The final book Fred Starr published before his death, Of What Was, Nothing Is Left is a story of tragedy, family dysfunction, and denial set in rural southwest Arkansas. After working with John Oates (Hall & Oates) on his 2017 The Head And Heart EP, David approached him with the following idea: what if we gave several of our favorite songwriters a copy of the book and asked them to write for a concept album based on the story?

The idea was not so much for them to re-tell the story, but to write songs inspired by the places, characters and situations found in the book. Contributors to Beauty And Ruin include John Oates, Dana Cooper, Doug and Telisha Williams (Wild Ponies), Irene Kelley, Wood Newton, Shelley Rae Korntved, and Jim Lauderdale.

Early previews of Beauty and Ruin prompted one listener to say “This is like watching a movie”. The cinematic aural landscape visually evokes a classic tale of tragedy, love gone wrong and an exploration of human nature and all its flaws. Set in late nineteenth-century Arkansas, the original novel inspired these artists to mine their own history and life experience. This album hammers home the importance of storytelling through our country’s oral traditions reimagined through the spirit of Fred Starr’s original book and now musically brought to life by his grandson, David Starr’s, unmistakable and emotional vocal performance. 

The Book - Of What Was Nothing is Left

The final book Fred Starr published before his death, Of What Was, Nothing Is Left is a story of tragedy, family dysfunction, and denial set in the late nineteenth-century. A fourteen-year-old Frank James and his family move from Ohio to a family farm in Laurel Creek, a small plot in rural southwest Arkansas. Soon after unloading their few worldly possessions, a neighbor, Captain Johnson rides up. A former soldier and a legend in the Laurel Creek community, the Captain enlists Frank to his employ. Frank is set to work delivering livestock to the next town over, Jubilee. In their first few years together, Frank grows to greatly admire the Captain and is immensely proud and happy with his life. Alas, “There is nothing in this life as permanent as change.” What comes next is a tale of loneliness, jealousy, heartbreak, and revenge peppered with nostalgia and vivid imagery of the sandy soil and piney woods of the region. A true Americana story, the novel explores human nature and all its flaws.