Brandi Carlile “The Story” released

The Story (I Was Made for You) Brandi Carlile

Writer(s): Phil Hanseroth (see lyrics here) First Charted: March 11, 2007 Peak: 75 BB, 35 A40, 3 AA, 44 AU, 3 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 62.30 video, 173.96 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Folk-rock singer/songwriter Brandi Carlile was born in 1981 in Ravensdale, Washington. She released her self-titled debut in 2005. Two years later, her sophomore effort, The Story, went gold – the biggest seller of her career. It gave her a first taste of chart success on the Billboard Hot 100 with the title cut, which reached #75, her only hit on the chart thus far. More importantly, though, it established her as a go-to artist at adult alternative where the song peaked at #3. AllMusic.com’s Stephen Thomas Erlewine said, “There's an earthiness to her music that keeps it from floating into willfully abstract territory.” AM Her voice has “a spacey, dreamy quality” AM with “echoes of Jeff Buckley and Thom Yorke.” AM Producer T-Bone Burnett, best known for the O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack, was brought in for the album to “streamline some of Carlile’s eccentricities without watering down her music.” AM The Seattle Times’ Tom Scanlon called the song “spine-chilling.” WK An Indianapolis Monthly writer compared Carlile’s vocals to Janis Joplin. WK The song got a boost when it was featured in the TV show Grey’s Anatomy and on its soundtrack. Sara Ramirez, an actress from the show, covered the song in 2011 on an episode. The song has also been covered by LeAnn Rimes and Dolly Parton. “The Story” is one of the few songs in Carlile’s canon where she isn’t at least a co-writer. SF The song was written by Phil Hanseorth who, along with his twin brother Tim, have been writing and performing partners with Carlile since 2004. “The Story,” however, was written before Phil began working with Carlile. The song was recorded “live to tape,” meaning all the performers played and sang at the same time instead of the usual practice of musicians recording their parts separately in the studio. WK Resources: AM AllMusic.com album review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine SF Songfacts WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 7/6/2025; last updated 11/23/2025.