Features Archive
Here you’ll find an archive of the articles once featured on the homepage.
Jonell and I walked down Pine Lane one sunny afternoon in 1992, the constitutional break we would always take during our Saugerties songwriting days. I asked her to recite the Irish Blessing, which had intrigued me. It rolled off her tongue so musically that I said, “Let’s write a song.”
We took the idea back to John and the three of us created this song. I changed a few lines from the old Irish benediction, creating new rhymes. We wrote the verses and made it a blues song. Jonell’s pal Maura O’Connell thrilled us with this moving version in 2001. For me, it’s timeless.
“Blessing” by Maura O’Connell
Michael Hedges was a shooting star who only recently came to be known by me. I’m grateful someone shot this brilliant performance (even with people walking by).
John Hall and I wrote this song in sorrow over lost friends and one we saw slipping down that drain. John released it on his POWER album in 1979.
Hedges’ take on the song is perfect, nuanced in every detail. He really got it. I can’t hear it enough. Sorry he died so young.
Michael Hedges performs “Cocaine Drain”
I am grateful that this video exists, showcasing the exuberance, inventiveness and excellence of four fine musicians in their prime. Orleans made many enduring fans in their performances in clubs all around New York state and provided John and me with an instant songwriting lab. We wrote during the week, the band rehearsed and then debuted new songs on weekends. I learned a lot, dancing to these songs in the sweaty, reveling crowd.
Orleans found this posted on YouTube and linked to it on their site, which is how I found it to my delight. Nothing is known about who did this. If it was you, please raise your wonderful hand. The audio is good, though the video isn’t. But this is a treasure. Thank you!