Scott Stapp Goes Behind “If These Walls Could Talk” with Dorothy as They Ready to Make Grand Ole Opry Debut

Scott Stapp teams up with Dorothy on the captivating acoustic ballad “If These Walls Could Talk,” which he penned with Kylie Sackley and frequent collaborators Marti Frederiksen and Scott Stevens. Stapp’s first duet, “If These Walls Could Talk” was an emotional writing session.

“There were things going on in my personal life, and it was heavy for me that day,” he recalls of the writing session. “I came in, and I needed to get these emotions out. It was like a therapy session initially because they’re my friends and Kylie seemed safe. I started sharing my feelings and what was going on. Through that process of articulating what I was feeling, lyrics and ideas started coming out. I can’t remember exactly who said it, but as I was sharing and describing what I was feeling, someone in the room said, ‘Hey, if these walls could talk.’”

Stapp gravitated to the line if these walls could talk, and the collaborators immediately began working on the lyrics and the music. The song was born an hour later, and Stapp recorded his vocals the same day.

“It had so much raw, real, emotion that I was living in my personal life at that moment that it was magic,” he says. “I’ll always remember that day.”

Stapp describes Dorothy as a “generational talent” and “one of the most incredible voices I’ve ever heard.” He says “If These Walls Could Talk” shows a side of her that the rock community didn’t know she had.

When producer Stevens first played the song for Dorothy, she cried. She says the verses were “so raw and real,” as if it was a page out of her diary. 

“I resonated a lot with the storytelling in the song being in recovery and picking up the bottle, or putting down the bottle,”  she says. “My journey with faith and with God, all of that was in there. I was very honored when he asked me to sing the song with him.”

A longtime Creed fan, Dorothy says Stapp is one of her favorite frontmen. She recorded her vocals with Stevens in California and feels “very blessed” to be Stapp’s first duet. 

“I was able to lose myself in the song,” she says. “I tried to sing from the heart because I resonated with the lyrics.”

Dorothy, who taught herself to sing and yodel from listening to LeAnn Rimes, says the invitation to perform “If These Walls Could Talk” at the Grand Ole Opry with Stapp (his debut), set for October 23, is a major milestone in her career. 

“I never thought in a million years it would happen,” she marvels. “It does show that you can break out of your shell. Music is supposed to be about being open, trying new things, and welcoming all.

“If it’s good music, it can cross all the boundaries, break all the glass ceilings,” she adds. “It’s really amazing to get an invitation like that. I couldn’t have done it without Scott Stapp and his amazing song that he wrote that I got to be a part of, so I’m just happy to be there.”

Photo by Matt Akana