My first single off of the new record, Your Love Broke Through is out on all digital platforms today! Yes, this songwriter recorded a cover song (actually THREE—stay tuned)! And I’m so glad I did.
Listen here:
Apple – https://itunes.apple.com/album/id/1640643881
Spotify – https://open.spotify.com/album/65dKW5gJUEeU9uHhshP35K
If you are unfamiliar with the song, Your Love Broke Through, or the original artist who shared it (Keith Green), here is a little background:
Keith Green (1952-1982) was a child prodigy. He began his career in music at age 11 after being signed to Decca Records. After experimenting with many versions of spirituality he had a conversion experience as a young adult that radically changed his life and the trajectory of his career. He was one of the most influential and popular artists of what is now known as “the Jesus movement.” While some might remain skeptical of Christianity, when listening to Keith’s music, and especially (I’m told) his live performances, they can’t question the authenticity of his faith / belief in the one he chose to sing about until his tragic death in 1982. A prolific songwriter and an outstanding musician, Keith’s music has influenced countless songwriters, including myself. To me, his songs are timeless.
All that said, not everyone is familiar with his music these days and the style of that era is unique. I wanted to “bring back” one of my favorite songs of his but when we began that process I made it clear that I wanted to be careful to remain true to Keith’s essence both in quality of musicianship and in passion.
Covers are tricky because you want (or should want) to respect the integrity of the artist / songwriter who originally published the song while making it your own / adding your own personality to it. My producer (Jeremy Casella) did an excellent job helping me capture one of Keith’s most popular songs (the string parts he arranged were). I cannot wait for you all to hear this song!
(I should add that two other writers wrote this song with Keith: Randy Stonehill and Todd Fishkind.)
Musicians: Blair Masters (keys), Nathan Dugger (acoustic), Dave Cleveland (electric), James Gregory (bass guitar), Ken Lewis (drums), Avery Bright (violin) Matt Nelson (cello), Jeremy Casella (BGVs). Mixed by Evan Redwine. Mastered by Joe Causey.
It takes a village, they say. For indie artists, it certainly does.
Friends: TODAY is the day where all the streaming service algorithms pay attention or not to what is put out—if a song gets a lot of streams/downloads the day/week it releases they pay more attention to it and sometimes add it to their own playlists. For indie artists who don’t have a big label behind them making sure their singles are heard, getting a song noticed takes a move of God (and God moving in their “people” aka friends and listeners to actually commit to listening and sharing it THAT DAY and week.)
If you like this song and think it’s worthy of sharing please share the actual Spotify or Apple Music links on your socials today—along with a personal rec from you. It can be as simple as, “check out this new song” or a long, sappy paragraph—whatever you wish. Just be sure it includes a link. We’ve copied them below so you can choose one or all of your preferred platforms to share.
It is a strange digital world artists are navigating these days and each person that takes even one moment to put their stuff out there (with the link!) makes a huge difference.
Love you all. I’m so thankful for your friendship and support. Please continue to pray for the message of these songs to reach the hearts they were meant to reach when they are released digitally over the next couple of months.
Peace and joy to you!
Stephanie
