Posted by JULIE (Webmistress) on June 6, 2014, 8:30 am
As part of Larry Jordan's travels he visited world famous Ireland singer Daniel O'Donnell yesterday, who on the 40th anniversary of Jim Reeves' passing did a 90-minute tribute to him that was televised on public broadcasting stations coast to coast in America.
Now, ten years later, Daniel is going to be helping with the promotion of the wonderful new 8 CD set, "The Great Jim Reeves." You will be seeing and hearing him talk about it in the weeks ahead.
If you have never seen one of Daniel's shows, you don't know what an extraordinary entertainer he is. He has been singing professionally for 30 years, has an outstanding group of musicians and singers, and has played venues from Carnegie Hall in New York to the Sydney Opera House in Australia. He has sung for the Queen of England, and is known worldwide. His is a high energy show that is beautifully staged and leaves audiences wanting more. He routinely sells out Branson (and will be coming to the U.S. in November to perform there for nearly a month at the Andy Williams Moon River Theater). His fans are as devoted to Mr. O'Donnell as Jim's fans are to him.
Anyway, as a longtime Jim Reeves fan who even recorded a wonderful CD in tribute years ago, Daniel was excited about the release of the new 8 CD set and eagerly committed to helping promote it. Now THAT'S a pretty strong endorsement, don't you think?
Larry reports that Daniel is one of the truly nicest people in show business (and Larry has met scores of famous individuals in his career as a journalist). Since Larry produced the new 8 CD set for his indie label VoiceMasters and H&H Music in the UK, the famed artist and increasingly famous (!) producer had a wide ranging discussion about the music business and shared interests, and Daniel welcomed Larry with gracious hospitality. Since our daughter Sara helped on the project too, her dad decided to invite her along so I'll be posting another pic or two of Larry and Sara meeting beloved Irish singer Mary Duff, who tours with Daniel but also makes solo appearances, including one coming up to Sri Lanka.
If you haven't ordered the new 8 CD set (which features 170+ tracks, 92 overdubs, 42 of them NEW), what are you waiting for? This is a special commemorative set that includes a 48 page booklet describing each of the songs and featuring rare color and b&w photos. Hear audio samples by clicking the link below. The new musical settings are beautiful and as you've read here, fans confirm Jim's voice is heard with added clarity and richness like it never has been heard before! It's a bargain at only $39.95 for 8 disks!!!! -- JULIE
Irish singer Mary Duff does solos like "Just Out of Reach," (which Jim Reeves also recorded), and you should hear her and Daniel O'Donnell sing "Whispering Hope." In fact, hear and see them by clicking the YouTube link below and when you get to the page, click the little box directly underneath the viewer so you can enlarge the picture to fill your computer screen! (The new "Great Jim Reeves" 8 CD set also includes a NEW overdub of Jim singing "Whispering Hope" that is so touching).
Larry tells me that he and Mary had quite a conversation about the "Divine Ms. Cline" CD that he produced some months ago (that features 20 new overdubs plus 6 previously unreleased live, in-concert recordings). It has been called "a gem" and "stunning" by Billboard magazine, and you can get a copy at: www.patsyclinemusic.net
Here is a photo I was sent from the visit that Larry and our daughter Sara made to Irish superstar Daniel O'Donnell and his singing partner Mary Duff yesterday. (You can see how excited Sara is by this! She has worked hard helping her dad sequence music and write liner notes so he wanted her to share in the fun of promoting it, etc. so she has been traveling with him.) -- JULIE
Just a comment or two about Mary and her singing partner Daniel....I have had the opportunity to see them in concert three times already.Daniel has always actively promoted the songs of Jim Reeves in his concerts.For him to support the latest L.J. project re JR will come quite naturally, and he will do it with a great deal of enthusiasm and from the heart. H and H and Voice Masters could not have a better person acting as their spokesperson in the field.Given that the demographic that attends his concerts are people (90% plus I would guess) that probably still have some of JR's vinyl recordings at home this is a match made in heaven so to speak.Outstanding marketing in my humble opinion! As for Mary Duff and Patsy Cline I would guess that many listeners would have some difficulty differentiating between the two when she does a P.C cover i.e. Crazy . She is very good I.M.O.!!! It is not uncommon for Daniel to open some of his shows with "Welcome to my World" and then follow it up with songs like "From a Jack...I Love You Because..Rosa Rio.. Adios Amigo.. He'll Have to Go..." etc. and then sing a duet or two including the one with Mary featured on You Tube- Whispering Hope. For those living in the province of Ontario and close to Toronto(home of the league leading Blue Jays( MLB) Daniel and Mary will be at the Thompson Hall this Sunday June the 15th.Since Daniel will be promoting JR in the weeks to come, this in turn is a plug for Mary and Daniel. Now Larry, you and Sara are going to have to catch up with Charly Pride somewhere in your travels. He promotes JR just as well as Daniel does. Cheers
Daniel and Mary are both excellent singers. I have seen some of their PBS programs, and I own Daniel's Jim Reeves tribute album. It is obvious that Daniel admires Jim Reeves very much.
You are absolutely correct! One thing I am privy to that Larry told Daniel is that he was onto him, that he knew the secret to his longevity and popularity as an artist. It is the same secret that Jim Reeves also knew: both men sang songs that average people can sing along with. And it's so true. I understand Daniel agreed wholeheartedly. Most of today's "stars" and producers don't seem to understand that. I was reading a good essay on the Canadian Good Music Store website and it had some interesting quotes about how much has changed over the years. Good melodies and meaningful lyrics have been replaced by RHYTHM. Well, you can't sing RHYTHM. The people who dominate the music industry nowadays don't comprehend that. So we get rap "music" and a bunch of high-volume noise even from today's country "artists" (and I hesitate to even call them that).
Larry tells me that Daniel had some very helpful suggestions on promotion and if you read the liner notes in his own CD called "Welcome To My World" (featuring 23 Jim Reeves songs), he writes personally about the influence Jim's music had on his own career. So he is passionate about Jim's music.
If you explore YouTube you can find many TV appearances by Daniel and in some he is interviewed about his life. It is most interesting how poor he was when he was growing up, one of five children (I think his father was a coal miner and I know he died when Daniel was quite young), and he never forgot his roots. Larry and Sara were very impressed with Daniel and say he is very real and down to earth.
Incidentally, Larry tells me Daniel lost his mother a couple of weeks ago who was in her 90s and Daniel's biggest fan. We want to acknowledge this and extend our condolences. Daniel always sings a tribute to mothers in his show. Isn't that lovely? -- JULIE
Great photos, Julie! I have seen Daniel and Mary on TV many times as well, and it's great to see some big names promoting Jim's music! I'm sure Larry and Sara had a great time visiting with them!
on June 6, 2014, 12:00 pm, in reply to "