Story Behind the Song: Dee White, ‘Ol’ Muddy River’

While writing the songs on his debut album, Southern Gentleman, rising artist Dee White availed himself of the expertise of veteran performers including Dan Auerbach. Among other lessons, Auerbach helped White realize that it was okay for songs to be simple. Read on to learn the story behind one such track, "Ol' Muddy River," told by White himself.

That acoustic video [for the song], that was the way that I played it whenever I brought it in to Dan [Auerbach]. That song [wasn't written in] a writing room. I wrote that at my house -- well, my parents' house -- at Lake Jordan down near Montgomery, [Ala.].

I was just sitting in the living room one morning after my mom had gone to work, because my dad was out of town. I think I may have still been in high school, either senior year [of high school] or freshman year at Auburn [University] -- I can't remember.

I don't know, I just sat down and wrote it. I didn't really think anything of it. It was so simple. And that ended up being one of the ones that Dan really loved, which was interesting.

That gave me a whole different look on what I could do, or how I should feel about stuff that I do. It doesn't have to be anything. People just have to like it -- well, or it has to feel good. That wasn't enough for me before I had someone like an Auerbach to tell me that, to validate that it was interesting.