For interviews, color jpegs and further press information ....

Contact: Randy Alexander (856) 596-1410 or randex@randexpr.com

Complete press info at www.randexpr.com/parkinsong

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PARKINSONG, VOLUME ONE: 38 SONGS OF HOPE

Star-Studded Benefit Album with Contributions

from Bonnie Raitt, David Crosby and Graham Nash,

Steve Forbert, Dave Alvin, Many Others

to be Released May 11 via Ryko Distribution

PRINCETON, NJ - Music is strength. Music is hope.

From the days of Pete Seeger and the Civil Rights marches, these truths have been proven again and again. Throughout this country's modern history, the singer-songwriter movement has always met the challenge of raising awareness on key issues and offering inspiration to the deeply troubled.

Today the cause is Parkinson's Disease, a crippling condition that currently afflicts a million sufferers in the U.S. alone, slowly robbing their nervous systems of all motor skills. One victim is Selma Litowitz, a retired high school English teacher in Lawrence, NJ, who has battled the disease for over 10 years.

Inspired by her courage, her son and two daughters present ParkinSong, Volume One: 38 Songs of Hope -- a two-CD Who's Who of contemporary singer-songwriters – through the ParkinSong Foundation, Inc., the New Jersey non-profit organization they founded in their mother’s honor. The ParkinSong Foundation, Inc. (www.parkinsong.com) uses music to raise awareness and money to research new and innovative therapies for Parkinson’s treatment, including stem cell research. A primary goal is to encourage the U.S. government to back off its opposition to stem cell research.

Set for release May 11 through Ryko Distribution and produced by Lloyd Maines (Butch Hancock, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Jerry Jeff Walker), who's also the father of Dixie Chick Natalie and producer of their No. 1 Grammy-winning smash, Home, the double-disc set features previously unreleased selections by Steve Forbert, Chuck Prophet, Dave Alvin, Last Train Home, Utah Carol and Little Pink among its 38 tracks. Alvin’s "The Man in the Bed" is a deeply emotional tribute to his father, a victim of Parkinson's. Other important material includes "Carry Me," David Crosby's remarkable song about his mother's illness from the classic 1975 Crosby and Nash album Wind on the Water; Tom Russell’s “Muhammad Ali,” a proud reflection on the champ living his life with dignity in the face of the disease that has eroded so much of his physical vitality; and Bonnie Raitt's "Fearless Love," a poignant portrait of commitment and sacrifice from 1998.

ParkinSong, Volume One: 38 Songs of Hope is the natural extension of the inspiring achievements of two benefit concerts which together laid the cornerstone for the ParkinSong Foundation, Inc. The first, in 2001, was hosted by former Litowitz student Jon Stewart of Comedy Central's The Daily Show, and held at Lawrence High School, where Selma taught Stewart and thousands more over 20 years. ParkinSong I featured music by key "adult alternative" artists Ana Egge, Terri Hendrix, and Grey Eye Glances and was an immediate sellout. ParkinSong II, held the following year at a larger venue, was hosted by legendary Philadelphia DJ Pierre Robert and featured Catie Curtis, along with the returns of Egge and Grey Eye Glances.

Hendrix, Curtis, Egge and Grey Eye Glances are naturally present on the two-CD set. Other major artists making contributions include Dar Williams, Jonatha Brooke, Pete Sears, Alejandro Escovedo, Alice Peacock, Kim Richey and Neko Case. Also featured are such emerging stars Kelly Willis, Richard X. Heyman, Jen Chapin, Hot Club of Cowtown, Michelle Malone and eastmountainsouth.

Working with contacts they made through the two concerts, Rob Litowitz and his sisters, Carol Golden and Debbie Frank, have assembled a heartfelt tribute to one woman's indomitable spirit, as well as a thorough overview of this era's best singer-songwriters. ParkinSong, Volume One: 38 Songs of Hope is just the beginning. With the album as a fertile foundation, the coming months will see media appearances by many of the artists as well as all-star benefit concerts on both coasts. In the near future, the ParkinSong Foundation also will begin assembling a second volume of Songs of Hope.

And eventually, to be sure, a cure will be found for the scourge of Parkinson's Disease.

The track list for ParkinSong, Volume One: 38 Songs of Hope:

DISC 1
1. Terri Hendrix -- Charlie Brown
2. Greg Brown -- Vivid
3. Caitlin Cary -- Cello Girl
4. Chuck Prophet -- Old Friends
5. Hot Club of Cowtown -- Forget-Me-Nots
6. Pete Sears – Darien
7. Neko Case -- I Wish I Was the Moon
8. Jen Chapin -- Gold
9. Stone Coyotes -- Lucky Day
10. Lucy Kaplansky -- Song for Molly
11. Crosby and Nash -- Carry Me
12. Dave Alvin -- The Man in the Bed
13. Florence Dore -- Christmas
14. Alejandro Escovedo -- Castanets
15. eastmountainsouth -- Mark's Song
16. Ana Egge -- Wedding Dress

17. Tom Freund -- 27
18. Catie Curtis -- Don't Lay Down
19. Sara Hickman -- It's Alright

DISC 2
1. Bonnie Raitt -- Fearless Love
2. Eliza Gilkyson -- Beauty Way
3. Grey Eye Glances -- The One
4. Richard X. Heyman -- Let It Go
5. Last Train Home -- Flood
6. Amy Farris -- Let Go
7. Cindy Kalmenson -- Right or Wrong
8. Alice Peacock -- I'll Start with Me
9. Michelle Malone -- Flagpole
10. Kim Richey -- No Judges
11. Steve Forbert -- It's A Shame, You Know
12. Amy Rigby -- All the Way to Heaven
13. Jonatha Brooke -- Walking
14. Tom Russell -- Muhammad Ali
15. Dar Williams -- The One Who Knows
16. Utah Carol – Like You Used to
17. Little Pink -- Miles from Nowhere
18. Kelly Willis -- Reason to Believe
19. Lowen and Navarro – That’s What I Make Myself Believe

close this window