{"id":611,"date":"2021-08-27T20:13:38","date_gmt":"2021-08-27T20:13:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bryanrusso.com\/?p=611"},"modified":"2021-08-27T20:18:23","modified_gmt":"2021-08-27T20:18:23","slug":"br-releases-first-single-of-forthcoming-journos-album","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.bryanrusso.com\/?p=611","title":{"rendered":"BR releases first single of forthcoming “Journos” album."},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\u201cMR. TINDLEY\u201d INSPIRES A NEW GENERATION TO \u201cOVERCOME\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

New Song Aims to Preserve a Gospel Pioneer\u2019s Legacy<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE<\/strong> : <\/p>\n\n\n\n

BERLIN, MARYLAND, August 27, 2021<\/strong> \u2013 The man who inspired the Civil Rights anthem \u201cWe Shall Overcome\u201d is the subject of a new song that aims to preserve his fading legacy and inspire a new generation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Reverend Dr. Charles Albert Tindley was born on Maryland\u2019s Eastern Shore in the town of Berlin.  Orphaned at a young age, the freeborn son of a slave fought through great poverty and adversity to learn to read and become educated. Eventually, after moving north to Philadelphia, he would become one of the most revered African-American preachers in the country and a founding father of Gospel music.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, in his hometown of Berlin, virtually nothing exists to celebrate Tindley\u2019s memory or his legacy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That doesn\u2019t sit well with Berlin resident and singer\/songwriter Bryan Russo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Tindley story completely knocked me out, as both a songwriter and as a former journalist\u201d, said Russo. \u201cThe world needs Tindley\u2019s story now more than ever. The music he left behind has been sung by millions of people all over the world \u2013 but most folks don\u2019t know his name.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Russo is a former print and radio reporter with more than 20 journalism honors to his name, including two Edward R. Murrow Awards, but he\u2019s also a celebrated singer\/songwriter whose five independently-released albums complement two decades of sharing the stage with more than 30 national acts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


\u201cWriting this song,\u201d Russo added, \u201cwas a way to try and save an important piece of the past while trying to educate and inspire those who are going to shape the future. I\u2019ve always wanted to be a part of a group effort to really celebrate this incredible man, and I hope the song will be a spark that leads to exactly that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Russo recorded \u201cMr. Tindley\u201d with an eight-piece band and choir at a small recording studio in Wilmington, Delaware, on March 14, 2020 \u2013 the day before America essentially shut down from the global COVID-19 pandemic, and almost two months before George Floyd\u2019s horrific death at the hands of Minneapolis police officers that led to nationwide Black Lives Matter protests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat surprised me the most was, even the session players who knew his name from their time in the church, or working in the gospel genre, they didn\u2019t really know his story or why he mattered\u201d, Russo said. \u201cAfter we discussed it, the air sort of changed in the room and it felt more like a mission rather than just a session.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first two verses of the song chronicle Tindley\u2019s hardscrabble journey from Maryland\u2019s  Eastern Shore to Philadelphia, while the third verse aligns his struggle with social issues that are happening today. Russo\u2019s bluesy voice and heartfelt lyrics blend brilliantly with the choir as they ask the question that so many people of all different creeds, colors, genders and ethnicities have been asking for decades: when will we overcome?<\/em> Its music video juxtaposed imagery from the Civil Rights Movement with footage from recent scenes of protest and civil unrest, while adding other flashes of scenes of hardship and hope that humanity has been living through as the song builds toward a jubilant big gospel finish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What began in 2014 as a public radio piece on his former show Coastal Connection<\/em> chronicling Rev. Tindley\u2019s life, Russo\u2019s quest to get long-overdue recognition for Tindley on the Eastern Shore evolved into an idea for a documentary and a tribute album, one that would see famous artists breathing new life into Tindley\u2019s hymns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After multiple failures to get the project to the finish line, and almost giving up on it completely, Russo wrote the song one morning in 2018.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn the end, this song feels more like journalism than anything else I\u2019ve ever done in my 20-year journey through both professions (songwriting and journalism)\u201d, said Russo. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The song and music video for \u201cMr. Tindley\u201d is the first release on a forthcoming album Russo plans to release under the name \u201cJournos.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All proceeds from \u201cMr. Tindley\u201d will go directly toward helping to revive the annual \u201cTindley Day\u201d Gospel Festival that took place in Berlin, MD up until 2011.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLocally, I want to make sure Tindley\u2019s hometown of Berlin properly celebrates and honors him,\u201d Russo said. \u201cRegionally, I want to make sure that his name is uttered in the same sentence as other prominent historical black figures from the Eastern Shore, like Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass. Nationally, I hope we can get people singing his amazing songs and feel inspired by his remarkable spirit and story.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hear and Watch the Song \u201cMr. Tindley\u201d by clicking here:  <\/strong>www.wearejournos.com<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

About Cornplanter Records: <\/span><\/strong> Russo launched Cornplanter Records in 2018 with his first cousin Christopher Shearer. Their critically-acclaimed release \u201cPennsyltucky\u201d (under the band name Boys Called Susan) honors his late aunt and Christopher\u2019s mother, Susan. The duo recorded the album with acclaimed producer Phil Madeira at the famed Butcher Shoppe studio in Nashville, backed in the studio by members of Emmylou Harris\u2019 Red Dirt Boys.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

About Journos forthcoming release<\/span>:<\/strong> \u201cTall Tales & Hard Truths\u201d will be released sometime in early 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lyrically and sonically, the songs are filled with the same sort of biting social commentary that you\u2019d find in recordings from the likes of Randy Newman, Bob Dylan, Elvis Costello and Pete Seeger. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Standout tracks include \u201cOh Tyranny!\u201d, \u201cDirty Money\u201d, \u201cSomething Worth Feeling Again\u201d \u201cTangier\u201d and \u201cThe Opener.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEach song on this record is a story\u201d, said Russo.  \u201cSome are scathing editorials, while others are satirical searches for clarity and levity in these times we find ourselves in as a human race. If there was ever a time to do a Pete Seeger kind of album, this is probably it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CONTACT<\/strong>: Cornplanter Records<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PHONE<\/strong>: (215) 880-4616<\/p>\n\n\n\n

E-MAIL<\/strong>: bryandrusso1@gmail.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cMR. TINDLEY\u201d INSPIRES A NEW GENERATION TO \u201cOVERCOME\u201d New Song Aims to Preserve a Gospel Pioneer\u2019s Legacy FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE : BERLIN, MARYLAND, August 27, 2021 \u2013 The man whoContinue readingBR releases first single of forthcoming “Journos” album.<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-611","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.bryanrusso.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/611","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.bryanrusso.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.bryanrusso.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.bryanrusso.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.bryanrusso.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=611"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/www.bryanrusso.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/611\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":614,"href":"http:\/\/www.bryanrusso.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/611\/revisions\/614"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.bryanrusso.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=611"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.bryanrusso.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=611"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.bryanrusso.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=611"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}