| "The Story" | |
|---|---|
| Single by Brandi Carlile | |
| from the album The Story | |
| Released | 2006 |
| Recorded | Vancouver |
| Label | Sony BMG |
| Writer(s) | Phil Hanseroth |
| Producer | T-Bone Burnett |
"The Story" is a song written by Phil Hanseroth. It was released as a single by American folk rock singer Brandi Carlile in 2006, from her 2007 album The Story. The song has been covered by Sara Ramírez for Grey's Anatomy and on her 2011 extended play Sara Ramirez
Contents |
"The Story" was written by Phil Hanseroth, who also plays bass in Carlile's band.[1] It has a 16-bar melody.[1] It was recorded in Vancouver, Canada and produced by T-Bone Burnett.
"The Story" was released as a single in 2006. It was iTunes' Download of the Week in March 2007.[2] Carlile has performed the song live on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Late Night with Conan O'Brien and The Early Show.[3]
Along with other songs by Carlile, "The Story" received exposure to a wider audience by being played on the soundtrack to medical drama series Grey's Anatomy. The song, and parts of the video, appeared in 2007 in a special recap episode titled "Every Moment Counts".[2] The song was also used in a General Motors commercial that aired during television coverage of the 2008 Summer Olympics.[4] "The Story" has become the most popular song from Carlile's album.[1]
In the United States "The Story" reached No. 75 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, as well as No. 35 on the Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks chart, No. 68 on the Pop 100 chart and No. 48 on the Hot Digital Songs chart.[2][5] The song peaked at No. 44 on the Australian ARIA Singles Chart, No. 3 on the Norwegian VG-lista chart, No. 16 on the Swiss singles chart and No. 38 on the Ö3 Austria Top 40 chart.[6][7][8][9]
Tom Scanlon of The Seattle Times describes a live performance of "The Story" as "stunning" and "spine-chilling". He notes the transition within the song between acoustic pop-rock and "scream-singing" that remsembles Janis Joplin.[3] A writer for Indianapolis Monthly also draws a comparison between Carlile's vocals and those of Joplin.[10]
In 2011, "The Story" was again featured in an episode of Grey's Anatomy. The series 7 episode "Song Beneath the Song" was a special musical episode that included renditions of popular songs performed by the show's characters. In the episode Sara Ramírez, in the role of Callie Torres, sings "The Story".[11] Ramírez' version of the song was included as a track on her 2011 extended play, Sara Ramirez.