Sunday, July 15, 2018
Jonathan Edwards Talks about New CD with Darrell Scott Vince Gill Shawn Colvin Jerry Douglas and Alison Krauss
Jonathan Edwards Talks about New CD with Darrell Scott Vince Gill Shawn Colvin Jerry Douglas and Alison Krauss
-By Ray Shasho
The Singer, Songwriter & Musician who brought us �Sunshine�
The Singer, Songwriter & Musician who brought us �Sunshine�
"Sunshine go away today
I dont feel much like dancing
Some mans gone, hes tried to run my life
Some mans gone, hes tried to run my life
Dont know what hes asking" �
Since 1970, singer/songwriter/musician Jonathan Edwards has been captivating audiences worldwide with his acoustic guitar and a story to sing about.
In 1969, Edwards�s professional career heightened after his band Sugar Creek signed with Metromedia Records and released their only album together as a band entitled �Please Tell A Friend.� Sugar Creek�s debut release was a musically intelligent effort by the band, combining psychedelic blues & rock with exceptional vocalizations. Although the band had great potential, Edwards left the band, while abandoning electrified psychedelia for the acoustic renderings of folk and country as a solo performer.
Soon after leaving Sugar Creek, Edwards began touring with legendary artists such as the Allman Brothers Band and B. B King, and was discovered as a solo artist by Capricorn Records. In 1971, Edwards launched his critically-acclaimed debut album Jonathan Edwards. The release spawned his penned hit single �Sunshine� (Go Away Today) (#4 Billboard Hot 100 Chart), selling over a million copies and earning Jonathan a gold record. Ironically, an engineer accidentally erased the master of a track called "Please Find Me" near the end of the recording sessions for the album and "Sunshine" was used to fill the gap.
For many, �Sunshine� became a rallying protest cry against war and politics.
Edwards reveals in this interview � �It was a combination of factors that went into the inspiration of pulling that one together and started with my dad being an ex FBI agent and me taking over ROTC buildings at the same time he was still an FBI agent. It was the height of the Viet Nam war that was brought to us through ways of lies and submergence, Nixon was president and I had just narrowly survived my pre induction draft board physical and I was very frustrated with our Government and the conduct it was having in our name, so I just sat down with this in Brighton, Massachusetts, wrote the song, and it took off.�
�Sunshine� has since been covered by numerous recording artists worldwide including � Juice Newton (#35 Billboard country charts), The Isley Brothers, Susanna Hoffs (The Bangles) and Paul Westerberg (The Replacements) to name just a few.
The Friday Song, which was played on radio stations coast to coast at 5pm.
Jonathan�s Little Hands, his collection of children�s songs, was honored with a National Library Association award.
Jonathan Edwards official releases � (1971) Jonathan Edwards, (1972) Honky-Tonk Stardust Cowboy, (1973) Have a Good Time for Me, (1974) Lucky Day (1976) Rockin Chair (1977) Sailboat (1980) Live!, (1985) Blue Ridge, (1987) Little Hands, (1989) Natural Thing (1994) One Day Closer, (1998) Man in the Moon, (2001) Cruising Americas Waterways, (2006) Live in Massachusetts ,(2009) Rollin Along: Live in Holland, (2011) My Love Will Keep, (2015) Tomorrows Child (NEW release!).
Jonathan Edwards�s new release Tomorrow�s Child also features Grammy Nominated, Darrell Scott, Vince Gill, Shawn Colvin, Jerry Douglas and Alison Krauss. Edwards says � �A dream come true to have old friends like these on my album would be the understatement of the decade!� A pre-release copy of Jonathan Edwards new album entitled Tomorrow�s Child can be ordered now at www.pledgemusic.com/projects/jonathanedwards.
I had the great pleasure of chatting with Jonathan Edwards recently about his exciting new release Tomorrows Child � The inception of �Sunshine� � Jonathan�s days with the psychedelic blues & rock band Sugar Creek � His longtime friendship with Emmylou Harris �My infamous �Field of Dreams� question� and much-much more!
Here�s my recent interview with Singer, Songwriter, Musician, Actor �
JONATHAN EDWARDS.
Ray Shasho: Jonathan thank you for being on the call, where are you at today?
Jonathan Edwards: �We�re hovering around home today in Portland, Maine.�
Ray Shasho Who were the early influences that got you interested in becoming a musician and performer?
Jonathan Edwards: �I don�t know, I guess I watched a little too much TV as a kid and saw people like Bobby Darin, Johnny Rivers, Otis Redding, and Ray Charles. Then I started getting into acoustic music in the form of bluegrass when I started high school and became aware of what power exists in acoustic bands. So I just started loving that whole thing and began writing around that same time.�
Ray Shasho: Early in your career you formed a blues-rock band called �The Headstone Circus� which eventually became �Sugar Creek� in 1967.
Jonathan Edwards: �I did yea, that was the name of the band our manager and his infinite wisdom thought we should have, but we were really called �The Headstone Circus� and that was the name we came with although we recorded under �Sugar Creek.��
Ray Shasho: I enjoyed all of the tracks from Sugar Creek�s album �Please Tell a Friend� � �Lady Linda� is a beautiful song and reminiscent to a Stephen Stills classic, while �Memory Tree� is an incredible mind-blowing psychedelic phenomena �I thoroughly enjoyed the album.
Jonathan Edwards: �I drew the cover. We were six guys and it only showed four of us on the album jacket, but there were actually six of us until after the album was recorded so I just didn�t put them on the cover. We were six different guys in totally separate directions and we came together for this record. It does have some really cool moments for sure.�
Ray Shasho: So why did the band breakup?
Jonathan Edwards: �Like I said we were in six different directions. I wanted to pursue a solo career and get out of electric loud music and get into more organic pleasant sounds with acoustic guitars, mandolins, and banjos and see what they bring for me.�
Ray Shasho: When you did go solo you signed with the Macon, Georgia based Capricorn Records and toured with many of the Capricorn artists including The Allman Brothers Band.
Jonathan Edwards: �We were on the same label as The Allman Brothers Band, Cowboy, Livingston Taylor, Alex Taylor and so many other cool people.�
Ray Shasho: Jonathan you�ve got your new album, Tomorrow�s Child coming out soon and it was recorded in Nashville.
Jonathan Edwards: �I�ve found a kindred spirit in a guy named Darrell Scott, and my manager in Nashville suggested I hookup with him and see what would come of it, and so instantly a musical love and he produced this wonderful album. We sat down and he said� do remember when we used to make records, we�d all sit in a room in a circle with our guitars and a couple of microphones and run the tape machine. Well that�s what we did. We had percussion, standup bass, Darrell and I playing guitars, and this wonderful guy Dirk Powell. We just sat and rehearsed one day and began taping the next. We were in the studio for three days � (3) eight to ten hour sessions which is not what I used to do; I�d do twelve to fifteen hour sessions. But it was one of those organic things that grew out of the inspiration to go back to how we used to sound and feel when we were making acoustic records.�
Ray Shasho: Who are some of the other musicians on the album?
Jonathan Edwards: �I brought in one guy from my band called Joe Walsh, we call him the other Joe Walsh, and he plays mandolin on a song, but mostly it�s the Nashville Cats that are not only studio musicians but road warriors as well. Bryn Davies is playing bass and Kenny Malone is playing percussion and drums, Dirk Powell plays mandolin, mellotron, accordions, guitars and piano� he�s just a monstrous guy, and Darrell Scott of course playing all the guitars � metal steel, slide and Dobro. I got to play some Dobro with Jerry Douglas who plays on the title song along with his buddy and my old friend Alison Krauss. I�m so thrilled to be even saying that. I started calling my old friends and said hey, let�s do this thing, you all have been keeping your fingers crossed for me to get my act together and do a good record and here�s your chance to be of some help. So I called Shawn Colvin and she graciously came in, Vince Gill came in and sang on a couple of songs and he�s an angel from heaven as well. I�ve got John Cowan singing some high harmonies and Darrell and I do the rest. It�s pretty awesome and I can�t wait for people to hear it.�
Ray Shasho: Let�s talk about your huge hit in 1971 called �Sunshine,� the single written and sung by you reached #4 on Billboard�s Hot 100 singles chart and earned a gold record. What was the story behind writing that timeless classic?
Jonathan Edwards: �It was a combination of factors that went into the inspiration of pulling that one together and started with my dad being an ex FBI agent and me taking over ROTC buildings at the same time he was still an FBI agent. It was the height of the Viet Nam war that was brought to us through ways of lies and submergence, Nixon was president and I had just narrowly survived my pre induction draft board physical and I was very frustrated with our Government and the conduct it was having in our name, so I just sat down with this in Brighton, Massachusetts, wrote the song, and it took off. It became an anthem for many people at a crucial time in our history and culture. I just had the pleasure of performing that song along with three others with an eighty-two piece symphony orchestra behind us at Kingfield POPS in Kingfield, Maine which featured the Bangor Symphony Orchestra and that was such a trip and so amazing. I also did the title song from the new album entitled �Tomorrow�s Child� with the whole symphony setting. So there are a lot of things going on and I couldn�t be happier, healthier, and more involved.�
Ray Shasho: �Was that the first time you actually performed with a symphony orchestra?
Jonathan Edwards: �Yea first time, but I think the way it went and the way things are going �it�s going to be the first of many. I may do another five songs or so, tour cities and playing with their orchestras, so it�s going to be fun. I�m lucky enough to have a musical director named Tom Snow who writes these beautiful charts and arrangements for orchestra on my songs.�
Ray Shasho: You�ve written and performed so many great tunes � �Shanty� fondly referred to as �The Friday Song.�
Jonathan Edwards: �Yup and they play it at five o�clock on Friday�s.�
Ray Shasho: You perform one of the best versions of Curtis Mayfield�s �People Get Ready� that I�ve heard and �Seven Daffodils� � just an amazing track.
Jonathan Edwards: �I first heard �Seven Daffodils� from Pete Seeger and it stayed with me all these years.�
Ray Shasho: You�ve had a longtime friendship with Emmylou Harris.
Jonathan Edwards: �We go way back to the late 60�s; she was part of the community that haunted the Childe Harold in Washington, D.C. In 1973, I had kind of had it with the music business and had wanted to take a break from it and understand what it was to get back to the land and get off the power grid and work with actual ho
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