When pop singer Marty Rhone called me up to help sing on a new charity single raising money for Aussie farmers, I was like HELL YEAH!
The song is a medley of Country Roads by John Denver and On The Road Again by Willie Nelson.
I grabbed a friend who could film, jumped on a green screen and went for it.
Little did I know, this would turn into a collaboration with some SERIOUS superstars!
I can now say I’m officially featured on a song with legendary guitarist Albert Lee.
Yes, THE Albert Lee.
The one who played with George Harrison, Prince, Eric Clapton, Emmy Lou Harris, Deep Purple to name a few.
My video was sent over to America where a KILLER band joined the project, including Chad Watson (Waylon Jennings, Ronnie Milsap), Eddie Hedges (Blessed Union of Souls), Jay Leach (Barry Mannilow, American Idol), Dave Bernal on harmonica and ex-preacher Phil Jones.
So, what’s it really like recording a global collaboration?
- We didn’t all hang out together in the studio. I recorded my harmonies alone in a television studio using a guide track through one earbud hidden under my hair.
Marty and the rest of the gang recorded their parts over in the U.S. and then we were all mixed together on the track.
2. I had no idea when it would come out. We actually filmed my parts over a year ago!
(Then the bushfires happened… Then the pandemic… So a charity single for drought relief got put on the back burner)
3. We originally recorded different lyrics to the song! Marty re-wrote the lyrics to Country Roads to be about Australia since we were raising money for Aussie farmers in need.
He spent ages trying to get approval from all the rights holders – even talking directly to John Denver’s widow who loved the idea, but getting all the paperwork lead us in circles.
You may get the chance to hear our Aussie version soon though!
I never dreamed I would be part of a project like this, and experiencing global collaboration for the first time has been epic!
I met Marty Rhone when I was 14. He was my first ever performance coach, and taught me how to work the stage and sing a song like I really meant it.
Now 15 years later we’ve released a song together!
You can check out how the song turned out, and support Drought Angels charity who are helping Aussie farmers doing it tough (did you know 60% of Australia is still in drought?) by downloading Country Roads/On The Road Again .