In 1993, on graduation from University, Allison Moorer, born and raised in Alabama, moved to Nashville to be with her elder sister, Shelby Lynne (who, by that time, had become an established artist); Moorer sang backing vocals, touring in Lynne’s band. Moorer is blessed with a quite remarkable voice; listen to this stunning version of the Irish folk song ‘Carrickfergus‘ that Moorer did for the BBC television series ‘Transatlantic Sessions‘ in 2009 and see if the hairs on the back of your neck don’t stand up.
On to 1996 and into Moorer’s life stepped Tony Brown, producer (and some would say a founding father of the americana music genre) and 2025 inductee to the Country Music Hall of Fame; Brown also happened to be a label executive and talent scout at MCA Records. Moorer caught Brown’s attention when she performed at a tribute show to Walter Hyatt at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium, on the strength of which she was awarded a development deal and recorded a demo of four songs.
The song ‘A Soft Place to Fall‘ was co-written by Moorer and Gwil Owen (who has had songs recorded by names such as Little Feat, Jack Ingram, David Olney, Irma Thomas and Joy Lynn White). The pair had not worked together previously and hardly knew each other, but Moorer recalls that for their writing session in autumn 1996, all she had was a song title and a melody and structure to go along with it. They struggled to write anything that they considered inspiring, but when Moorer played Owen the melody she had come up with, Owen liked it. Moorer left and Owen worked on lyrics over a period of a week, they then got together over a ‘phone call and managed to complete the song. When Moorer played the song for others, everyone seemed to like it, so she decided to add it to the list of songs she had for her first long player record, which was to become “Alabama Song“.
A little later, Brown was in talks with Buena Vista about the soundtrack for a movie that was set to start filming during 1997, starring Redford (who also directed); Brown intended to suggest another of the songs from Moorer’s demo for the soundtrack. Redford liked Moorer’s voice. Meanwhile, Moorer’s publisher had played the demo version of ‘A Soft Place to Fall‘ to the film’s music supervisor, who thought it would be ideal for the movie; Redford and Brown subsequently agreed.
Separately, a showcase was set up for Moorer to perform to record company executives in June 1997; as Moorer exited the stage at the end of the showcase session, Brown greeted her with the news that she had a record deal with MCA and followed up that it was likely that ‘A Soft Place to Fall‘ would feature on the soundtrack to a forthcoming Redford movie and that there may be a part for her in the film.
The movie, “The Horse Whisperer” was released in 1998; it also starred Kristin Scott Thomas, Sam Neill and a very young (she was aged 14 when the film was released) Scarlett Johansson. Oh, and Allison Moorer appeared as barn dance vocalist.
‘A Soft Place to Fall‘ was recorded at Javelina Recording Studios (the original RCA Studio A, Nashville, built in 1965 by Chet Atkins, Owen Bradley and Harold Bradley); the list of artists who have recorded at this venue over the years reads like a who’s who of country and americana music. The studio became Javelina in the 1990s). Kenny Greenberg (who has won three Grammy awards and has worked with so many stars, from Taylor Swift, Gretchen Wilson and Willie Nelson, to Faith Hill and Trisha Yearwood) was producer and also played guitar. The other musicians playing on the track were Chad Cromwell (drums), Glenn Worf (upright bass), Rick Plant (electric guitar) and Joe Spivey (fiddle), while John Wesley Ryles provided the harmony vocal.
Some 18 months later, in the context of MCA Records dropping artists, Moorer received a ‘phone call from Bruce Hinton (Chairman of MCA Nashville) and Brown (then President of MCA Nashville); Moorer was relieved to learn that they weren’t calling to let her know she was being dropped from the label; instead she was excited to hear that her song had been nominated for an Oscar and that they thought the organisers would want her to sing at the ceremony, in the 3000+ seater Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles.
‘A Soft Place to Fall’ was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Music (Original Song) and Moorer was asked to perform the song at the 71st Academy Awards ceremony (21st March 1999). Introduced on the night by Renée Zellweger, Moorer, who must have been so nervous, absolutely nailed the performance, despite being situated as she put it, “in a birdcage” a long way away from the audience. For the Oscars, the performance was augmented by an orchestra.
The Oscar was awarded to ‘When You Believe‘ from “The Prince of Egypt” soundtrack (music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz; performed by Sally Dworsky, Michelle Pfeiffer, and a children’s choir soloist).
As for the song ‘A Soft Place to Fall‘ itself; it’s a bittersweet ballad. The lyrics include “Looking for a soft place, Nothing more than a small taste, Of a love that ended long ago, Looking for a place to hide, A warm bed on a cold night, I didn’t mean to hurt you, no, no, no“. It concludes with the lines “You’re the one who taught me after all, How to find a soft place to fall“. In terms of commercial success, it reached number 73 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart in the US.
The song featured on Moorer’s debut album “Alabama Song“, which was released in 1998; the LP reached number 68 in the Billboard Top Country Albums chart.
Moorer followed “Alabama Song” in 2000, with “The Hardest Part” (reaching number 26 in the Top Country Albums chart) and has gone on to release 10 solo albums. In addition, Moorer and Lynne released what they dubbed their “sissy” record, “Not Dark Yet” in 2017, which features cover versions of songs originally recorded by such as Bob Dylan, The Killers, Townes Van Zandt and Nirvana, alongside one original song. The siblings also contributed a superb version of ‘Ol’ 55‘ to the brilliant 2019 compilation of Tom Waits songs performed by female artists; “Come on up to the House: Women Sing Waits“.
As of 2024, Moorer has taken a ‘proper’ job, as a writer/editor at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville; she reports that she loves the role, which is really good to hear, however I’m sure I’m not the only person who hopes that this doesn’t spell the end of her performing and recording career.
Oscars performance
Movie scene (the barn dance vocalist features for a few seconds only)
