Performance Royalty Act Still In Jeopardy

Dion Warwick appeared on capital hill on Tuesday to urge legislators to support the Performance Royalty Act. "I'm sure you all thought that I walked on by with my little check in hand," Warwick said in a reference to her popular tune "Walk on By." "I wish I had, but all I did was walk on by." http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory?id=9989979 Senator Conyers had a good take on the measure supporting peforming musicians, who currently get paid nothing for performing their music on broadcast radio: "They work and they don't get paid," Conyers said after the event. "That's involuntary servitude. They don't even get any choice of whether they want to work or not — they just take their work product." The event was sponsored by the Music First coalition. Please check out their website, here. For a better perspective on this issue, view this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5WWzD8Jycg Incidently, you will not hear this view or perspective on a broadcast radio station. T

Finding The Way Home. (Writing for a Specific Project)

In mid-December, I was contacted by one of my favorite publishers in Nashville looking for material for an upcoming gospel project. The artist is a once-well-known recording artist. This artist had had huge successes back in the early 70’s and had been recording ever since. All in all, over 50 albums.

I set out to learn about the artist. Google is wonderful. From the articles and interviews I found, I learned that the artist had a love for horses. I read about the artists’ family and their history. I learned of recent projects and the genres they were targeted towards.

I googled photos of the artist and saw several album covers, promo shots, etc. I submitted a song that was not so much gospel as a song that spoke of a person of faith. It was forwarded and I pretty much forgot about the pitch for a few days.

Then a writer I work with, Jim Evans, sent me an email. I had mentioned the pitch to him and he had an idea for a song. What he sent me struck a chord and I went to work. The premise of Jim’s lyric was a classic theme, one that painted many pictures. I took that and what I had learned about the artists’ passions, family, and struggles and tried to paint a song about tradition, values, and redemption. I tried to write a lyric that would strike a chord with the artist, and yet be a song that could be universally understood.

I started with a classic gospel feel, but quickly reverted back to a hymn form. In fact, I originally had written a soaring bridge, but decided the hymn form made it feel as if it could have been written a century ago.

When it was ready to see the light of day, but I put down a piano track, sent it to my publisher. He brought in a Nashville fiddle player and sang the vocal.

Hope you enjoy it.

You can hear it here.