Kaitlin Butts’ Love for Cleto Cordero Inspires “How Lucky Am I”

For some years now, one of the most promising feminine voices and songwriters in Texas country (and country in general) has been Oklahoma native Kaitlin Butts. Despite only one solid studio record in the form of 2015’s Same Hell, Different Devil, her appearances at festivals and shows—including with now husband and Flatland Cavalry frontman Cleto Cordero—has put her on the map and near the top of the heap of voices fans want to hear more from.
Maybe she’s not prolific (at least not yet), but whenever Kaitlin Butts releases a song, you best look alive and listen, because it’s bound to be something special. That was certainly the case for her 2019 murder ballad “White River,” which had us all quaking in our boots and calling for more. And that’s equally true for this true country song released to coincide with Valentine’s Day called “How Lucky Am I.”
Composed as a Valentine to Cleto Cordero—who reportedly was blocked from Kaitlin’s social media channels as she served hints to her fans about the song—it’s a sweet, well-written and super country track that works as an answer to the Flatland Cavalry song “Honeywine,” which was released in 2018, and was about Kaitlin and Cleto falling in love at the Larry Joe Taylor Festival in Stephenville, TX while polishing off a bottle of the adult beverage.
Featuring a bold and confident vocal performance from Kaitlin and superb steel guitar, “How Lucky Am I” is enough to get even the heartbroken and socially distanced to crack a smile and tap their toe. Written by Kaitlin herself and produced by Oran Thornton in Nashville at OmniSound Studio, hopefully this song is the next taste of a new record from Kaitlin, who recently revealed she’s been in the studio lately recording.
After Kaitlin Butts and Cleto Cordero recently released a T-shirt of the two titled “The Corderos,” it sent off rumors that maybe the two had run off and formed a duo together. That may be in the offing at some point, and they did just both move to Nashville together. But at the moment we’ll just settle for the love of these two inspiring great songs from each other. That’s certainly the case with “How Lucky Am I.”
February 15, 2021 @ 12:22 pm
I wonder who is playing the steel on this? Maybe the same person who played on the Panhandlers? Sure is sweet to hear. Great song. Hope springs eternal!
February 15, 2021 @ 12:47 pm
Justin Schiper played steel.
February 15, 2021 @ 5:31 pm
Thanks. This is an awesome song. Hopefully more to come.
February 15, 2021 @ 3:27 pm
Love it, always looking for more texas country to add to the rotation.
February 15, 2021 @ 2:29 pm
Ya know, I first heard this song when I stumbled upon Kaitlin’s (long before pandemic) acoustic stream “Giving Tunesday” benefit she did for the Red Dirt relief fund for musicians in need of help during troubled times etc… She said that she had written it for Cleto for Valentine’s day and 1 line in she forgets the second line and he feeds it to her from the other side of the room off camera….absolutely adorable! As she ends the song with the final How Lucky Am I?…..you hear Cleto answer in the background “pretty lucky”…lol A match made in heaven. You never know when you first hear an artist sing a song acoustically how it’s going to sound with full instrumentation, production etc…. I think it came out great! These 2 and the many livestreams they did during the lockdown got me through a very difficult time. Thank you guys very much. I appreciated them more than you know.
February 15, 2021 @ 4:55 pm
Great stuff, Justin is a great player Kaitlin, as you already know! Looking forward to more of this, the last live show I saw was Cleto and the Calvary in NYC last February, cant wait for this crap to subside and hopefully see you guys back up here in the Big Apple soon, but until then keep making great songs, Wreck ’em Cleto!
February 15, 2021 @ 5:16 pm
Yeah now that’s a country song! Love it! I guess I better check out the Same Hell, Different Devil album.
February 16, 2021 @ 8:19 am
One of the best “new” voices in country music, love her music, can’t wait for the album.
February 16, 2021 @ 3:54 pm
I enjoy how they reference each others songs. In this one, Kaitlin references “One I Want.” In Honeywine, Cleto references “Gal [Guy] like me” a few different ways in his lyrics.
March 3, 2021 @ 8:49 am
I found and watched this last night. Very well done, a must see for any Cleto and Kaitlin fan.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GfBzmNG14RA&t=11s
May 19, 2021 @ 8:33 am
Another video for this song she put up a few days ago. Still one of my favorites! ! Love the old 8mm film feel…..lol Many of you don’t believe we used to watch our vacation highlights like this in the 60’s and 70’s. Great idea whoever thought of it. A+
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHpR-vbKEAw