Cory Branan

Branan released his fifth album, Adios, on April 7, 2017. Advertised as "Cory Branan’s death record", the record features Robbie Crowell of Deer Tick on drums and percussion, keys, and horns; and James Haggerty on bass. Guest musicians include Amanda Shires on fiddle and vocals, plus backing vocals on I Only Know by Laura Jane Grace and Dave Hause.

In April 2015, Branan was part of a Record Store Day release with label-mate, Lydia Loveless. The two artists cover two Prince songs: Loveless doing I Would Die 4 U and Branan doing Under The Cherry Moon. The 7" limited edition releases was pressed onto purple vinyl.

In 2014, Branan released The No-Hit Wonder on Bloodshot Records on August 19, 2014. The album, produced by Paul Ebersold and recorded over the period of three days in Nashville at The Sound Kitchen, features contributions by Craig Finn and Steve Selvidge of The Hold Steady, Tim Easton, Caitlin Rose, Austin Lucas, and Jason Isbell. "Slick" Joe Fick from The Dempseys plays upright bass on the song "Sour Mash" – a song about a dry county where a whiskey company makes its liquor – and Audley Freed also appears. Sadler Vaden (Drivin N Cryin, Jason Isbell) is on electric guitar and John Radford on play drums on the record.

The record was listed by Rolling Stone magazine as one of the top 40 country records of 2014. Branan said that the passing of family members as well as his growing family changed his approach to songwriting. "You Make Me," which Isbell sings on, is a song about his wife, and "All I Got And Gone" is about the passing of his father. Drummer John Radford (the Dynamites) and pedal steel guitar player Robby Turner play on the track "No Hit Wonder."

Pitchfork described the album as "possibly his best album to date — it’s certainly his most musically imaginative and arguably his wisest", but also criticised its length; "At 14 tracks, it meanders, occasionally lags, and indulges far too many tangents and jarring transitions". Rolling Stone listed it as the 27th Best Country and Americana Album of 2017.

In the fall of 2014, Branan was listed in Rolling Stone magazine's list of 10 New Artists You Need to Know.

In 2011, Branan signed with Bloodshot Records. Six years after his prior record, he released Mutt on May 22, 2012. American Songwriter praised his "hushed, dry whiskey voice and his sharp edged, story song lyrics [which] make the appropriately titled Mutt a mongrel that rewards repeated spins with an understanding of Branan’s many influences and an appreciation for his largely impressionistic, thought-provoking words." The title Mutt actually comes from his most frequent answer when asked to describe his own music. Originally intended to be titled Midtown - in reference to the diverse neighborhood in Memphis - Branan said that the theme of each song on the record reminds him of the poem The Oven Bird by Robert Frost "which paints a picture of the fallen petals of post-spring flowers to convey fleeting beauty and ends with the question, 'What to make of a diminished thing.'" The record received positive reviews.

In 2006, Branan released his sophomore effort, 12 Songs on March 21, 2006, on MADJACK Records. Almost all of 12 Songs were written around the same time as his debut full-length, but were saved for record number two.

In 2003, Branan made his TV network debut playing the song, "Miss Ferguson" on The David Letterman Show.

Although initially self-released in 2001, Branan re-released his debut full-length album, The Hell You Say, on MADJACK Records on October 8, 2002. The rejuvenated album replaced three songs from the original issue with newbies "Skateland South" and "American Dream", in an effort to streamline the concept of the album. Branan produced the record with Kevin Cubbins, guitarist of the band Pawtuckets, who also contributed to the record. It was recorded in Memphis at Memphis Soundworks and Humongous Studios. Lucero and the River Bluff Clan also appear.

In 2000, the Memphis chapter of The Recording Academy (formerly known as the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS)) gave Branan the Phillips Award for Newcomer of the Year. At that time he didn’t even have a recording contract yet.

Cory Branan (born December 15, 1974) is an American singer-songwriter from Mississippi.