far beyond country’s pioneering greats such as Williams. Sure, he still includes “Lovesick Blues” in his concert sets, but on his debut full-length album I’ll See You In My Dreams (out on Atlantic Records) he delves headlong into the sonically varied, vintage sounds of the 1950s through the 1970s.
Ramsey, who splits his time between Nashville and his home in Illinois, describes his sound as “American Country Soul,” adding, “I do Americana and classic gentlemen’s country with soul, and I blend those sounds together to create the sound I love.”
The 14-song platter of music easily conveys the inspirations of artists including Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison and Ricky Nelson. Ramsey’s voice has matured into an immensely versatile instrument, with a warm patina that makes classic crooner material a natural musical vessel. As his sound has changed, so has his aesthetic, swapping the jeans and starched shirts for ’70s-inspired, sometimes-embroidered suits, wide-collared shirts, flared pants and the occasional scarf.
Ramsey was raised in Illinois by his grandparents, who didn’t have access to the internet for many years. Shortly after experiencing that sudden rush of fame, he began searching out the music of Elvis, Johnny Cash and Orbison online.
“We didn’t stream music, but we did buy CDs,” he recalls. “I started getting into ’50s and ’60s music. Then, once we had internet access, I found songs from artists like Elvis and [Presley’s song] ‘That’s Alright,’ and everything went from that point.”
Earlier this year, Ramsey began working with writer-producer Dan Fernandez, known for his work with artists including Maren Morris and Lee Brice, with his songs having been recorded by Nate Smith, Boy Named Banjo and others. Ramsey and Fernandez co-wrote all 14 songs together, and recorded much of the project in Fernandez’s home studio. When they first began collaborating, Ramsey had previously released a few EPs, but says, “I felt like I was still missing my sound, as if I was still searching for what moved me, sound-wise.”
In January, they talked via phone, discussing Ramsey’s influences. The following day they went into the studio and began writing songs that evoked that timeless style of the songs of Nelson and Presley.
“It made me so happy for someone to understand my sound and just overall helped me feel more connected with my music,” Ramsey says. “I had actually ended up writing with him a few years before, so it was awesome to see him again. He helped me find the music part of what I wanted and I just put the lyrics to the music.”
The project is filled with the mellow, piano-based countrypolitan of “Come Pick Me Up,” and the smooth ’50s vibe of “Blue Over You,” while “All the Way to Memphis” sizzles with a soulful swagger that feels pulled from the heart on Sun Studio.
“I had been spending some time with this girl,” he says of the inspiration for “All the Way to Memphis.” “She lived pretty close to Memphis and I got to know her pretty well. Like I said, we were hanging out quite a bit, and I just really wanted to tell her what I would do to see her in the song. And it talks about that I would swim to Mississippi and I would run all the way to Memphis just for her. And so that song is pretty much just about doing whatever I can to go see her.”
Meanwhile, “The Woman From Havana” is flush with a sultry, old-school dinner club vibe and accented with a Latin flair.
“My producer has family from Cuba. He was playing a few licks on a Spanish traditional guitar, and I thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be cool to have a song with like a little spaghetti guitar sound mixed with a bit of a Spanish flavor?’ We just started playing around with the music and the lyrics just kind of painted themselves. We made up this song about this guy that is in love with this girl and she’s from Havana. He just wants to dance with her and wants her to fall in love with him.”
It’s not only Ramsey’s fans who have taken notice of his new, retro-tilted sound. Lana Del Rey brought Ramsey onstage at her Fenway Park concert to perform Ramsey’s “Blue Over You” in June.
“I had put out ‘Blue Over You’ and posted a video of the song on my socials, and she commented and said, ‘We need to collab,’” Ramsey recalls. “A couple of months later, she invited me to Fenway, and we sang ‘Blue Over You’ together. It was such a magical moment for me and a fun time. She is very — if you were to talk to her, it is almost as if you’ve known her forever. She’s just a down to earth, very sweet person.”
However, though Del Rey has previously said she is set to release the country album Lasso, Ramsey says a collab between the two is not in the works at the moment.
“That has not been part of the conversation yet, but hopefully in the future,” he says. “I would love that very much — if she put out a country album and I could have a feature on it, I’d be so honored.”
As he was creating his new album, Ramsey and his producer did receive a request from Atlantic Records about writing and recording a song for the Twisters soundtrack, resulting in his foot-stomping rocker “Shake, Shake (All Night Long).”
“That was a huge deal,” Ramsey says. “We took a break from our album — which is great because we kind of needed it — but we wrote the song and it only took us about, 45 minutes to an hour to write, and then we immediately pitched it to the label. It just really had groove and it just had a good pocket, a high-energy type of song.”
Notably, Ramsey’s love of all things vintage extends beyond music and clothing. “I love trucks, specially older vehicles,” says Ramsey, who has a blue and white 1968 Chevrolet K10 that he’s fixed up. “I love that truck and I drive it all over town.”
With tour dates on the books for his Falls Into Place Tour Pt 2 trek, and a batch of music he closely connects with, he says, “I’m just super-excited to finally accomplish my first album. All of these songs came together simply and easy, because we don’t overthink on the writing — we just write what is on our hearts and minds, and put it on paper.”
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