HEALING HAPPENS

A Journey From Grief to Healing

About Robin

It has been said that each of us can do at least one thing better than ten thousand other people. Thankfully, Robin Ruddy found her one thing when, at age seven, she started learning to play stringed instruments. Since she learned the ukulele at age 7, she has added guitar, banjo, dobro and pedal steel among others. She has toured with Rod Stewart, Shania Twain, Ray Stevens and other top tier artists, won a Grammy, built a thriving career in Nashville, and seen the highs and lows of life, all while observing and writing about it at the highest level.

Born and raised in Miami, Florida, Robin had a mostly beatific upbringing. Her father and mother were supportive of her musical dreams and encouraged them. When, at age 10, she decided that she wanted to learn how to play guitar, her parents told her that if she learned three songs by Christmas, they would buy her one. She did just that and played the songs for her mom and dad. “It was my first audition,” she says with a smile, “And I passed it!”

She and her beloved husband, Larry Sheridan, built a life together in Nashville and had a sizable impact on the music community there. When Larry passed away recently, Robin did what songwriters do in times of great sadness: she began to write and record to not only assuage her grief but to help others who may be walking the same difficult and sometimes dark path. Robin’s new project, Healing Happens, will be released in the spring of 2023.

“My hope,” she says, “Is that if I have to go through this it can somehow be used for good.”

The Journey

ROBIN RUDDY

The songs from this project kept coming quickly, one after the other. At some point it became clear that my job was to capture them as they fell into my lap. Nurture them, record them, and share them.

ADDING THE RHYTHM SECTION

At some point I decided that this body of work was important enough to release it, and I hired a rhythm section. Pictured above: Skyler Taylor-Engineer, Robin Ruddy, Don Barrett-Bass, Tim Buppert-Drums.

This Americana project takes the listener on an emotional journey from grief to healing.

After the death of my husband, the songs started coming fast. It was as if they were falling out of the sky. It was as if we were somehow, still communicating through the music.

Eventually, after I had written so many songs, there became a time when, I realized that it was becoming a complete body of work. A concept album. A journey that I can take other people on in hopes of helping them find their way to healing.

Initially the healing was for him. Then it became healing for me. And going forward I hope that it becomes healing for others who are experiencing any kind of grief.

RECORDING THE SONGS

As the songs kept pouring out of me, I felt the need to record them. The songwriting and recording process became my happy place in a sea of sadness. It felt good to get these heartfelt songs into some tangible format.

I started out with simple guitar vocals, then then started adding the color instruments.

MIXING

The mixing of this project was a journey in itself. I started out mixing it myself and I wasn't happy with it. So I asked Lawson White, my house engineer at the Parlor Studio to mix it. He happily took on the role and treated this project with the kindness and respect that it deserved. For that, I am eternally grateful.