Benny “Burle” Galloway
“Burle and I got to know each other through mutual friends in the little town of Lyons, Colorado. A ‘little town’ with a lot of music going on!
“We ran into each other and when Burle asked if I might help get some of his music arranged and produced, I jumped at the chance.
I love his authentic and genuine voice as a performer, and also as a song writer. It’s a real joy to help bring his songs to life.
— Richard Mark Johnston
Lauded and acclaimed by audiences, critics, and fellow musicians, Benny "Burle" Galloway brings a distinctive, inter-generational point of view to his influential original music. He is a master at creating simple and compelling melodies and timeless lyrics that sound like they are 100 years old but ring true today.
“Burle is a national treasure!
— Travis Book, Infamous Stringdusters
Burle's songs have become vehicles for many popular bands, some of whom Burle continues to perform with: Greensky Bluegrass, Yonder Mountain String Band, The Infamous Stringdusters, Leftover Salmon, Wayword Sons and more. The appeal of his songs, whether performed himself or by other artists, is undeniable.
With enough experience for ten lives, Benny Galloway has plenty to write about! He’s a seasoned writer who tells the truth and is genuine to the core. In a business filled with insecure pretense and throw away fads, Benny is a breath of fresh air. I’m excited to hear his new tunes! Peace.
— Robert D. Greer, Town Mountain
Burle's unending hunt for the music that connects people has him co-authoring with other artists as well as mentoring younger musicians and songwriters.
“Here is one of the last true American Renaissance men left on this planet. If you’ve ever spent any time with the man then you know that talent and art pours out of him.
Burle is as authentic as they come – what you see is what you get. And what you get is a bona fide rambler with a heart of solid gold.
— Skye McDonald, owner/promoter, Northwest String Summit
Burle continues to work with other musicians as a producer. He is currently involved in projects with other artists in various genres: Americana, Rock, and Jazz.
“Burle writes songs that sound like they are one-hundred years old.
— Tom Plant, owner, Acoustic Coffeehouse (c. 1990s, Nederland, CO).
Over his thirty years of songwriting, Burle has amassed a vast catalog of original material, much of which has never been heard or performed before. This web site is the vehicle for getting these songs “out there”.
“When I first met Burle, I was 14 years old and in awe of the mystical man who could somehow weave life’s complicated emotions into beautiful songs.
Fifteen years later, that admiration has only grown and Benny continues to conjure the spirits of creation, bottling them up into a eargasmic series of melodies and chords. One of the great songwriters of our time, Burle is a whole lot of things, and certainly one of a kind.
— Adam Greuel, Horseshoes & Hand Grenades
Richard Mark Johnston
“When you are able to hang around with Mark and talk music, write music, play music, record music - you get to work with a highly skilled artistic craftsman who can turn simple ideas into fabulous things.
It’s fun to watch the well-oiled machine get to turning.
He knows how to use the right gear to create.
— Benny "Burle" Galloway
Richard Mark Johnston is a composer, producer, arranger, and guitar player who’s comfortable on both sides of the analog/digital divide.
He’s written and arranged music for full orchestra, acoustic duo, solo fingerpicking guitar, and a range of other genres and instruments.
“It’s so great for me to listen to your music. It emphasizes what speaks to me on a more intuitive feeling level which, in my opinion, is exactly what music is supposed to do!
— Susan T.
After a few years playing violin as a youngster followed by piano lessons, Mark picked up the guitar and has kept at it ever since. In parallel he learned enough electronics to maintain his old guitar amps and enough about computers to become facile with the digital audio workstations that are so central to how music is recorded and produced these days.
Mark's musical influences range from baroque composers - with Handel and Bach being particular favorites - to singer/songwriters like Jackson Browne and Bob Dylan - to Celtic, Folk, Rock, Jazz, and Bluegrass - and back to classical orchestral composers like Wagner and Holst.
“You are so talented! Please continue to write more good music FOR THE WORLD!
— Uta L.
"It is fortunate that there are tools now that allow artists to make high quality recordings without having a record deal or financing from somebody else who wants to tell you what music to make."
"I appreciate a lot of different styles of music, and I don't really care too much about what is at the 'top of the pops'", he says.
"I enjoy composing for a big orchestra with its huge palette of sounds, but I also get a kick out of writing guitar tunes that I can share around the circle at a friendly jam."
“You have a gift. Amazing!!! This is a true talent and I hope that you find a way to share this with others. It’s beautiful!!!
— Michelle T.
"To me the best music transcends melody, rhythm, and lyrics. It gets underneath language and culture and reaches the listener's heart and mind in a way that is ephemeral and yet powerfully emotional. It creates a connection between the writer and the listener that cannot be translated into words but can be strong and specific."
"It makes you feel things."
work in progress
Here’s a sample of what we’ve been working on - lots more to come. Please come back and visit again soon.
Head Full of You
from Mark: “This is the first tune Burle and I worked on when we got together. Burle came in and did the rhythm guitar and vocal take together, as we were thinking we’d try things out and then come back and do the retakes as separate tracks. But Burle’s vocal performance was so genuine and from-the-heart, and the guitar track was fine, so I just worked with those to produce the final cut we present here.”
from Burle: “I love to get lucky - writing and playing. And when it all comes together in one shot, I go with it. ‘Head Full of You’ is purely the blues. It is modeled after ‘Down in the Valley’ - a traditional song by Leadbelly that my grandmother used to sing to me. The blues - - - passed down from generation to generation.“
Behold, The Rock of Ages
from Burle: “This is a song I recorded some years ago with acoustic music phenoms Yonder Mountain String Band on their ‘Old Hands’ album. The treatment we gave it here is a bit darker and more powerful, and a lot more jazzy/bluesey with a lot of swing in the rhythm section.”
from Mark: “When I first heard this song, I was struck by the sort of ‘Old Testament/Fire & Brimstone’ feel of it. So we built in a big horn section together with a classic Rhodes piano and I dropped in some electric guitar. With Burle’s apocalyptic lyric in his deep baritone voice, the result is delightfully scary.
Quite The Place
from Burle: “This idea came from living in north Atlanta for a number of years. I really like The South: the feel, the food, the people who live there and the way they present it. The verse about ‘Richmond‘ is written about my great pals Larry and Jenny Keel.“
from Mark: “Up with ‘down south!’ Burle’s paean to that part of the United States south of the Mason-Dixon line needs to be adopted by some Chamber of Commerce as their theme song. It’s totally ‘up’ - up-tempo, full of positivity, and easy on the ears.
Sugartown
from Mark: “Burle’s take on the theme of 'Big Rock Candy Mountain’ - a place in space and time where it’s all good. This one starts out as a sweet acoustic piece and modulates into some boogie-woogie electric music.“
from Burle: “‘Sugartown’ is written about main street Durango, Colorado. The Diamond Belle Saloon and the people I got to know over the years who work there. The song is dedicated to Greg Ryder whose first record I produced, and who sang lots of my songs. It’s about the strength of the community around La Platta County, the resiliency and the love for the area.“
The Flame and The Fire
from Mark: “Hearing Burle play this one on acoustic guitar, there seemed to be a lot of different harmonic structures implied in his chord arrangement. So I wrote an introductory piano exposition that sets up the song for his guitar and vocal. It ended up being pretty jazzy, with grand piano, fretless bass, and some spacey synth pads.“
from Burle: “This melody comes from Jordan Ramsey, my dear friend and mandolin genius (he won the national championship on mandolin in 2016 in Winfield, Kansas.) The lyrics were written by Tyler Grant and me. Tyler’s also my dear friend and ‘everything genius’ who just happened to win the national flatpicking championship on guitar in 2008 in Winfield. The song is about the oneness of two individuals when they truly love each other.“