For countless kids growing up in the 1980s, Madonna was their Taylor Swift — an artist they could relate to, identify with and emulate. Bluegrass guitarist and singer/songwriter Rebecca Frazier was one of those kids, captivated from the moment she heard the pop star’s undeniable tunes — especially her first top-10 hit, “Borderline.”
“I remember hearing this song on the car radio when I was a little kid,” Rebecca says. “Madonna made a huge impression on me and lots of young girls; she was a symbol of self-power.” Frazier never forgot that beguiling melody, so when she compiled tracks for her forthcoming album, Boarding Windows in Paradise, she decided to include it. Releasing today, “Borderline” is the fourth single from the Compass Records album, arriving Sept. 13.
The Nashville resident recorded it in her native Virginia with Charlottesville-based band Love Canon, a collection of super-talented pickers who specialize in turning ‘80s hits into bluegrass tunes. Together, they created a sweet, soulful rendering, on which dobro by Love Canon’s Jay Starling (also of Leftover Salmon, he’s the son of Seldom Scene legend John Starling) and fiddle by esteemed guest Stuart Duncan lend further depth and elegance to Frazier’s flatpicking and gentle soprano. They’re excellently supported by Adam Larrabee on banjo, Darrell Muller on bass, Andy Thacker on mandolin and Jesse Harper on guitar, with harmony vocals by Shelby Means, Adam Chaffins and Andrea Zonn.
“I’ve been a Love Canon fan for a decade now, and I was thrilled when they agreed to cut this song with me,” Frazier says. “It was a delight to hash out arrangement ideas with them.”
Their arrangement includes a seamless segue into a reel, each instrument weaving complex patterns around the others before slipping back into the original tempo for the finish. The song, which expresses the singer’s frustration with a lover who won’t “stop playing with my heart,” was written for Madonna by Reggie Lucas and included on her self-titled debut album. Madonna’s boundary-pushing video for the tune, directed by Mary Lambert, also became a hit on then-new MTV.
In addition to “Borderline” and the already released original singles ““High Country Road Trip,” “Make Hay (While the Moon Shines)” and “Available,” Boarding Windows in Paradise features several other tracks written or co-written by Frazier, along with her version of the traditional, “Saro Jane,” and her transformation of the Roy Orbison hit, “It’s Over.” The four released singles can be heard on all major streaming services; the album can be preordered through the Compass Records website or via the link below.
A bluegrass luminary herself, Frazier gained notoriety as the first woman to grace the cover of Flatpicking Guitar Magazine. In 2018, she also became the first woman to earn a Guitar Performer of the Year nomination from the Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music of America, an honor she received again in 2019. Frazier is widely known for her work with Colorado-based outfit Hit & Run, the only band to score the bluegrass-world trifecta of winning Rockygrass, Telluride and SPBGMA festival band competitions.
Tour dates
Aug. 30-31 – Four Corners Folk Festival, Pagosa Springs, Colo.
Sept. 10 – Station Inn, Nashville, Tenn.
Sept. 20 – Deer Creek Coffeehouse, Darlington, Md.
Sept. 21 – Berlin Fiddlers Convention, Berlin, Md.
Sept. 21-22 – Maryland Folk Festival, Salisbury, Md.
Oct. 9 – The Spot on Kirk, Roanoke, Va.
Oct. 10 – The Tin Pan, Richmond, Va.
Oct. 11 – Easy Wind Farm, Burgess, Va.
Oct. 12 – Avalon Theatre, Easton, Md.
Oct. 13 – The Purple Fiddle, Thomas, W.Va.
Oct. 20 – Clubhouse on Highland, Birmingham, Ala.
Oct. 24 – White Horse Black Mountain, Black Mountain, N.C.
Oct. 25 – Muddy Creek Café & Listening Room, Winston-Salem, N.C.
Oct. 26 – The Down Home, Johnson City, Tenn.
Nov. 7 – Charleston Pour House, Charleston, S.C.
Nov. 8 – Eddie Owen Presents: Red Clay Music Foundry, Duluth, Ga.
