FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PARKINSONG, VOLUME ONE:
38 SONGS OF HOPE
MEDIA, MUSIC INDUSTRY RALLIES TO SUPPORT EFFORTS AND QUALITY
OF STAR-STUDDED BENEFIT ALBUM WITH CONTRIBUTIONS FROM BONNIE RAITT,
CROSBY & NASH, DAR WILLIAMS, JONATHA BROOKE, MANY OTHERS
6
NEW TRACKS FROM DAVE ALVIN, STEVE FORBERT, CHUCK PROPHET, MORE
GRASS ROOTS EFFORT TO BATTLE PARKINSON’S DISEASE DONATING
100% OF PROFITS TO STEM CELL AND OTHER PROGRESSIVE MEDICAL RESEARCH
JON STEWART, RICHARD KIND JOIN MEDIA CAMPAIGN
ALL STAR BENEFIT CONCERT PLANS UNDER WAY
PRINCETON, N.J. -- So much
is written about the "cold-hearted" music industry and the chasm which
supposedly separates the major music labels and the independents. But
PARKINSONG, VOLUME ONE: 38 SONGS OF HOPE (Ryko Distribution)
is showing things are not always as they seem.
The two-CD Who's Who of
contemporary singer-songwriters
shows the music industry --
all echelons -- responding in harmony to a genuine, grass roots efforts
to battle a terrible dsease. Big names like Bonnie Raitt, Crosby &
Nash and big labels such as Universal and EMI have teamed with
respected Independents like Steve Forbert, Dave Alvin, Jonatha Brooke
and indie labels Ryko, Yep Roc, Hightone, Red House and others to
produce a dynamic collection of music. Also included are do-it-yourself
artists like Little Pink, Cindy Kalmenson and Utah Carol,
whose contributions hold there own in the face of such formidable
company.
As Performing Songwriter noted in a
full-page feature: PARKINSONG is “a moving testament not only to
the emotional power of song, but to the generosity of the artists,
labels and managers involved.” The San Antonio Express-News added
that
"besides being a timely release, the compilation is balanced in tone,
tempos and theme. ... Parkinsong
features ... uniformly excellent,
positive lyrics and a shared, uplifting spirit that gently, but
insistently, turns the spotlight on the cause."
Musically, there is
something for everyone. "It's not only a solid collection of crossover
tracks that support a great cause,” said All Music Guide, “but a
well-tailored selection suited for generations young and old."
All ages can relate to
Lucy Kaplansky's haunting account of her mother's suffering in a
nursing home ("what a dirty trick, this growing old") to Dave Alvin's
touching tribute to his father's struggle with Parkinson's, "The Man In
The Bed" ("These trembling hands aren't mine, no my hands are strong and
steady all the time”); and to Catie Curtis' hopefully defiant
anthem "Don't Lay Down," with its stirring declaration: "I'm with you
pulling for a miracle. I'm with you pulling for a cure."
No Depression singled out
Alvin’s new track as “a song of great humanity and depth and, like many
other moments on Parkinsong, reminds of music’s power to both
communicate and move.”
PARKINSONG, VOLUME ONE: 38
SONGS OF HOPE is
remarkable not only because of its breadth and range of emotionally
charged music and the generosity of the artists, publishers and labels
involved -- all of whom donated their rights and products -- but also
because the entire project was put together by someone with no
experience in the music business – Washington, D.C.-based attorney
Rob Litowitz, whose mother, retired New Jersey English teacher
Selma, has been battling Parkinson’s disease with the utmost courage
and dignity for over a decade. Selma’s most famous student, The
Daily Show host Jon Stewart, recently spoke to the
Associated Press in support of the CD, and comic actor Richard
Kind (“Spin City,” “Mad About You”), a childhood camp mate of Rob’s,
made a New York TV appearance on the WB 11 Morning Show on behalf
of the project.
Inspired by the music
itself, and encouraged by the remarkable help from Grammy Award-winning
producer Lloyd
Maines, Terri Hendrix, Ana
Egge and Amy
Farris, Litowitz dedicated himself to learning on the job. Over
nearly two years, he pulled it all together -- essentially creating and
running his own "ParkinSong" label with the help of his sisters,
Debra Frank and Carol Golden, as a tribute to their
mother’s indominable spirit.
Together, they’re doing
their best to make the non-profit ParkinSong Foundation a success.
Plans already are under way for an all-star benefit concert, featuring
many of the CD’s performers, for the fall.
Recently, on the strength of
3 songs being featured just one morning on award-winning Triple A
station WXPN in Philadelphia, PARKINSONG climbed to #56 on
Amazon's sales chart. In its 4th week at radio, PARKINSONG
was in rotation at 26 stations, a 30 percent jump from the previous week
– including the highly influential KCRW in Los Angeles and several top
reporters to CMJ.
The CD has garnered
additional media notice from CNN Radio, Knight-Ridder News Service,
Dirty Linen, No Depression, Performing Songwriter, the Washington
Post, the San Antonio News, the New York Daily News’
Rush & Molloy, Relix, the (Newark) Star-Ledger, Paste Online,
Rollingstone.com and E! Online, among others.
Imagine what more sustained or broader exposure could achieve for this
worthy project.
One hundred percent of the
profits from PARKINSONG, VOLUME ONE: 38 SONGS OF HOPE go directly
to research. There is no paid staff whatsoever. It is a wonderful
collection of over 2 hours of music, and it deserves to be heard.
But there is clearly much
more work to be done. And then work can begin on PARKINSONG, VOLUME
TWO.
Have you received your copy?
