Alright old people. Once upon a time Captain and Tennille had a popular catchy song called “Muskrat Love.”

Well until today I didn’t know it was written by Willis Alan Ramsey.

And what a strange story he is.

Ramsey released an album in 1972. And never released another one. He didn’t die, he didn’t go crazy, he still performs and has a lot of famous friends. He even writes new songs and performs them. He just won’t release an album.

Now I’ve heard of one album wonders who did die or went nuts. But never one like this.

I never would have known this if Texas Monthly hadn’t published a piece about this normal, not normal

guy.

It includes famous people like Lyle Lovett and Jimmy Buffett And Shawn Colvin and Toni Tennille who all

recorded songs from the one and only album. Lovett even still performs with him.

I quickly checked Amazon and found the album is $25 bucks from a third party. I went to Amazon music

and found the album behind their upgrade paywall.

I was about to give up when I spotted two podcasts about Ramsey. One is an interview with him. He sounds perfectly human, chatty and pleasant. The only time he sounds a little edgy is when he shares how he hated that the song title name of Muskrat Candlelight was changed without his permission to Muskrat Love. He reluctantly went along but he doesn’t like it.

The other podcast is someone playing Muskrat Candlelight by him on his first album. It sounds good, interesting voice, same arrangement.

And the end of the Texas Monthly story two things happen. Buffett makes a plea to let Ramsey record an album anyway he wants to without even hearing it first on Buffett’s label.

And the actual story ends with his friend Lovett asking when the second album will come out.

“Soon” says Ramsey.

50 years and running.