Sturgill Simpson’s Wife Keeps Raising Him from the Dead
Sturgill Simpson, for anyone who knows him, is a loose cannon, at least musically. Fans usually have no idea when, where, or how he will pop up next.
Going through his life until now, it seems like he doesn't know that, either. But in all the uncertainties and variables, there's one thing that's always stayed unchanged — his family's presence and his wife's support.
And while his wife, Sarah, may not be a magician, and his resurrections are only metaphorical, she has helped him regain composure multiple times in their life together.
Sturgill Simpson’s Wife Was There When His Career Started
Sturgill's country music journey began in 2004 with his band, Sunday Valley. The band, however, never worked, and he did not know how to succeed in the country music scene, either.
So, he decided to leave music for a while. He moved to Salt Lake City, Utah, and started working as a railroad freight-shipping yard for Union Pacific Road, even becoming the manager of the place for a while.
But music never left him. Sturgill saw music and songwriting as a hobby back then and only reached for his guitar if he had to work through stuff.
Sarah, however, saw in him what he couldn't — a potential country music rockstar. So, she helped him leave behind, as VICE put in their 2017 writing about him, the "depressive misery of a middle-management job."
Sturgill Simpson's wife Sarah helped him carve out his career after moving to Nashville in 2012. (Photo: Sturgill Simpson/Instagram)
"My wife realized I was miserable before I even saw it," he told VICE.
This was, in a way, a wake-up call for Sturgill. She reignited the musical fire within him, and they started thinking of a new studio life in Nashville.
In 2012, they set off on a different misery — making music commercially. They sold almost everything they owned, loaded their Ford Bronco, and headed to Music City.
After reaching there, he focused on making tunes and dreamed of the long term. The first thing they did was plan a five-album project.
"My wife really helped me carve that out, in terms of how to go about the beginning, middle and end for each chapter," he told Relix in February 2021.
The first of the five — High Top Mountain — came out in 2013, which they produced and released with their own money. And the fifth — The Ballad of Dood and Juanita — was released on August 20, 2021.
Sturgill Simpson Would Retire for His Family
As Sturgill's fame and success have gone up, so has his distaste for everything else surrounding his tunes, namely the promotions and time spent away from his family.
Especially that second thing irks him a lot because he values his life with his wife and kids. He never thought he would become as much of a family man as he is now and considered his family more deserving of his success than him.
Sturgill has expressed his gratitude for his family through music more than once. His 'Oh Sarah' song from his third album, A Sailor's Guide to Earth, was about Sarah.
The entire album, too, was about his family. The album was a "direct outcome of a year and a half plus on the road," he told Charlie Rose in 2016.
He missed his wife and his then-newborn son while he was away.
"Sort of balancing the fact that my dreams were coming true and it was providing for my family, but at the same time, it was a little bittersweet just because things kind of took off all at the same time that my family was forming," he added. "So I feel like I missed a lot."
The album was a thank you and an apology to his family.
As he confessed to The Guardian, being away from his family even made him contemplate retiring. "I honestly questioned if this was something I wanted to continue doing," he told the publication.
He could not stay away from his family for too long, and Sarah would fly to him whenever she could. "It’s amazing how much that recharges my battery," he added.
"I have something at home so profoundly real and powerful," Sturgill gushed while talking to Uproxx, saying he did not want to lose what was "the most beautiful thing I could ever imagine in this lifetime."
And so, he has now retreated to relative obscurity, at least geographically, to spend more time with his family.
The country singer moved to an unnamed place in Southeast Tennessee, a town similar to his hometown, Jackson, Kentucky. There, he intended to create a childhood for his children similar to his own — not predicated upon his success.
He now enjoys family movie nights, bonfires, and late-night stargazing with his wife and three kids.