WAIM #116: Mary Chapin Carpenter

Mary Chapin Carpenter was working at a temp job in her late twenties one day when the phone rang. After an exchange of hellos, the voice on the other end of the line asked Mary Chapin if she was sitting down. Once she had taken a seat, Mary Chapin Carpenter was told that she was being offered a recording contract with Columbia Records. The news came like a bolt of lightning. For years, Carpenter had been working temp jobs and playing her songs in small bars and clubs around the Washington DC corridor. Now, she was about to be launched into the musical cosmos.Many songwriters would have crumbled under the pressure, but Carpenter thrived. With a batch of terrific songs and a marvelous voice, Mary Chapin released her debut album, Hometown Girl in 1987. In 1992, her fourth album Come On Come On, went on to feature seven songs that hit the Billboard Country singles chart, sold more than two million copies and turned Mary Chapin Carpenter a household name in country music.Unlike many country singers who had success in the 90s, Carpenter has continued to write and record new music with great success. In 2025 alone, she released a pair of albums. In January, she unveiled Looking For The Thread, a record she made in collaboration with Julie Fowlis and Karine Polwart, a pair of Scottish folk musicians. Then, in June of 2025 she unveiled a set of her own original songs on the album, Personal History.In addition to a verdant recording career, Carpenter still tours regularly. I had the pleasure of seeing her with my mother this past summer at the beautiful Meijer Gardens in Grand Rapids, MI. Mary Chapin and I discuss the ups and downs of touring in the modern age, and we go deep on a pair of the folks in her backing band. Jon Carroll, Mary Chapin’s keyboard player, is a longtime friend and also a previous guest on this show. Don Dixon, who has also been on the show, and is perhaps best known for co-producing R.E.M.’s first two records, is Carpenter’s bass player. Mary Chapin shares her unabiding love for the duo, and she waxes poetic about the bonds created out on the road together.In addition to her varied and fascinating life in music, Mary Chapin and I discuss the amazing travel experiences of her youth, and the myriad lessons that exploring the world can teach us. We talk about the bravery of the artistic act, and how crucial it is in the world we are currently living in. Mary Chapin provides a wonderful lesson about self-awareness and knowing our own limitations. And, we get to discuss the drug-like sensation of singing with other people.It’s a wide ranging talk with a one of a kind talent. Let’s get into it.Cheers,Matty C Get full access to What Am I Making at whatamimaking.substack.com/subscribe