25 years have passed since the groundbreaking soundtrack for “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” was released and Dan Tyminski’s life was changed.
In 2000, the film “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” hit theaters. The storyline follows a trio of escaped convicts who form a band called The Soggy Bottom Boys. The accompanying soundtrack featured 19 folk, blues, gospel, and bluegrass classics that were re-recorded using vintage-style equipment to capture the essence of the era in which the film was set.
Alison Krauss, Ralph Stanley, Emmylou Harris, The Whites, The Cox Family, Gillian Welch, The Clinch Mountain Boys, and more are credited on the soundtrack that sold more than 8 million copies in the U.S. alone. The album also won Album of the Year at the 44th Grammy Awards.
The success of the soundtrack had a profound impact on the careers of everyone involved, but perhaps none as much as Dan Tyminski.
Dan Tyminski reveals how George Clooney changed his life.
Dan Tyminski was an established member of Alison Krauss’s Union Station band when an opportunity arose for him to audition for “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” Dan would remain with Union Station for 30 years, until he stepped away in early 2025.
Tyminski was asked to audition to sing “I Am A Man Of Constant Sorrow,” a Soggy Bottom Boys song “sung” by George Clooney’s character in the movie.
“I was happy to do it, but I honestly didn’t feel like it made a lot of sense,” Tyminski said in an interview ahead of the film’s 20th anniversary in 2020. “I didn’t necessarily see myself sounding like Clooney’s voice at the time, but it’s hard to see from your own perspective what other people see or hear. So, I went back and auditioned the next day, and somehow [I] got it, and just couldn’t have been more shocked at what would follow.”
During a day off from filming, Tyminski joined George Clooney in the studio to work on the song. Clooney had been learning “Man Of Constant Sorrow” and planned to do his own vocals for the fiml. Tyminski was intended to be a session artist and was being paid $320 for the gig. But after some rehearsal, Clooney uttered four words that would change Dan Tyminski’s life forever.
“‘I’ll act, you sing,'” and he shook my hand,” Tyminksi recalled. “And I was crushed. Oh my gosh. I just lost the biggest opportunity, which to me was to record with Clooney.”
Tyminski admitted that he didn’t realize at the time that instead of his $320 session fee, he would end up earning much, much more.
“Instead of that, I got to pay off my house, and I got to buy new cars, and I got to put my kids through college, and I got to raise a family in a manner that I never would have had without this song,” Dan said.
“I Am A Man Of Constant Sorrow” became the movie’s signature song and launched the soundtrack to the No. 1 spot on the Billboard 200. It topped the chart for 15 weeks and spent a total of 683-weeks on the chart.
Hear Dan Tyminski talk about that life-changing moment with George Clooney in the video below.