{"id":2120,"date":"2020-04-24T13:04:52","date_gmt":"2020-04-24T13:04:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/perfectmusictoday.com\/?p=2120"},"modified":"2020-04-24T13:07:44","modified_gmt":"2020-04-24T13:07:44","slug":"dion-records-blues-with-friends-to-release-june-5-with-paul-simon-van-morrison-bruce-springsteen-and-14-other-super-stars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/perfectmusictoday.com\/index.php\/2020\/04\/24\/dion-records-blues-with-friends-to-release-june-5-with-paul-simon-van-morrison-bruce-springsteen-and-14-other-super-stars\/","title":{"rendered":"DION RECORDS BLUES WITH FRIENDS TO RELEASE JUNE 5 WITH PAUL SIMON, VAN MORRISON, BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN AND 14 OTHER SUPER STARS"},"content":{"rendered":"

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DION RECORDS WITH PAUL SIMON, VAN MORRISON, BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN AND 14 OTHER SUPER STARS ON NEW STUDIO ALBUM \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/strong>BLUES WITH FRIENDS\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>TO RELEASE JUNE 5<\/strong><\/p>\n

THE 14 ORIGINAL SONGS ALSO INCLUDE MUSICAL CONTRIBUTIONS FROM JEFF BECK, RORY BLOCK, JOE BONAMASSA, SAMANTHA FISH, BILLY GIBBONS, JOHN HAMMOND JR., SONNY LANDRETH, JOE MENZA, PATTI SCIALFA, BRIAN SETZER, STEVIE VAN ZANDT, JERRY AND JIMMY VIVINO, JOE LOUIS WALKER<\/strong><\/p>\n

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FIRST SINGLE \u201cBLUES CO<\/strong>MIN\u2019 ON\u201d FEATURING JOE BONAMASSA<\/strong><\/p>\n

AVAILABLE TO STREAM AND DOWNLOAD NOW<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Michael Hepworth<\/p>\n

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\u201cDion knows how to sing, and he knows just the right way to craft these songs, these blues songs. He\u2019s got some friends here to help him out, some true luminaries. But in the end, it\u2019s Dion by himself alone, and that masterful voice of his that will keep you returning to share these Blues songs with him.:<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0–\u00a0<\/em>Excerpt from Bob Dylan\u2019s liner notes for\u00a0Blues With Friends<\/em><\/p>\n

Blues With Friends<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0is available for Pre-Order worldwide at:\u00a0<\/strong>KTBArecords.com<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Stream \u201cBlues Comin\u2019 On\u201d Now\u00a0<\/strong>HERE<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>
\nMore information at\u00a0<\/strong>www.diondimucci.com<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

HOLLYWOOD (Perfect Music Today) 4\/24\/20\/–Dion\u2019s\u00a0Blues With Friends<\/em><\/strong>, CD out June 5, represents the fulfillment of a lifelong vision. Dion explains the album\u2019s impetus, \u201cI wanted an album of songs that were strong and memorable and told stories that were worth telling.\u201d His songwriting efforts were supported by a cadre of great players, each of whom jumped at the chance to collaborate with a music legend they think of in heroic terms.\u00a0He\u2019s quick to point out just how enduring this creative relationship has been, \u201cThe blues have been at the heart of my music since the early 1960s. \u2018The Wanderer\u2019 is a twelve-bar blues and I was covering Willie Dixon and Jimmy Reed in my early years at Columbia \u2014 much to the dismay of my corporate masters.\u201d \u00a0That\u2019s the way it\u2019s long been for the man Lou Reed inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame more than thirty years ago. That night the normally taciturn Reed exalted, \u201cAnd then there was Dion \u2014 whose voice was unlike any other I had heard before \u2014\u00a0a voice that stood on its own, remarkable and unmistakably from New York. Bronx soul.\u201d<\/p>\n

As one of the very few first-generation rock \u2018n\u2019 rollers still seriously pursing new avenues of expression, Dion\u2019s Bronx soul is very much in evidence on this new album, a full-tilt blues offering. The blues songs therein are not \u201ccovers\u201d nor Dion\u2019s versions of blues standards. These compositions are, in fact, blues originals, destined to become classics in their own right.\u00a0\u00a0He came up with the music and words for twelve of them and finished those with co-writer Mike Aquilina. The two exceptions are \u201cHymn To Him\u201d which Dion wrote with Bill Tuohy and \u201cKickin\u2019 Child,\u201d written with Buddy Lucas.<\/p>\n

To tell those stories, Dion recruited help from a few notable friends and admirers.\u00a0\u00a0He thought, \u201cI needed to round up the best guitarists and musicians alive and pick them from every generation, every variation of blues.\u201d And that\u2019s just what he did, surrounding himself with those who feel the blues spirit as he does.<\/p>\n

The album\u2019s guests include the cream of the contemporary scene\u2019s blues-rooted slingers including Jeff Beck, Billy Gibbons, Joe Bonamassa, Brian Setzer, Sonny Landreth, Samantha Fish, John Hammond Jr., Joe Louis Walker, Rory Block , Jimmy and Jerry Vivino, vintage guitar guru Joe Menza as well as icons Stevie Van Zandt, Patti Scialfa, Bruce Springsteen, Van Morrison and Paul Simon.\u00a0\u00a0Yes, that\u2019s a whole lot of star power but each participated not because of his or her marquee appeal but because of what each could add musically. The result is one reflective of nuanced devotion to the blues rather than a gratuitous display of individual virtuosity. It\u2019s very much Dion\u2019s album and those bold face names participating are most convincingly there for him.<\/p>\n

For this outing, Dion worked with producer Wayne Hood in whose Florida studio the basic tracks were recorded. \u201cFrom the first day, I was at home. We hit it off like brothers on a mission. We caught the same vision and sound and off we went.\u201d Over the course of the last part of 2019 and the first part of 2020, the album began to take shape.\u00a0 Dion had the songs and the collaborators began to reveal themselves. As Dion tells it, he ran the album\u2019s first track, \u201cBlues Comin\u2019 On,\u201d past Joe Bonamassa. He noted, \u201cIt\u2019s funny how a song evolves. For me it usually starts with a few words. In this case it was \u201cIf I didn\u2019t know better” I wanted to sing those words, so I wrote a song around them. Joe Bonamassa is a monster and took the song to a whole new level.\u201d Joe would be the first of many of Dion\u2019s\u00a0Blues With Friends<\/em>\u00a0co-conspirators.<\/p>\n

Ever the no-nonsense sage, Dion bottom lined just what makes\u00a0Blues With Friends<\/em>\u00a0a project for the ages: \u201cGreat songs, great guitarists. What more do you need?\u201d he asks.<\/p>\n

Dion\u2019s\u00a0Blues With Friends<\/em>\u00a0will be released on June 5th<\/sup>\u00a0through\u00a0Keeping The Blues Alive Records<\/strong>, a new label started by Joe Bonamassa and his manager Roy Weisman\u00a0and is an offshoot of Keeping The Blues Alive Foundation, Bonamassa\u2019s non-profit that aims to conserve the art of music and the rich culture and history of the blues.\u00a0\u00a0The label\u2019s objective\u00a0is to provide a platform for musical talent in blues and blues-rock based music and to help encourage\u00a0the careers of extraordinary musical talent.\u00a010% of all profits from the label will be donated back to the Non-Profit for promoting music education to students and schools in need.\u00a0 The album will be preceded by a staggered release of album singles as follows:<\/p>\n

April 24 \u2013 \u201cBlues Comin\u2019 On<\/strong>\u201d with\u00a0Joe Bonamassa<\/strong><\/p>\n

May 1 \u2013 \u201cHymn To Him<\/strong>\u201d with\u00a0Patti Scialfa<\/strong>\u00a0&\u00a0Bruce Springsteen<\/strong><\/p>\n

May 8 \u2013 \u201cBam Bang Boom<\/strong>\u201d with\u00a0Billy Gibbons<\/strong><\/p>\n

May 15 \u2013 \u201cI Got Nothin\u2019<\/strong>\u201d with\u00a0Van Morrison<\/strong>\u00a0&\u00a0Joe Louis Walker<\/strong><\/p>\n

May 22 \u2013 \u201cCan\u2019t Start Over Again<\/strong>\u201d with\u00a0Jeff Beck<\/strong><\/p>\n

May 29 \u2013 \u201cSong For Sam Cooke (Here In America)<\/strong>\u201d with\u00a0Paul Simon<\/strong><\/p>\n

In addition to the aforementioned \u201cBlues Comin\u2019 On,\u201d Dion provided some analytical introspection for the album\u2019s other thirteen tracks, all guests on guitar unless otherwise indicated.<\/p>\n

\u201cKickin\u2019 Child\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0(with\u00a0Joe Menza<\/strong>) \u201cI was the first rock-and-roll artist signed to Columbia Records, but they thought rock was a passing fad and wanted me to be the next crooner of standards from the Great American Songbook, but I wasn\u2019t going there.\u00a0 I recorded what I wanted, and it mostly stayed in the vault. I first wrote and recorded this song in 1965; Tom Wilson produced a version of it. In 2017 I released an album with \u201cKickin’\u2019 Child\u201d as the title track but it wasn\u2019t where I wanted it, so I re-recorded in here.\u00a0 Joe Menza knew where I wanted it to go.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cUptown Number 7\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0(with\u00a0Brian Setzer<\/strong>) \u201cI wanted to write an old-fashioned gospel number in the style of the Golden Gate Quartet. I wanted this one to be about moving forward in the spiritual life\u2026 having a goal… facing temptations along the way. So, I put it all on a train, because that\u2019s what New Yorkers do if they want to get anywhere: they take the train. I can never leave well enough alone, so one day I tried the melody in a minor key.\u00a0 I loved the way it turned out and that\u2019s what you\u2019re hearing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCan\u2019t Start Over Again\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0(with\u00a0Jeff Beck<\/strong>) \u201cMy earliest influences were country blues, especially Hank Williams.\u00a0Any money I earned I took to the neighborhood record store, where the owner used to razz me about my \u201chillbilly\u201d tastes. I guess I still have that hillbilly inside. For my last album I wrote a song called \u2018I Can\u2019t Go Back to Memphis,\u2019 but I go back there with this number. It\u2019s about\u00a0love\u00a0and loss and heartache, the classic themes. I believe it’s a true blues song. I asked Jeff Beck to play something on it, he said yes! What can I say, it’s\u00a0Jeff Beck.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMy Baby Loves to Boogie\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0(with\u00a0John Hammond Jr.,<\/strong>\u00a0harmonica)\u00a0\u201cJohn Hammond and I go back to the \u201960s at the Gaslight coffee house in Greenwich Village. I\u2019ve always admired John. He\u2019s a dear friend. I played him this song and he said he heard harp on it. Well, friends, now you could hear exactly what he was talking\u2019 about. It sounds like \u201cBoogie Beyond.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI Got Nothin\u2019\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0(with\u00a0Van Morrison<\/strong>, vocals, and\u00a0Joe Louis Walker<\/strong>, guitar) \u201cYou know when you sit down and you want to write a song, but nothing comes to mind? I was having one of those days. So, I went with the feeling and this is what I got. I got nothin\u2019, and nothing is enough! It\u2019s more than enough, actually, when you\u2019re singing it with Van Morrison and Joe Louis Walker complemented us perfectly.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStumbling Blues\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0(with\u00a0Jimmy Vivino<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Jerry Vivino<\/strong>, sax) \u201cThis is one of those melodies that came out of nowhere and it feels like it\u2019s been drifting on the wind since the beginning of time. It\u2019s built on a classic blues progression.\u00a0I didn\u2019t really hear it till I was sitting in Van Morrison\u2019s dressing room and he asked me to play something new. For whatever reason, I knew while I was singing it that it was something extraordinary.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBam Bang Boom\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0(with\u00a0Billy Gibbons<\/strong>) \u201cThis is another song that started as phrases I wanted to sing. \u2018I stepped into love.\u2019 The lyric does a good job of describing what happened when I first met Susan. We were both teenagers. She was new to my very Italian neighborhood in the Bronx and she was a redheaded transplant from Vermont. Bam bang boom! Billy Gibbons was a joy to work with on this.\u00a0 There\u2019s nobody like him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI Got the Cure\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0(with\u00a0Sonny Landreth<\/strong>) \u201cThe blues aren\u2019t always about being down and out. When you aren\u2019t crying, you\u2019re bragging about what you can do. It\u2019s what I did in songs from \u2018The Wanderer\u2019 to \u2018King of the New York Streets\u2019 to \u201cGangster of Love.\u2019 Here I go again.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSong for Sam Cooke (Here in America)\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0(with\u00a0Paul Simon<\/strong>, vocals) \u201cI wrote this tune back many years ago. At first I just had the melody and the refrain \u2018Here in America.\u2019 A friend suggested I use an episode from my memoir about walking southern streets with Sam Cooke in 1962.\u00a0 I finished the song, but it felt too personal, so I put it aside. Then in 2019 I saw the movie\u00a0Green Book<\/em>\u00a0and after that I couldn\u2019t shake the song.\u00a0 My friend Paul Simon wanted to record it what he was hearing on the tune; it\u2019s a story we both share. Thank you Paul. Rest in peace, Sam.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat If I Told You\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0(with\u00a0Samantha Fish<\/strong>) \u201cSame old story: suspicion. The challenge is to make it new and fresh and I think I did. If I put out the same amount of energy and emotion that Samantha Fish put into this song, I wouldn\u2019t be able to walk for three weeks. EPIC!!!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTold You Once in August\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0(with\u00a0John Hammond<\/strong>, slide guitar on right,\u00a0Rory Block<\/strong>, slide guitar on left and vocals) \u201cOne of my favorite guitars is a little Cordova travel model that I bought for practically nothing. One day I was fooling around on it and I got this sound that reminded me of those old backwoods Appalachian blues recordings. I tried to capture the slow anger of a man who gradually realizes he\u2019s been done wrong by his woman.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWay Down (I Won\u2019t Cry No More)\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0(with\u00a0Stevie Van Zandt<\/strong>) \u201cIt started with a rhythm. It got me and wouldn\u2019t let go. My dear friend Stevie Van Zandt just rocked it with his grit and nasty grunge guitar. We had a lot of fun in the studio and then we went out to eat to celebrate.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHymn to Him\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0(with\u00a0Patti Scialfa<\/strong>, vocals, and\u00a0Bruce Springsteen<\/strong>, guitar) \u201cI first recorded this song for my 1987 gospel album\u00a0Velvet & Steel<\/em>. But songs are never finished… I kept hearing this with Patti\u2019s voice, so I asked her to help me remake the song. When she started singing and layering her vocals down, I got a big surprise. Bruce walked into the studio with his guitar and asked to play a solo. They made it something sublime.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Follow Dion on Social Media:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Facebook<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>@officialdion \/\u00a0<\/strong>Instagram<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/a>@diondimucciofficial\u00a0 \/\u00a0<\/strong>Twitter<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>@thewandererdion<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Spotify<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\/ \u00a0<\/strong>YouTube<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

About Keeping The Blues Alive Records:<\/strong><\/p>\n

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\"tn-10\"<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Michael Hepworth<\/p>\n

287 S.Robertson Blvd, Beverly Hills, CA 90211<\/p>\n

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DION RECORDS WITH PAUL SIMON, VAN MORRISON, BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN AND 14 OTHER SUPER STARS ON NEW STUDIO ALBUM \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0BLUES WITH FRIENDS\u00a0TO RELEASE JUNE 5 THE… <\/p>\n

Continue Reading DION RECORDS BLUES WITH FRIENDS TO RELEASE JUNE 5 WITH PAUL SIMON, VAN MORRISON, BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN AND 14 OTHER SUPER STARS<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2],"tags":[820,1182,1173,1172,1184,1176,1185,1180,1178,1181,1175,1177,1179,1183,1174,559],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/perfectmusictoday.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2120"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/perfectmusictoday.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/perfectmusictoday.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/perfectmusictoday.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/perfectmusictoday.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2120"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/perfectmusictoday.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2120\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2125,"href":"https:\/\/perfectmusictoday.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2120\/revisions\/2125"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/perfectmusictoday.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2120"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/perfectmusictoday.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2120"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/perfectmusictoday.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2120"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}