Miranda Lambert Influenced by Petty and Haggard

Miranda Lambert is a bad ass that can sing a ballad.

It’s a little strange to say, but Miranda Lambert has the grit and passion to sing a song like Gunpowder & Lead one minute as she bashes your face in through your truck speakers and the next minute to make you cry with a ballad like The House That Built Me. The women is something rare in country music and she’s proving now that she is a superstar.

Something interesting about Miranda is that she is kind of a throwback country artist in the vein of some of music’s gritty singers. Guys like Merle Haggard, Steve Earle, and Tom Petty along with great women like Emmylou Harris seem to have influenced Miranda’s artistry.

In the video for her breakout hit Kerosene Miranda can be seen wearing a shirt with the words Mama Tried. The saying is a little tip of the hat to one of Miranda’s idols, Merle Haggard. Mama Tried was a big hit for Haggard. The song is short and quick, but the message is clear – a now grown person is a little regretful for their rebel ways when they think about their loving mom. It’s something I’m sure a few folks out there can connect with.

Also, Miranda gave songwriting credit to another legendary country rebel Steve Earle. Miranda felt the song was influenced by Earle’s song I Feel Alright. Another tip of the hat to one of the great artists in country music. Not only does it show where Miranda’s musical interest are, but it shows her respect for those that came before her. That’s a mix for a sustainable, long career in country music.

Kerosene – Miranda Lambert

Another example of Miranda’s great influence comes with the bootleg video edition from her song Famous In A Small Town. The song is great and at one time was Miranda’s biggest hit. I loved when Miranda and her team released a sort of behind the scenes bootleg video so fans could get a closer look at her character.

There are tons of great behind the scenes moment in the video, but my favorite is at the end of the video when the song stops playing. Miranda is sitting down on the set with her pink guitar. She starts strumming and singing Free Fallin’ by Tom Petty. Her voice sounds good on the few notes she sings and it leaves me wanting to hear her sing it all.

The cover is another great moment in Miranda’s career. She continually shows her high character by allowing her influence to bleed into her every day life as well as into her music. Fans get a close up look at a passionate artist that loves music of all kinds and loves to create music that people connect with.

Famous In A Small Town Bootleg Cut – Miranda Lambert

Miranda Lambert is a bad ass country artist. Her collection of hits over the span of her short career is full of songs that kick listeners right in the mouth through the truck speakers. Miranda is saying things that others have not said in country music for a long time. It’s a breath of fresh air to hear the topics Miranda sings about and it has to be a great thing for female fans to have it come from someone just like them.

From Haggard and Earle to Petty, the list of Miranda’s influences is distinguished and well respected in country music. The future continues to look bright for rising star Miranda Lambert as she continues to write about what she’s feeling as she takes influence from the greats she looked up to and putting her own spin on it.

Miranda Lambert is a rocking country artist that can even tune things down for a tear-jerking ballad. She’s already accomplished so much including back to back ACM Albums of the Year and that makes it even more exciting to think that she is still young and likely has her best years ahead of her.

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