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ONE WORLD reunites
a pair of prominent American songwriters with two other
leading Soviet songwriters 30
years since they originally wrote the song in Moscow during
the 1989 Glasnost event “Music Speaks Louder Than Words,”
the first ever Arts Exchange between Soviet and American
songwriters, organized by Alan Roy Scott and Music
Bridges.
Spurred by the
global pandemic, Academy Award-winning songwriter Franke
Previte (“(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life” from Dirty
Dancing) and Pamela Phillips Oland (Frank
Sinatra, Whitney Houston, Aretha Franklin) reunified
with Estonian songwriters Sergei Manoukyan and Mikk
Targo to create an entirely new recording of their
historic 1989 collaboration with updated lyrics, freshly
retooled for the sole purpose of giving 100% of all proceeds
from downloads to four major charity partners. Hall, the
former Tower of Power lead singer and declared Ray
Charles protégé, also is returning to the
project − 30 years after singing the original demo
recording of ONE WORLD as its initial singular voice.
This
extraordinary new recording, featuring an unprecedented
chorus of Grammy Award winners and multiple Grammy nominees,
is being offered NOW as a free download with
any donation to the major charity beneficiaries, exclusively
through www.oneworldoursong.com. The
four major charity partners are: Musicians
Foundation, The
Actors Fund, as
well as First
Responders Children’s Foundation, beneficiary
of the recent “Living Room Concert for America” hosted on
FOX by Elton John, and the NAACP
Legal Defense Fund. Donations
of any amount entitle the donor to a free instant download
of ONE WORLD. (Please note: Downloads for NAACP Legal
Defense Fund donations are not yet available.)
The United Nations concert, hosted by Mira Sorvino, will
be a fundraiser for the UN Voluntary Trust Fund for
Victims of Trafficking in Persons to support victims of
this terrible crime. The Trust Fund provides direct
assistance to 3,500 victims a year through its NGO partners.
The collaborative effort will raise visibility and awareness
of the impact of human trafficking affecting thousands of
people worldwide and show solidarity with the victims. Rukus
Avenue will live-stream the digital fundraising concert
through new technologies showcasing stellar musical
performances and inspirational messages from many of the
biggest artists in the world.
"I am so honored to be involved and be a part of the UNODC
Artists UNited Against Human Trafficking Digital Concert,”
says Hall, “and to sing this wonderful song of unity ONE
WORLD, which helps to bring us all together to heal
COVID-19 and eradicate human trafficking in our lifetime.”
Hall’s ONE WORLD performance will be included among
offerings from multi Academy Award winner AR Rahman, Grammy
winning British reggae band Steel Pulse, MacArthur
Fellowship recipient Vijay Iyer, acclaimed pianist and
Artists UNited Against Human Trafficking Advisory Board
member Chloe Flower, multi-platinum musician and UNODC
Goodwill Ambassador Ozark Henry, and many more.
American
Songwriter calls
the new version of ONE WORLD “a hopeful song of unity
that recalls some of the ‘80s most anthemic message songs,
led by powerful vocal performances from an ensemble of
well-respected, top-notch singers.”
ONE WORLD made
its world radio premiere via Entercom during the Bob
Pantano Saturday Night Dance Party, heard around the
world (and nationally to Comcast subscribers) through
the Radio.com app, and throughout the Philadelphia
and Southern New Jersey region on five radio stations,
anchored by flagship 98.1 WOGL. Pantano
continues his commitment to play ONE WORLD on every
broadcast.
A growing
gallery of notable musicians and actors have been recording
PSA’s for the ONE WORLD “Celebrity Circle” on an
ongoing basis. Early contributors include two-time Tony
Award winner Christine
Ebersole,
legendary “Sound of Philadelphia” architect Kenny
Gamble,
Bon Jovi drummer Tico
Torres, Emmy
Award nominee Michele
Greene (“L.A.
Law”), original teen idol Bobby Rydell,
actress-comedian Siobhan
Fallon (“Saturday
Night Live,” “Seinfeld,” “Men in Black”), Vocal Group Hall
of Famer Kenny
Vance (Jay
& The Americans, Kenny Vance & The Planotones), Grammy
nominated songwriter Rob
Hyman (“Time
After Time”) of The Hooters (Philadelphia Music Walk
of Fame), Disco diva Evelyn
“Champagne” King,
and beloved blue collar rocker and Bruce Springsteen
collaborator Joe Grushecky.
The range of
charities reflects the scope and breadth of the pandemic’s
devastating impact on the community. All live music-related
performances: touring, concert, theatrical, Broadway, TV,
film – have ground to a halt. Musicians and singers are
unable to earn a living in front of live audiences. The
touring infrastructure – crews, road managers, talent
buying, concert promotion – has been left in disarray, with
no true sense of normalcy projected to be returning for
another year at least.
Collectively
known as Voices 4 One World, all singers on the new
recording have contributed to the greatness of recorded and
live music as musicians and background singers, many of whom
are Grammy Award winners and multiple Grammy nominees.
Joining Hall to sing on the record are Michael Mayo (Josh
Groban, Herbie Hancock), Ronee Martin (Patti LaBelle,
Wynton Marsalis), Tower of Power “Ambassador of Soul” Ellis
Hall, Dorian Holley (Michael Jackson, Rod Stewart), Grammy
winner Judith Glory Hill (Stevie Wonder, John Legend,
Prince), Valerie Pinkston (Lenny Kravitz, Luther
Vandross, Annie Lennox), Amy Keys (Herbie Hancock,
Sting, Barbra Streisand), Christine Collister (Richard
Thompson Band), and Lisa Sherman (Jon Bon Jovi,
Blondie). Musicians are Jon Gilutin (James
Taylor, Linda Ronstadt) keyboards; Lenny Castro (Toto),
percussion; Brendan Buckley (Shakira, Perry Farrell),
drums; Scott Mayo (Earth Wind & Fire), saxophone; Jerry
Watts Jr. (Andraé Crouch, Dr. John), bass; James Harrah
(Melissa Etheridge, Leonard Cohen), guitar; Randy Jacobs (Was
Not Was), guitar; and Tollack Ollestad (Don
Henley, Andrea Boccelli), harmonica.
Previte and
Oland were among 22 renowned USA songwriters in “Music
Speaks Louder Than Words,” joining such notable
participants as Diane Warren, Cyndi Lauper, Michael
Bolton, Brill Building legends Mike Stoller and Barry
Mann, Desmond Child (Bon Jovi), Brenda Russell (Earth
Wind & Fire, Donna Summer, Rufus), songwriting team Billy
Steinberg & Tom Kelly (Madonna, Whitney
Houston), Franne Golde (Jody Watley, Commodores),
and Alan Roy Scott (Motown, Celine Dion, Cher).
The ensuing
album included the original recording of ONE WORLD by Earth
Wind & Fire. The lyrics in the new recording have been
lovingly updated to address the current COVID-19 crisis and,
says Previte, “give hope to all mankind for us to dream
again.” Every creative participant is an “UnSung Hero” to
the global music community who has collaborated with
superstars across many genres.
The new
recording of ONE WORLD was produced by Grammy
winner Jon Gilutin (“New Attitude”) and mixed
by Grammy, Emmy and Dove Award-winning engineer Bill Schnee (Steely
Dan, Natalie Cole). The video was produced by Thomas Ryan
Ward.
The
participants in the ONE WORLD project profusely thank
and honor the First Responders, and the sacrifices they and
their families, including their children, are making to help
all of us.
ONE WORLD is available
for digital distribution on Spotify, Apple
Music, and iTunes.
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