David Rawlings is an American country singer, guitarist, songwriter, and producer. He received worldwide attention after the inclusion of his track “Cumberland Gap” in the opening credits of the film “Gentlemen”.

David Rawlings: biography and career

Not a single interview with David Rawlings, and even Wikipedia, does not contain information about the date of birth of the musician. Some sources indicate the approximate year of birth – 1966 or 1967. Born in the US state of Rhode Island, the city of North Smithfield. The parents sent the future guitarist to the music school, as they considered that there should be some kind of hobby in the son’s biography.

After graduating from high school, Rawlings entered the Berklee College of Music in Boston. There he met Gillian Welch, who became his faithful partner in writing his music. Together they complemented the popular genre in America – country music – with elements of folk and blues. David’s guitar solos provided the perfect foundation for Welch’s sweet vocals. The guy gradually developed an author’s style of music, namely, overflows of chords unlike anyone else.

The first creative results date back to 1996. The duo has collaborated with many studios and famous artists, including Led Zeppelin frontman John Paul Jones. In parallel, David himself produced some projects. In 2006, the musicians united in a group called David Rawlings Machine. At the same time, Gillian is listed as a constant companion, and not the team’s frontman. She leads her own biography and releases her own records.

The Songs of David Rawlings: The Story of the Cumberland Gap

In 2009, Rawlings’ first album, A Friend of a Friend, was released, and the second, Nashville Obsolete, was born only in 2015. Between these events, the singer toured a lot and worked on records by Damien Rice and Willie Watson. David’s second collection was recognized as more successful – it is considered a mini-album and consists of only 7 tracks.

In 2017, the guitarist’s discography was replenished with the disc “Poor David’s Almanack”. The release was recognized by the majority of connoisseurs. The songs and the magnetic style of music were written while touring Australia with Welch. Moreover, most were given easily, and only one of the last was given to a talented performer not as always. According to him, he plucked the strings for a long time and tried to express some thought. At one point, the words “Cumberland Gap” literally escaped from the mouth.

So there was a composition in the southern Gothic genre. The phrase in Russian means “Cumberland Pass” – this is a real passage of the Appalachian Mountains in the eastern United States. Another translation of the song is Cumberland Gap. One of the American folk songs of the same name is dedicated to this site. The place where Kentucky, Virginia and Tennessee meet is considered the birthplace of the most soulful music.

A music video was also filmed for a song about the pilgrims’ crossing in 2017. In it, the musician himself and his faithful girlfriend Welch play and sing in a tent. There is also a mandatory attribute of country groups – hats. The plot video shows the story of a mother and son who go on a long hike. From the translation of the song, it follows that a man sets off on a difficult journey to Kentucky, calling the Cumberland Pass – devilish.

Guy Ritchie and the Second Life of the Cumberland Gap

A little over two years later, this track hit the sound list of the cult director Guy Ritchie. The Cumberland Gap has made the opening credits of the 2020 film The Gentlemen a real eye-catcher. The moment where David’s vocals begin, and then are replaced by Gillian’s voice, opens the picture from the favorable side – it warns the viewer about an exciting plot.

The film “Gentlemen” gave the song “Cumberland Gap” a chance to be recognized not only in America and Australia, where the band “David Rawlings Machine” often tours. Loyal listeners have already seen the clip and even the karaoke version. But the views of all videos and articles about David Rawlings began to grow precisely after the successful release of Guy Ritchie’s new film. Remixes are being prepared for the single, including in Russian.

Personal life of David Rawlings

The private biography of the guitarist is unknown even to close foreign sources. All interviews with Rawlings contain only a discussion of the style of music, instruments, strings and other details of creativity. There are some suspicions about his romantic relationship with close worker Gillian Welch, but this is only speculation. In the world of the country genre, few people are interested in knowing the intimate life of composers and performers. Official data – David is not married and has no children.

David Rawlings now

The latest news about the musician are endless reviews and insights after watching The Gentlemen. On his Instagram page there is also the last post from January 2020 with a poster for the film and an invitation to cinemas. Prior to this, the artist shared a photo from 2017 from the filming of the video for the Cumberland Gap soundtrack, made by Gillian. David does not talk about new tours, recordings and work at the studio on the network. He has an official website, the link to which is in the header of his insta profile.

Source of personal photos: Instagram of the talented artist David Rawlings