“Love is Love” Released From Upcoming Album “Let the Rhythm Lead: Haiti Song Summit Vol. 1”

An upcoming benefit album Let the Rhythm Lead: Haiti Song Summit Vol. 1 created through Artists for Peace and Justice celebrates the work of artists in Haiti. The first video from the album for “Love is Love” features  Jackson Browne, Paul Beaubrun, Jonathan Russell, and Jonathan Wilson.

The album is the work of Beaubrun, Browne, Russell, Wilson, Habib Koité, Jenny Lewis, Raúl Rodríguez, and members of the Haitian roots band Lakou Mizik. The Artists for Peace and Justice website explains, “Hailing from four different countries, the album interweaves North American Indie Rock with beats and percussion of Haitian Vodou, Spanish and Malian guitar, Flamenco Tres, and includes songs in English, Creole, Khassonké, Manding and Spanish. “

Jackson Browne wrote the song “Love is Love” with David Belle. Browne explained, “‘Love Is Love’ contains some of my immediate impressions of Haiti, but especially the spirit I saw there in the faces of families, children, and lovers, as they take on the challenges of rebuilding their country in the face of multiple disasters.” Check out “Love is Love” below.

Contributing artists recorded the album at the Artists Institute on the island’s southern coast in Jacmel. Let the Rhythm Lead: Haiti Song Summit Vol. 1 will be released on January 31, 2020 from Artists for Peace and Justice via Arts Music. Proceeds from sales will benefit Artists For Peace And Justice and the Artists Institute of Jacmel, Haiti.

What do you think of “Love is Love”? Leave your two cents in the comments.

  • Jackson Browne’s Double-Song Combo, “The Load Out/Stay”
  • Jackson Browne Covers Tom Petty’s “The Waiting”
  • Warren Zevon: The Wind
  • Joan Baez in Concert
  • Know the Song But Not the Writer: Peaceful Easy Feeling Edition
  • Bruce Springsteen Takes It Easy With Jackson Browne
    • ( Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)

    New Video from Marty Brown: “It’s a God Thing”

    Marty Brown, who earlier this year released the album American Highway, has released a new song called “It’s a God Thing” and a video to go with it. As for now, Brown plans for this video to be his final official music video.

    Brown, who has made around twenty music videos during his career, explains that he is not retiring from music. He is still writing and performing.  But he feels so strongly about “It’s a God Thing” and its video that he would like it to be his final video.  As he explains on Facebook, he “just wants to go out on top with his new song.”  He also reports that he has worked harder on this video than he has for any other video.

    The song is a beautiful statement of faith. So it is easy to see how it has significant meaning for Brown, who chose to do a video for this new song instead of for one of the other songs on his recent outstanding album American Highway.

    Brown co-wrote “It’s a God Thing” with Keith Stegall and Brian Maher. The video, which also features Brown’s wife Shellie Brown and a photo of his mother, was filmed around Franklin, Kentucky, Louisville, Kentucky, and Owensboro, Kentucky.

    We are glad that Brown is not retiring from recording music, but we also hope that at some point he reconsiders making more videos. For now, though, check out “It’s a God Thing.”

    Leave your two cents in the comments.

  • George Strait Sings a Marty Brown Song: “To the Moon” (Song of the Day)
  • Marty Brown Sings “There’s a Honky Tonk in Heaven”
  • Kentucky Music Hall of Fame Opens Exhibit on Marty Brown
  • Tune In For a Live Marty Brown Concert Online
  • “Boomtown”: The Debut Album from Maceo
  • Worth the Wait: Marty Brown’s “American Highway” (CD Review)

    • Buy from Amazon

    Johnny Cash’s Journey and “The Gift”

    Johnny Cash The Gift

    YouTube Originals has produced a documentary about Johnny Cash called, The Gift: The Journey of Johnny Cash (2019). Director Thom Zimny — who also made Elvis Presley: The Searcher and Springsteen on Broadway, tells the story of the Man in Black. The title is inspired for a term Cash’s mother used to describe Cash’s voice, “the gift.”

    With cooperation from Cash’s estate, Zimny uses archival footage, home movies, and audio interviews to help tell the story. The film focuses on major invents in Cash’s life, such as the death of his brother as a child and the singer’s Folsom Prison concert.

    The documentary is currently streaming for free on YouTube. Check it out in its entirety below.

    What do you think of The Gift: The Journey of Johnny Cash? Leave your two cents in the comments.

  • Glen Sherley: Prison, Johnny Cash, & “Greystone Chapel”
  • Is Kris Kristofferson’s Greatest Song “Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down”?
  • Clarence Ashley: “The Cuckoo” & “Little Sadie”
  • Rosanne Cash Takes a Stand With “Crawl Into the Promised Land”
  • Louis Armstrong and Jimmie Rodgers: “Blue Yodel 9” (Duet of the Day)
  • Sheryl Crow & Johnny Cash: “Redemption Day”
    • ( Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)

     

    Buy from Amazon

    The Mavericks Cover Waylon’s “Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way?”

    The Mavericks are paying tribute to some of their influences with a new album of covers, The Mavericks Play the Hits (2019). One of the tracks featured in a new video is their cover of Waylon Jennings’s “Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way?”

    The album, which celebrates the band’s 30th anniversary, also features versions of songs like Freddy Fender’s “Before the Next Tear Drop Falls,” John Anderson’s “Swingin’,” Bruce Springsteen’s “Hungry Heart,” and Willie Nelson’s “Blue Eyes Cryin’ in the Rain.” Martina McBride joins the band on a version of “Once Upon a Time,” which was made famous by Marvin Gaye and Mary Wells.

    On the Waylon Jennings song, The Mavericks ramp up the beat with the help of some horns. While it may not sound like any Hank Williams song, lead singer Raul Malo on a party bus does make a nice tribute to Waylon Jennings. Check out “Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way?”

    Jennings released “Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way?” on his 1975 album, Dreaming My Dreams. The song went to number one on the country charts. It has been covered by a number of other artists, including Alabama, Uncle Tupelo, Jack Ingram, and Hank Williams Jr.

    The Mavericks Play the Hits was released November 1, 2019.

    What do you think of the new Mavericks video? Leave your two cents in the comments.

  • The Fourth of July in Song
  • When is Mickey Newbury’s “33rd of August”?
  • Don Henley and Dolly Parton: “When I Stop Dreaming”
  • The First Farm Aid
  • “It Ain’t You” From Ray Benson and Willie Nelson (Song of the Day)
  • Brandon Flowers and Others Cover “New” Johnny Cash Songs
    • ( Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)

    Buy from Amazon

    Ringo Starr Records a John Lennon Song (with a little help from Paul McCartney)

    On Ringo Starr’s new album What’s My Name, he includes a recording of one of the last songs written by John Lennon, “Grow Old With Me.” The touching track also features another Beatle, Paul McCartney, playing bass and singing backing vocals.

    Ringo Starr recently explained to Billboard how Jack Douglas, who produced Lennon’s Double Fantasy, approached him about a tape of demos Lennon had made in Bermuda in 1980. Starr said that listening to the tape was “very emotional” for him. And it was on that tape he found one song that Lennon had never released, “Grow Old With Me.”

    So Starr called McCartney, who agreed to help out. One final additional touch was that Douglas added a string section to the song. And unknown to Starr, Douglas added a brief musical riff from George Harrison’s “Here Comes the Sun” (listen closely at around the 1:40 mark). Thus was created a bit of a Beatles reunion of sorts.

    The lyric video below for Starr’s recording of “Grow Old With Me” includes Lennon’s handwriting to help display the lyrics. Check it out.

    The recording touched Starr. As he explained to Billboard, “It moved me. I did my best and it’s very me, but you know, [Lennon] wrote those words and he’d written songs for me before, so I thought, ‘No, I’m gonna do it.'”

    If you listen closely, in addition to the Harrison reference in the music, you may hear Starr’s message to Lennon. At around the 3:02 mark, you can hear in the background, Starr saying, “God bless you, John.”

    John Lennon and Yoko Ono originally planned to include “Grow Old With Me” on Double Fantasy (1980). But the song was not ready when they wanted to release the album, so they saved it for what they hoped would be their next album.

    Lennon’s demo of “Grow Old With Me” with Ono was released after his death. Lennon’s version appears on the 2010 posthumous album, Milk and Honey. You may hear Lennon’s version below.

    Ringo Starr‘s album What’s My Name was released on October 25, 2019.

    What do you think of Ringo Starr’s take on “Grow Old With Me”? Leave your two cents in the comments.

  • The Latest and Last Beatles Song: “Now and Then”
  • New Beatles ‘A Day in the Life’ Video
  • The Beatles’ “Black Album” from “Boyhood”
  • All I’ve Got Is a Photograph
  • Hear the Beatles Sing Without Music on “Abbey Road” Medley
  • Behind the Scenes With the Beatles on the Set of “Help!”
    • ( Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)

    Buy from Amazon