"The Story" is a song released as a single by American folk rock singer Brandi Carlile, written by Phil Hanseroth, from her 2007 album The Story. It is one of Carlile's best-known songs and has been included in the setlist of all of her concert tours to date.
Twin brothers Phil and Tim Hanseroth have been Carlile's performing and writing partners since 2004[1] and "The Story" was written by Phil Hanseroth before the Hanseroths began collaborating with Carlile.[2] It has a 16-bar melody.[2] It was recorded in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and produced by T-Bone Burnett.[3] "The Story" was recorded "live to tape", with all the performers playing and singing at the same time, rather than following the usual practice of having musicians record their parts separately, then combining them into a master recording.[1]
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".[4] The song was also used in a General Motors commercial that aired during television coverage of the 2008 Summer Olympics.[6] "The Story" has become the most popular song from Carlile's album.[2] It was also featured in the opening episode of the third season of Hacks in 2024.
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 resembles Janis Joplin.[5] A writer for Indianapolis Monthly also draws a comparison between Carlile's vocals and those of Joplin.[12]Billboard and American Songwriter ranked the song number two and number four, respectively, on their lists of the 10 greatest Brandi Carlile songs.[13][14]
^"The Story" did not enter the Austrian chart (Ö3 Austria Top 40), but peaked at No. 7 on the Austria Digital Songs chart.
Sara Ramirez version
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 Ramirez, in the role of Callie Torres, sings "The Story".[26] Ramirez's version of the song was included as a track on their 2011 extended play, Sara Ramirez and the 2011 album Grey's Anatomy: The Music Event. Ramirez's rendition was used again in 2018 on the season fourteen finale.
LeAnn Rimes version
Country music artist LeAnn Rimes released a cover version of the song on June 24, 2016 in the UK as the first single from her thirteenth studio album Remnants and her first release after signing with RCA UK. Rimes promoted the track with live performances on BBC One's The One Show and at London nightclub Heaven, but the track failed to enter any commercial charts in the UK. Rimes also sang this song on the Season 4 finale of The Masked Singer.
Rimes has indicated that she feels a strong connection with the track. In an interview with Billboard, she said "I fully embrace the journey I am on and have a deeper understanding of how every piece of my story serves a purpose in my evolution as a woman and an artist. This song is not only a love song but a song of self-acceptance and appreciation for life."[27]
A music video directed by Isaac Rentz premiered on Rimes' Vevo channel on August 9, 2016.[28]
The song was covered by American singer-songwriter Dolly Parton for the 2017 compilation album Cover Stories. It was released as the first single from the album on February 21, 2017.[29]
Background
When Carlile began planning to record a cover of her 2007 album, The Story, she said that her idol, Parton, was the only person she had in mind to record the title track. When Carlile wrote Parton asking her to record the track, she suggested Parton could drop the key to make it easier to sing. She later recalled the letter, saying it was "about the stupidest thing I think I’ve ever put down in writing." Parton enthusically accepted the offer to record the song and in her hand-written response she told Carlile, "Honey, do me a favor. Don’t drop the key. I think I can handle it." Upon hearing the completed recording, Carlile realized she had been one-upped, saying, "Every gratuitous and show-offy note that I hit in that song, Dolly hits it initially and then takes it higher. She just completely takes me to school."[30]
Music video
The music video for the song was released on May 9, 2017.[31]
