Melissa Etheridge opens up about Chris Stapleton duet inspired by son’s death
The singer uses her music to process loss and inspire others facing pain and hardship
Melissa Etheridge has teamed up with Chris Stapleton for a deeply personal duet on her new album Rise, revealing the powerful moment that inspired the track.
The 64-year-old rocker collaborated with the 47-year-old country star on The Other Side of Blue, a song reflecting Etheridge’s grief journey following the loss of her son Beckett to opioid addiction in 2020.
Rise, her 17th studio album and her first all-new material since 2019, features the track as a standout emotional centerpiece.
Etheridge toldPeople that duets aren’t usually her thing. “I’m often asked who I’d like to duet with, and typically I say no,” she said. But she felt drawn to Stapleton’s “writing, his view and his voice.”
The Grammy winner had never met Stapleton, so she asked her manager to reach out, and his immediate yes “thrilled” her.
In Nashville, the pair shared stories about their families. Etheridge, who lives in Los Angeles with her wife Linda Wallem and three children, spoke candidly about losing Beckett, while Stapleton reflected on his own family of five.
“I talked about my four [kids] and how I have three now, and I said I’d lost one to opioids,” Etheridge recalls. “‘And he said, ‘Oh, I’m so sorry.’ And I said, ‘No, no, no, he was my greatest teacher. I’ve learned so much from him.’ And Chris looked at me and said, ‘Wow, Melissa, you talk in song.’ And that’s the first line of the song, ‘Sometimes I listen when she talks in song.’”
The song’s chorus captures her journey through grief and hope:
“Sometimes there’s dreams that won’t come true / But it’s brighter on the other side of blue.”
“It’s about knowing there’s better coming,” Etheridge explains. “This pain or loss is there to learn and grow from, and you’ll be grateful for it someday.”
Other songs on Rise also reflect Etheridge’s personal life. “Call You” was written for Beckett, while “More Love” was composed for her daughter Bailey’s wedding last September.
“I’m 64 now, and I think I’ve lived a lot of life and I’ve seen things come and go,” Etheridge said.
“I see a lot of the fear and pain in the world, and I want to inspire, because I know how much can inspire.”