New Music, New Newsletter!
Dearest friends, I've been thinking a lot about you lately and I've been looking forward to reaching out to connect with you all during these incredibly challenging times. We may not be ready to gather at shows together to sing along, cry and laugh quite yet, but that time will surely come.
At the beginning of the year, before the pandemic hit, I submitted my latest songs to my label, Wicked Cool Records NYC, for their approval. In my heart it felt weird to be releasing a song right now when the world is also reeling because a human life was taken so unjustly; however, as we see all colors of the world passionately unite like never before to invoke real change, and the history-making movement that is occurring before our very eyes, demanding equal rights for all humans, I realize this is actually the perfect time to release a song celebrating the undeniable talent of an African American icon who had a massive impact on the Blues, Rock & Roll and music as we know it. Music is a great unifier and I hope this song will serve as something everyone can appreciate and as a reminder of the insane talent of the late, great Willie Dixon.
The A side of my new single is my cover of “I Ain't Superstitious”, written by Dixon, the great blues titan. Willie was a large man, standing 6'6" tall, at 250lbs. He was a boxer, who sparred with Joe Louis before he settled on his true passion: music. Willie was an arranger, a fantastic upright bass player, a writer and an artist too. (check out his own recording of Backdoor Man, a song he wrote, which was covered by The Doors and hundreds of others) He was an executive at both Chess and Checkers Records, and as such, he was one of the most enterprising musicians in history. Willie Dixon was one of those rare individuals who bridged Jump Blues and Rock & Roll.
On first listen, the lyrics talk about superstition, with the singer's eyes always vigilantly looking over his shoulder. I'm wondering if you, the listener, detect any other subtext within his lyrics ... is there anything else lurking underneath? Let me know in my comments to this blog post as it unfolds for you, I'd love to hear from you.
I chose to record a nearly note-for-note homage to Jeff Beck's version of Willie's song, which is found on Beck's 1968 US debut album, “Truth”. To say I loved this album would be an epic understatement. It was my guitar bible. Although I didn't sit down and learn every solo, I drank in Jeff's incredible touch and tone, and appreciated his ability to make his guitar laugh, cry, bark and moan. He still moves me to this day because he has never stopped expanding his vocabulary, his ability growing to athletic dimensions.
So, without further ado, I offer you my latest single, “I Ain't Superstitious” b/w “Spell Breaker”, a new original written by yours truly, along with my ol' pal Michael Des Barres. If you listen closely, you'll hear Michael laughing, howling and generally hyping the singer (me) on our new song. Gia Ciambotti sings lead on the A side, and she truly owned this song, as we elected to bring in some of the lost verses from Howlin' Wolf's original recording of “I Ain't Superstitious”. Isn't Gia terrific?
If you liked the guitars, bass, piano, organ, strings and programmed drums, it was done by me! If you didn’t like them I’m not sure who did it?!?! I do know that the drums were played by Erik Eldenius, and he played his heart out on both tracks.
I want to thank Frits Jan Smit for his spectacular animation and all the cool ideas in our cool new lyric video. I would be remiss if I didn’t thank my spectacular record label, Wicked Cool Records from New York City, and the whole Wicked Cool team along with my own team, Michael and Shelly Solle.
In support of efforts during these trying times to ensure the social, educational and economic equality of rights, I am proud to announce that we will be giving a portion of ALL sales from my store to the NAACP. Their mission of eliminating race-based discrimination to ensure the health and well-being of all persons is more important at this time than ever before!
Lastly, I'm super sad I won't be seeing your beautiful faces out in the audience as I had been planning. Please know that, as sad as you are to miss us, I am sadder still that I won't see you this summer. Let's enjoy the music and lift our brothers and sisters up at this difficult moment in our nation's history.
Let me know how you like it!
All my love,
Brian Ray
