Can you believe that we’ve been singing David Lee Murphy’s “Dust On The Bottle” for nearly three decades already? The classic hit was released in 1995 as the fourth single from Murphy’s debut album Out with a Bang.
The song then reached the top of Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart – making it Murphy’s first and only No. 1 hit for almost twenty-three years until he topped the country charts again in 2017’s “Everything’s Gonna Be Alright” featuring Kenny Chesney.
Meanwhile, Out With a Bang also turned out to be the best-selling album by a new male country artist that same year and eventually earned a Platinum certification.
Story Behind The Song
Written by Murphy himself, “Dust On The Bottle” tells the tale of a young man asking his neighbor – an old man named Creole Williams – some advice on how to impress his lover. Williams then gave him a bottle of homemade wine and told him, “There might be a little dust on the bottle, but don’t let it fool ya about what’s inside.”
David Lee Murphy songs have been a hit to several artists, including Jason Aldean, Jake Owen, Kenny Chesney, among others. But this time, he made a hit of his own, and he shared how the catchy, up-tempo ballad inspired by a real-life character came to life.
Creole Williams was actually an old man from Murphy’s hometown and was a good friend of the singer-songwriter’s cousin. He made homemade wine – which Murphy said may not be the finest one but is enough to get the job done.
As he started playing the opening chords on his guitar, the amateur winemaker crossed his mind along with the title “Dust on the Bottle,” which he had written on a notebook page a long time ago. From there, the lyrics flowed as swift as running water. And the rest was history!
You can listen to “Dust On The Bottle” by David Lee Murphy in the video below.
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