Larry Cordle has released a hilarious new single, “The Abduction of Antônio Vilas-Boas,” to radio today at AirPlay Direct. Terry Herd brought the song idea to the table during a writing session with Larry Cordle and Larry Shell.
“Having an opportunity to write with Cordle and Shell has been a top bucket list item of mine since I moved to Nashville in 1996. My goal was to have a good time with two of my heroes, enjoy a few laughs and if we were lucky, actually get a song out of the experience. Well, here it is, and I hope everyone laughs at least half as much as we all did in the session,” explained Herd.
Cordle said, “When we read the story Terry had handed us, we just laughed and laughed. We all felt like no one else would be writing a song like that, and if we could get the story in song form, it would make for something really funny. So we worked on it all day amidst gales of laughter as each part took shape.”
“The Abduction of Antônio Vilas-Boas,” tells the true story of the Brazilian farmer’s claims of being abducted by extra extraterrestrials in 1957. He said he was working in the fields at night due to the hot temperatures when he saw a red star glowing and getting closer, revealing an alien spaceship. He also claimed the aliens, in human form wearing coveralls, took him away and introduced him to an attractive female humanoid. To read more about the account, check out Wikipedia.
“We basically followed the story, which anyone owning a computer can find by just putting the guy’s name in their browser,” said Cordle. “Of course, we had to take some creative license to hopefully make it funnier and provide an ending that we dreamed up. I hope you all enjoy listening to it as much as we enjoyed writing this tale that I dare say there won’t be many like it in Bluegrass… LOL! Thank you, Terry, for the great idea and thank you and Shell for letting me write this one with you.”
Cordle’s list of hit singles, like the recent “East Kentucky Blues,” have earned him top spots on various bluegrass charts. His albums include the powerful gospel release, Give Me Jesus, which received a 2018 Grammy Nomination for Best Roots Gospel Album and earned a 2017 IBMA Gospel Recorded Event of the Year Nomination. Those were followed by his 2018 album, Tales From East Kentucky, and his 2021 album, Where The Trees Know My Name.
Last year, the singer-songwriter was part of the award-winning song “In the Sweet By and By.” The song, by Dolly Parton with Carl Jackson, Jerry Salley, Larry Cordle, and Bradley Walker, received the 2022 International Bluegrass Music Association’s (IBMA) Gospel Recording of the Year Award, the IBMA Collaborative Recording of the Year, and a Gospel Music Association Dove Award for Bluegrass/Country/Roots Recorded Song of the Year.
For more information, please visit LarryCordle.com.
Larry Cordle and Terry Herd