The Blue Door

Willis Alan Ramsey, a singer-songwriter with deep Texas roots, released his first and only album, called Willis Alan Ramsey, in 1972 on Leon Russell's Shelter Records label. The recording was a critical success that included "Boy From Oklahoma", a tribute to Woody Guthrie. Jimmy Buffett and Jerry Jeff Walker, among others, covered Ramsey's songs, but the song that became best known was a knockoff Ramsey called "Muskrat Candlelight". Released by the pop group America, it was later recorded and retitled "Muskrat Love" by The Captain and Tennille and reached the Billboard Top 10, becoming one of the most popular songs of our time. Ramsey eventually left both Shelter Records and the United States, moving to Great Britain in the 1980's to explore Celtic songwriting and instrumental traditions.