Rock and Roll legend Dion has gathered up his famous friends for his next album ‘Blues With Friends’.
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 all join Dion on the record.
Dion released his first record ‘Santa Margarita’ in 1957. He had his first international hit when 1959’s ‘A Teenager In Love’ reached no 28 in the UK. His first US no 1 was ‘Runaround Sue’ in 1961.
“The blues have been at the heart of my music since the early 1960s,” Dion says. “‘The Wanderer’ is a twelve-bar blues and I was covering Willie Dixon and Jimmy Reed in my early years at Columbia — much to the dismay of my corporate masters.”
When Lou Reed inducted Dion into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame he said, “And then there was Dion — whose voice was unlike any other I had heard before — a voice that stood on its own, remarkable and unmistakably from New York. Bronx soul.”
Of the Springsteen duet Dion says, “I first recorded this song for my 1987 gospel album Velvet & Steel. But songs are never finished… I kept hearing this with Patti’s 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.”
‘Blues With Friends’ will be released on June 5.
TRACK LISTING:
1. Blues Comin’ On with Joe Bonamassa
2. Kickin’ Child with Joe Menza
3. Uptown Number 7 with Brian Setzer
4. Can’t Start Over Again with Jeff Beck
5. My Baby Loves To Boogie with John Hammond
6. I Got Nothin’ with Van Morrison & Joe Louis Walker
7. Stumbling Blues with Jimmy & Jerry Vivino
8. Bam Bang Boom with Billy Gibbons
9. I Got The Cure with Sonny Landreth
10. Song For Sam Cooke (Here In America) with Paul Simon
11. What If I Told You with Samantha Fish
12. Told You Once In August with John Hammond & Rory Block
13. Way Down (I Won’t Cry No More) with Stevie Van Zandt
14. Hymn To Him with Patti Scialfa & Bruce Springsteen
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