Texan singer/songwriter and upright bassist Melissa Carper released her single ‘Ain’t A Day Goes By‘ last month. It’s the lead single from her forthcoming LP Ramblin’ Soul, out on November 18th via Mae Music/Thirty Tigers. According to the advance press release, the album ventures into blues, early rock and roll, and old-school soul, along with Carper’s signature styles of country, western swing, and jazz. 

Carper penned the track in 2014 after the death of her beloved dog, Betty. “This song is very emotional for me,” she reveals. “It was difficult to go through my Dad’s death, then my Mom’s death only a year later, and really, in a sense, losing my younger brother to severe mental health issues that have changed his personality completely. Betty’s death crushed me because she had been through it all with me. The grief just started pouring out at that point,” she continues. “I wrote ‘Ain’t A Day Goes By’ within a year of her death, but could not sing it without crying until recently, so I haven’t performed it much in my shows. Now, it gets its rightful debut on Ramblin’ Soul because it is a true soul song.”

The song has that wonderfully authentic old-timey sound courtesy of Carper’s worn and soulful voice that sounds like a cross between Karen Dalton and Billie Holiday. Backed up by Hammond B3 organ (John Pahmer), the emotion is punctuated by the gospel-style harmony stylings of Kyshona Armstrong, Nickie Conley, and Maureen Murphy.

More recently Carper has also released the equally sublime title track single ‘Ramblin’ Soul‘ and ‘Hit Or Miss‘. Pre-order the album HERE.