THE HISTORY OF THE CLASSIC SONG UNCHAINED MELODY

"Unchained Melody" is a 1955 song with music by Alex North and lyrics by Hy Zaret. North used the music as a theme for the little-known prison film Unchained (1955), hence the song title. Todd Duncan sang the vocals for the film soundtrack.

It has since become a standard and one of the most often recorded songs of the 20th century, most notably by Bobby Hatfield of the Righteous Brothers. According to the song's publishing administrator, over 1,500 recordings of "Unchained Melody" have been made by more than 670 artists, in multiple languages. Elvis sings it here. Sam Cooke Here

In 1955, three versions of the song (by Les Baxter, Al Hibbler, and Roy Hamilton) charted in the Billboard Top 10 in the United States, and four versions (by Al Hibbler, Les Baxter, Jimmy Young, and Liberace) appeared in the Top 20 in the United Kingdom simultaneously, an unbeaten record for any song.

UNCHAINED MELODY LYRICS

Oh, my love, my darling

I've hungered for your touch

A long, lonely time

Time goes by so slowly

And time can do so much

Are you still mine?

I need your love

I need your love

God speed your love to me

Lonely rivers flow

To the sea, to the sea

To the open arms of the sea

Lonely rivers sigh

"Wait for me, wait for me"

I'll be coming home, wait for me

Oh, my love, my darling

I've hungered, for your touch

A long, lonely time

Time goes by so slowly

And time can do so much

Are you still mine?

I need your love

I need your love

The Bobby Hatfield solo version obtained a second round of popularity when it was featured in the hit film Ghost (1990). In 2004, it finished at number 27 on AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs survey of top tunes in American cinema.

In 1954, North was contracted to compose the score for the prison film Unchained (released in 1955). North composed and recorded the score, and then was asked to write a song based upon the movie's theme.

North asked Hy Zaret to write the lyrics, but Zaret initially declined, saying he was too busy painting his house. North was able to convince him to take the job, and together they wrote "Unchained Melody."  Zaret refused the producer's request to include the word "unchained" in his lyrics.

The song eventually became known as the "Unchained Melody" even though the song does not actually include the word "unchained". Instead, Zaret chose to focus on someone who pines for a lover he has not seen in a "long, lonely time". Read More

  

MOTOWN LEGEND LAMONT DOZIER HAS NEW ALL STAR CD!

Motown Songwriting Legend LAMONT DOZIER Reclaims His Most Iconic Hits, Assisted By A Host Of All-Star Guests!

Includes performances by Graham Nash, Todd Rundgren, Sir Cliff Richard, Marc Cohn, Gregory Porter, Lee Ann Womack, and more!

Los Angeles, CA - You may not know his name, but you most certainly know his songs. As one third of Holland/Dozier/Holland, perhaps the greatest songwriting trio of all time, Lamont Dozier is responsible for such timeless classics as “Stop In The Name Of Love,” “How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You),” “Nowhere To Run,” “You Keep Me Hanging On,” just to name a few! These megahits changed the face of music forever, jumpstarting the careers of The Supremes, Marvin Gaye, Martha & The Vandellas, The Isley Brothers and many more figures who defined the Motown Era of pop music.

Now, Lamont Dozier has gifted the world with a brand new project that reimagines these treasured classics using acoustic guitar, resonating piano and sparse arrangements, brought together by producer Fred Mollin to create a moving experience for audiences of every generation. Reimagination packs an enormous emotional wallop as Dozier, now several decades older and more mature as an artist, revisits his masterpieces with both reverence and affection.

These new semi-unplugged arrangements bring out new depths of feeling and tenderness that audiences will immediately identify with and serve as a reminder of Dozier’s unparalleled talent as a songwriter.

Indeed, one need look no further for proof of the universality of Dozier’s genius than the stellar guest artists who have lined up to lend their own unique voices to this project from Grammy-award winning singer Gregory Porter to rock icon Todd Rundgren, and from British pop idol Sir Cliff Richard to country superstar Le Ann Womack.

Reimagination

Producer Mollin summarizes the sentiments of many involved with the project, stating “I will never produce a more historic project, and I know how deep the music will resonate. Lamont and his music were critically important to the rise and continued success of Motown. It is a known fact that Motown changed the world along with the Beatles.”

Classic rock legend Graham Nash, of Crosby, Stills & Nash, offers this about the project, “When Fred Mollin asked me if I was interested in singing harmony on Lamont’s album, I just couldn’t wait. My former band, The Hollies, recorded ‘Stop In The Name Of Love’ in the early ‘80s and it was my absolute pleasure to be able to work with such an incredible writer. Well done, Lamont!”

And finally, Dozier himself is clearly struck by the significance of these recordings and how fans will react, saying “Who knew that after all these years that these songs would be revisited again in this form? We’re just having a ball with it and, we think that the audience and the fans of this music will get a kick out of it as well.”

Watch this exclusive behind-the-scenes video of the recording for Reimagination here: https://youtu.be/GyF6GSu9Os0

Track List:
1. Supremes Medley: Where Did Our Love Go / Stop In The Name Of Love / Come See About Me / Baby Love feat. Graham Nash
2. How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You) feat. Gregory Porter
3. Reach Out, I'll Be There
4. Baby I Need Your Loving feat. Lee Ann Womack
5. Bernadette
6. This Old Heart Of Mine / My World Is Empty Without You feat. Sir Cliff Richard
7. Heat Wave / Nowhere To Run feat. Jo Harman
8. In My Lonely Room feat. Todd Rundgren
9. Take Me In Your Arms (Rock Me A Little While) feat. Marc Cohn
10. You Keep Me Hanging On feat. Rumer
11. Reflections feat. Justin Currie
12. I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch)
BONUS TRACK
13. Reach Out, I'll Be There (Duet Version with Jo Harman)

SINGER CALLAGHAN ON US TOUR BEGINNING MAY 3

Greetings from the chilly UK!

After hiding from the winter in California over the last couple of months, it's come as a shock to be back in the middle of England where Spring has not yet sprung.

I hope the weather is starting to get better where you are!

Still, it's great to be back in the UK for a while and I'm excited about my UK tour which starts in Liverpool next week.

I'm also really looking forward to a whole run of shows in the USA starting on May 3rd in Pensacola and taking me all the way to Boston, Philly, Chicago, and more by early June. If there's a show near you I hope you can join us:

May 3 Pensacola FL - Radio Live

May 16 Cambridge MA - Club Passim

May 19 Philadelphia PA - Burlap & Bean

May 26 Tampa FL - The Attic

May 27 Seaside FL - The Rep

June 2 Atlanta GA - Eddie's Attic

June 7 Spring Lake MI - Seven Steps Up

June 8 Lake Orion MI - 20 Front Street

June 9 Chicago IL - SPACE

July 21 Telluride CO -Telluride Americana Music Festival

Full show details and ticket links are at www.callaghansongs.com/live

I'll be joined by great players throughout the tour and we'll be playing new songs recently recorded in LA as well as your Callaghan favourites.

For a taste of the new music please check out my latest EP Skin On Skin wherever you get your music. You can also get it direct from me as a CD or download at www.callaghansongs.com/callaghanstore

During May I'll also be doing house shows along the east coast. In September I'm planning to bring the house show tour back to the west so if you're in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Nevada, Utah, Arizona or California and might be interested in hosting a Callaghan show in your home or garden please reply to this message for more details.

Finally, if you like to listen to music on Spotify please check out my Callaghan playlist - it's an easy way to enjoy my music and to share it with people you think might like it!

Thanks for listening. I hope you're looking forward to a great weekend.

Callaghan x

ROBBIE GENNET NEW RELEASES: LP GLEAMS AND SINGLE THE CAMERA'S ON

top photo by Cyn Lowery @ Cynister Photography

Los Angeles, CA: At first listen, singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Robbie Gennet’s music sounds so original and different from the norm that it’s almost jarring. After all, most new music is “borrowed” from artists that inspire the songwriter, and is easily classified in a specific musical genre.

Not so in Gennet’s case. Perhaps “multi-dimensional, progressive, piano-driven pop/rock” best describes it. Or, to compare his sound to well-known artists, think Father John Misty, Arcade Fire, Rush and the Killers, with Elton John-esque piano and even a string section throughout.

Robbie Gennet is proud to announce his upcoming 7-song album of all original songs, Gleams, set for a May 24 release. Having previously been a sideman on keyboards, vocals, guitar and bass for other artists, including Fuel, Lisa Marie Presley, Nick Lachey, Everclear and many others, he’s excited to release Gleams, his own latest original musical creation.
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Prior to the release of Gleams, the first video from the album is “The Camera’s On” which comes out on April 27. “The Camera’s On” is a frenetic, multi-layered piece of music that reflects the constant state of surveillance we all live in now, while also connecting with the recent anti-patriarchy #metoo movement. “There are cameras in most public spaces, and we are increasingly captured on video,” he explains. “There’s the concept of Big Brother watching us, which I wanted to touch on by showing that through our collective cameras, we are the Bigger Brother watching back. As the lyrics state: ‘Watch what you watch-they see what you see. Don’t leave a trace if you want to be faceless in the crowd when you’re not allowed anonymity.’”

“I was also compelled to tie-in an anti-patriarchy theme in this video,” he continues. “I feel very strongly about women rising up and gaining an equal seat at the table, which requires the patriarchy to unwillingly lose its long-held privilege. As the video started forming in my mind, I saw my initial ‘Reservoir Dogs-meets-Eyes Wide Shut’ plotline through the eyes of a female main character. I knew this video was meant to be built upon the theme of a woman turning the tables on a man and in the end, assuming total power over him.”

In addition to writing all the songs, Gennet plays most of the instruments on the album. “I’ve always played piano on my previous recordings, but playing bass this time has given me the freedom to map out more adventuresome parts. I also played drums on the demos to give Ryan Brown (Dweezil Zappa) a fairly explicit roadmap. Of course, he added his own dazzling touches!” Gennet also specializes in vintage keyboards (Rhodes, Clavinet, Wurlitzer, Minimoog) and has experience playing Hammond organ. He is also a longtime music journalist and video host with Keyboard magazine, teaches music (at Musicians Institute and privately), and is the author of The Key of One (Alfred) book/DVD, his own notation-free approach to learning music as a language.

ROBBIE GENNET ON AMAZON

Growing up, Gennet idolized Elton John and Billy Joel. “Elton and Billy Joel were the pinnacles of piano playing singer/songwriters to me. Having no classical training and minimal exposure to classical or jazz music, I was more interested in rock and blues piano, so I gravitated in that direction. Also, one of my seminal influences when I was a kid was the soundtrack to the movie Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band starring the Bee Gees and Peter Frampton. It was my introduction to the songwriting of the Beatles, as we didn't have any of their records in the house at the time.””

“This new music and sound is one of the most exciting things I have done musically,” he concludes. “By adding live strings and stacked vocals to my piano trio arrangements, I branched away from the guitar-frosted music of my past into more cultured and rich arrangements. Coupled with more complex chord progressions, lyrics and melodies, these songs have broken new ground in my catalogue. It’s much harder for me to find references to tag this music with because of its individuality, which to me is something of a victory artistically. I don’t want to align my music with what’s on the radio or is currently enjoying its15 minutes of coolness. I am focused on timelessness, and being true to my vision.“

Stay tuned for more news…additional new musical releases are planned, as well as live show dates in select cities…

CANADIAN SINGER JEREMY BENJAMIN HAS NEW RELEASE!

Jeremy Benjamin - Cold Hard Cash

Jeremy Benjamin is a singer-songwriter from London, Ontario. Signed to Divergent Recordings, a subsidiary of True North Records.

Jeremy Benjamin (Zeyl) is an award-winning Songwriter whose work spans the genres of Folk, Pop, Country and Gospel. Since 2007, Jeremy has served as the songwriter and leader of the internationally-acclaimed Folk Vocal Trio Isobelle Gunn along with both his wife and his sister. 

In 2013, Jeremy released a commissioned work entitled Heidelberg: Songs from the Catechism to critical acclaim within the Christian Church. Jeremy took a full-time role as Director of Worship Arts at Talbot St. Church in London, Canada in 2014 and served there until 2017.

Cold Hard Cash

During his tenure in London, Jeremy created the Body & Soul Collective and began touring and teaching his songs in the U.S. and Canada at worship conferences and retreats. In 2017, Jeremy signed a record and publishing deal with True North Records and is currently working on an album to be released in 2018.

Jeremy lives in London, Canada with his wife and two children.

Label: Divergent Recordings / True North Records

BLEEDING HANDS AKA SINGER/SONGWRITER ANDY HUGHES

"Bleeding Hands (or Andy Hughes to his mum), Macclesfield-based veteran of many an open-mic night who's happy to pitch up pretty much anywhere with an acoustic guitar and a heart full of stories. His rough, lived-in voice recalls Dylan, Tom Waits and traditional Northern folk heritage; the songs are from a similar background with a hint of Noel Gallagher's more poignant acoustic moments. This is the sort of music that would sound like the best thing in the world sat around a fire in a lovely old pub up on the moors - but it sounds pretty fine in a city centre basement too."

KATIE GARIBALDI NEW RELEASE FOLLOW YOUR HEART

 

We really loved Katie's  Next Ride Out album and we can't wait to hear this very talented singer songwriter's next lp....

Happy to announce the release of Katie Garibaldi's seventh full-length album FOLLOW YOUR HEART). Katie sings with an emotional resonance that, combined with her catchy melodic songs and her soulfully expressive vocals, captures her audience wherever she performs.

While she’s been compared to household names such as Sheryl Crow, Jewel, and Taylor Swift, Katie has a charismatic musical style all her own wherein her equally pop- and country-tinged folk-rock gives her a distinct and edgy sound—Americana with sparkling and memorable melodies.
 

This new album, Follow Your Heart, was recorded at John Vanderslice’s Tiny Telephone Recording Studios in San Francisco, CA, and engineered by Ian Pellicci. The band includes Katie Garibaldi on vocals and acoustic guitar (as well as writer and producer of the entire album), Memphis-based Kevin Blair on electric and upright acoustic bass, and Bay Area local Todd Richardson on drums and percussion. Magik*Magik Orchestra also makes an appearance on the album, which features Michelle Kwon (The Delphi Trio) on cello and Philip Brezina (Brothers Comatose) on violin.

Katie was fortunate to have the opportunity to co-write and arrange the string sections with Magik*Magik Orchestra artistic director, Minna Choi. Other notable players include Max Butler (pedal steel, mandolin, and ukulele), Sylvain Carton (flute, clarinets, and saxophones), Henry Hung (trumpet, trombone), Matt Blackett (electric guitar), and Shawn Shaffer (harmonica). Follow Your Heart contains 13 new tracks, which include her most personal recorded songs to date, all of which hearken back to her simple yet powerful message about the importance of having the conviction to follow your heart.

Follow Your Heart is Katie’s first full-length release of all new compositions since her award winning Next Ride Out album in 2009. In that time, the Americana songstress has toured the country and accomplished many exciting achievements, including being named a Music Connection Magazine Top 100 Live Unsigned Artist and being featured on the cover of The Indie Bible four different times.

Most notably, Katie received the Songwriter of the Year award in 2012 from Songsalive!, the largest international non-profit membership organization and social community for songwriters and composers.

Follow Your Heart will be released worldwide in stores and online July 15th, 2014. Katie will headline a CD Release party on July 12th at Neck Of The Woods, located at 406 Clement Street in San Francisco, with special guests Mike Annuzzi and The Devil’s Chord opening.

Katie then heads to Nashville for several shows, including a performance at her sponsor’s store, Two Old Hippies, and at the summer 2014 NAMM event. Late summer and fall tour dates will also be announced on her website in the next few weeks.

Follow Your Heart will be released Direct-to-Fans via Katie’s website on Tuesday July 1st, 2014, and Digitally and Physically worldwide on July 15th, 2014.

Visit Katie’s Website or Social Media pages for more information about the album and future tour dates. www.katiegaribaldi.com