Orleans Celebrates Christmas With New Album, “New Star Shining” On Sunset Blvd. Records

Orleans is releasing their first and only Christmas album.  Subconsciously, the group—which is about to celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2022—must have been working on the holiday collection for decades. 

Orleans co-founder Lance Hoppen says, "The material comes from various sources, most written internally and some by friends from other bands. Some had previously recorded lives elsewhere and were remastered, others had previous starts but underwent major revisions and upgrades. Some were cut from scratch in isolation. Some are purely secular, while others center around the Christmas story.”

John and Johanna Hall co-wrote the title track, “New Star Shining” which the band recorded in 1994 for a “Woodstock Holidays” CD released only in Japan. The group’s only Christmas song until now, it was also cut as a duet by Ricky Skaggs and James Taylor. This version features shared lead vocals by John, Larry Hoppen, Lance and Bob Leinbach. The acclaimed songwriting duo also co-wrote “Snowed In With You,”  “I Wish I Could’ve Been There” with Tad Richards, and "Quiet Place" with Jonell Mosser.  “I Wish” features Little Feat’s Bill Payne on piano and multi-instrumentalist John Jorgenson (the Desert Rose Band and The Hellecasters) playing mandolin. "Snowed In" shines with Dan Dugmore's pedal steel and Andrea Zonn's fiddle.

Two more historical recordings came from the Hoppen family.  Lance found his late brother Larry’s version of “Winter Wonderland” on YouTube, which was recorded for a 2010 Rock Xmas Foundation charity.  Larry, Lance, brother Lane and sister Lynda sang the introduction of the traditional song “Mary Had a Baby” around 1985 at a Hoppen Family holiday gathering; Lance found the tape, a snippet of which was digitized and included.  The band then recreated the entire four-part harmony arrangement during the pandemic.

Fly Amero contributed three songs: "Jinglin' In New England" was written with his wife Donna. Other Fly songs include “Ballad of the Christmas Day Cowboy” (a collaboration with platinum country writer Robert Ellis Orrall) and “I Wish I Could Fly”, written with Allen Estes, featuring Beaver Brown Band’s keyboardist, Steve Burke.

Other songs include “Mary’s Christmas,” originally recorded by The Little River Band, and “I’m Coming Home for Christmas” originally recorded by Ambrosia's Joe Puerta.  “The Sound of Christmas” came from Orleans alumnus Chip Martin, who’s written for Billy Paul and Randy Meisner.

Orleans’ “New Star Shining” will be on all digital platforms and available in music stores and holiday catalogs.

 The band went from club and college shows in the Northeast to worldwide acclaim with their top ten singles "Still the One," Dance With Me," and "Love Takes Time.”  Orleans has produced a body of work spanning 16 albums and several DVDs. The band’s music is still streamed millions of times a week and featured in TV, movie and commercial productions.

Band members on Album:

John Hall: Guitars & Vocals

Lance Hoppen: Bass & Vocals

Fly Amero: Guitars & Vocals

Lane Hoppen: Keyboards & Vocals

Brady Spencer: Drums & Vocals

 

Historical contributions from former members Bob Leinbach, Larry Hoppen.

 

Songs:

1. New Star Shining (written by John & Johanna Hall)

2. Quiet Place (John Hall, Jonell Mosser, Johanna Hall)

3. Jinglin’ in New England (Fly Amero, Donna Amero)

4. Mary’s Christmas (Roger Helton, Tony Elenburg, John Swaim)

5. I Wish I Could’ve Been There (John Hall, Johanna Hall, Tad Richards)

6. The Sound of Christmas (Daniel “Chip” Martin, John Cirillo)

7. Mary Had a Baby (Traditional)

8. Snowed in With You (John & Johanna Hall)

9. I’m Comin’ Home for Christmas (Bill Pfotdresher)

10. I Wish I Could Fly (Fly Amero & Allen Estes)

 11. Winter Wonderland (Felix Bernard, Richard Bernard Smith)

 12. Ballad of the Christmas Day Cowboy (Fly Amero & Robert Ellis Orrall)

 

John Hall - Lessons

John Hall has a new music video, "Lessons." It's a co-write with Johanna Hall & Jonell Mosser Official.

Great story with the hook, "I'll be a genius before long."

#blues #reclaimingmytime #newmusic #musicvideo #Gratitudes

Orleans' New Song & Music Video "Home"

Orleans offers a preview of their new song, “Home,” on their YouTube channel.  The song, (written by founder/lead guitarist/singer John Hall, Johanna Hall, and Don Schlitz) will be on the group’s forthcoming EP to be released spring 2021. “Home,” which is about family-- childhood, adolescence, marriage, parenthood, and childhood again--originally appeared on John’s 1997 solo CD "Love Doesn't Ask."

John & Johanna have written dozens of songs together, most notably Orleans’ “Still the One,” “Dance With Me,” and Janis Joplin’s "Half Moon.” Co-writer Don Schlitz is a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame and former Nashville Songwriters Association and ASCAP “Songwriter of the Year." He has written 21 number one hits including Kenny Rogers "The Gambler."   

Audio and video recordings were produced in isolation, except a group video of John, Lance Hoppen, and Brady Spencer who gathered safely in Nashville. Still photos were taken years or decades before the pandemic. The video was edited and directed by Rob Arthur (Today Show, CBS This Morning, Rolling Stone, Veranda Magazine, Peter Frampton, the Doobie Brothers).

Multiple Grammy winner Cindy Cashdollar plays lap steel on the song and is featured in the video; she’s also the Americana Music Association “Instrumentalist of the Year” (2016) and a member of the Austin TX Music Hall of Fame. Cindy grew up in Woodstock NY, where Orleans was based in the early years.  

Orleans is John Hall, co-founder Lance Hoppen (bass, and vocals), Fly Amero (guitar, vocals), Lane Hoppen (piano), Brady Spencer (drums). This is the latest of many incarnations in its near 50-year history. 

The band went from club and college shows in the Northeast to worldwide acclaim with their top ten singles "Still the One," Dance With Me," and "Love Takes Time.”  Now entering its 28th year of live performances, Orleans has produced a body of work spanning 16 albums and several DVDs. The band’s music is still being heard on national TV; recently John and Johanna’s “Still The One” was on Applebees’ commercials and Netflix’s "Love, Wedding, Marriage." 
 

OrleansOnline.com

Facebook.com/Orleansmusic

johnhallmusic.com

 

HOME 

Everyone on earth has things they need

Things that they cannot do without

When they're old enough to chase their dreams

they pack their childhood up and they set out

to find a trade on which they can survive

Four walls, a roof, a door to call their own

And as the seasons change they laugh and cry

Learn what it's like to live alone

 

But when they need someone to talk to about anything at all

Someone who will catch them when they're just about to fall

Someone who will listen and then miss'em when they're gone

When they need someone to love'em they go home

 

They're searching for some meaning in their lives

Look around for something that will last

They find it in a husband or a wife

and so begin to recreate the past

Their babies learn to walk and then to run

and soon they think they're ready for the world

There's no way you can stop what you've begun

Just give'em love someday they will return

 

When they need someone to talk to about anything at all

Someone who will catch them when they're just about to fall

Someone who will listen and then miss'em when they're gone

When they need someone to love'em they go home

 

Home

No matter how the world keeps changing

When you show up at the door

You know that it's still yours

 

When I need someone to talk to about anything at all

Someone who will catch me when I'm just about to fall

Someone who will listen and then miss me when I'm gone

When I need someone to love me I go home

 

C by John and Johanna Hall and Don Schlitz, All Rights Reserved

Irving Music/Schmirving Music (BMI), and Don Schlitz Music/MCA Music (ASCAP

  

Music from: Katy Moffatt, Jonell Mosser (with John & Johanna Hall back together again), The Traveling Jewburys, Paul D'Adamo...

Katy Moffatt

Katy Moffatt’s Chrysalis, a special package of three acoustic albums 1988’s Walkin’ on the Moon, 1998’s Angel Town and 2008’s Fewer Things.  There are many songwriters on the Chrysalis collection, including co-writes with Tom Russell, Billy Cowsill, and Wendy Waldman. Covers written by Nick Lowe, John Hiatt, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Steve Goodman, Cole Porter, David Olney, Chris Smither, and big brother Hugh Moffatt! 

Links to listen:

https://open.spotify.com/album/0yPVLdIQRELcq5JmPxPev2

https://music.apple.com/us/album/chrysalis/1496086227




Jonell Mosser

John and Johanna Hall are unearthing their catalog, plus writing together again. They are responsible for the song “Still The One,” which is one of the most ‘synced” hits from the 1970s.  Little Black Dress is an album of songs that John and Johanna wrote for Jonell Mosser, a gutsy live singer that is always singing sessions for most of Nashville’s popular acts, including Gillian Welch, the Box Tops, Delbert McClinton, Wynonna, Bruce Cockburn….  The three are working together again, including Jonell and John planning live shows. Let me know if you’d like CDs, MP3s or WAV files.

https://open.spotify.com/album/4TYu6e6jaryNjv6HCjbs3N

https://music.apple.com/us/album/little-black-dress/1486453038



Paul D’Adamo

Melodic Revolution Records is releasing a CD of Paul D’Adamo’s Rawfully Organic on CD. Paul has pipes like James Ingram with a bigger voice. His album is on digital media, and includes covers of Peter Gabriel songs including an acapella version of Peter & Kate Bush’s “Don’t Give Up.” The album features a new version of Peter Gabriel’s “Fly Away,” with contributions from Fame’s Lee Curreri.

https://pauldadamo.bandcamp.com/album/rawfully-organic



The Traveling Jewburys

The Traveling Jewburys are an Americana band from the Bronx—Riverdale, to be exact.  You might know of Arthur Levy from the music industry.  He sings and plays guitar for the band as Howlin’ Jewbury.  Their album, “Live at The Bitter End” features two originals and covers of standards including: The Traveling Wilburys’ “Handle With Care,” Music Explosion “Little Bit of Soul,” John Prine’s “Angel from Montgomery,” Wilson Pickett’s, “Wait Till The Midnight Hour”….. 



The Greatest Lives

Also, please be advised.  There is more delay in the official release of “The Greatest Lives-Songwriters’ EP.”  This will be good news. Stay tuned.  We do have T-shirts and Collectors’ Items CD available, for now.  Please email me for details at Anne@AnneLeighton.com

New Playlist: Thank you, Greta & Pete, from the musicians

I dedicate the hashtag #IKnewYouWhen to a man that was “a great radio teacher,” who also sang folk music with my fellow classmates at Fredonia State. Dan Berggren taught me how to listen—really listen, which is one of the reasons I keep listening to new music.

It’s a joy to watch my teacher grow his career, and a blessing to spread the word about his songs about the environment. Dan’s song “Looking for Answers” is about a daughter asking her father if we’ll have a future because of what’s going on with our environment. This past November a review in the Saratogian described Dan, “Resembling a young Pete Seeger.” YEAH!  😊 

All my songwriters have a little Pete Seeger in them. In fact, John and Johanna Hall worked with him on the Clearwater. John's influence on teaching us about the environment is earth-shaking, especially the No Nukes concerts in the 1970s. He and Johanna Hall, who had the sync to end all syncs STILL THE ONE have a vintage song WAKE UP from Orleans II. With classic Orleans’ harmony and trumpet, this is a hooky song with clever lyrics.  Note that WAKE UP is with Sony Publishing, and is NOT a ONE-STOP.

WAKE UP Orleans  Adult Album Alternative, trumpet, group harmony, wake up, people, “wake up!” environment, pollution, “stop throwing plastic in the sea/can’t you let the fishies be!” ecology, snow, lightning, birds in flight, seasons, signs of life, “the day’s gonna come” air pollution, water pollution, MusiciansUnitedForSafeEnergy, This song is co-written by John and Johanna Hall, the couple that wrote the most incredible sync, “You’re Still The One.”  

GLOBAL WARMING Phoebe Legere  Singer Songwriter, Piano and soaring female vocals and strings, vocals in English and French, rising sea levels, oceans, "I place a piano on the tongue of the world to give it a voice to cry.”    
  

LOOKING FOR ANSWERS Dan Berggren Folk, daughter asking about what the environment will look like when she grows up. Long term / Short term materialism, greed, easy answers, ask questions, learn what's ahead.  


DON’S THEME Joe Olnick Instrumental guitar, influences like David Gilmour, Alex Skolnick, Kyuss, Roy Bucchanan. Emotional, atmospheric, sad, orchestral, slow, dirge    Mellow and quite proggy,pretty. The guitar soloing is slow and expressive. As it continues a bluesy edge is introduced to the piece. This continues to grow with style and class.  


BEES AND ZOMBIES Rebecca Loebe Theatrical Folk, Gilbert & Sullivan-y. If Jim Carrey was a soprano, singing a train-of-thought song with symphonic piano backup singers. About the environment. Rebecca telling someone about environment problems, and the person takes another seat. At the end, someone else tells her about the bees, and guess what! She moves away... The video is a delight, like a school play with children and a slightly panic’d male teacher. 

THIS DARKNESS Rachael Sage Pop, Dream Pop/Chamber Pop, female singer with CSNY protest guitar sound, environment, the song is about the Dakota Pipeline, keywords:  see myself, grieve myself, somebody's fool, hate, “I don’t know why you’re full of hate."
 

A TERRIBLE PICKLE  Dean Friedman  A Music Hall song with ukulele about the world being in a terrible pickle. Some mentions of Australia-related nature-- Koalas and eucalyptus trees, all kinds of mentions about the environment, the oceans are rising. Kyota accord.  


MARY MAGDALENE Gary Lucas & Jann Klose Upbeat folk song with Irish singalong energy, singer sounds like Paul McCartney, Ed Sheeran. About Superstorm Sandy, hunkering down and praying during a horrible storm that took place in Long Island, 2012. The City never had a hurricane like this.  It told New Yorkers that global warming is real


NOBODY KNEW Carmine Appice’s Guitar Zeus Hard Rock, Like the heavier parts of the Beatles’ “I’m the Walrus” and “Strawberry Fields,” Brian May guitar, vocals by Kelly Keeling. “Nobody knew who’s running the White House,” gas, all we wanted, here we are, Hear me now. Nobody Knew where they were going. “There’s a hole in the blue sky” "Thought it would last."


Spotify Playlist dedicated to Greta Thunberg
Thank you from the musicians