Though she’s only semi-retired, we don’t hear new music from Claire Lynch nearly enough. So it’s wonderful news that Mountain Home Music is featuring her on the first single from their new collection, Bluegrass Sings Paxton, celebrating the songs of legendary folksinger Tom Paxton.
Still writing, singing, and recording new music at 86 years of age, Paxton has been a figure on the US music scene since the mid 1960s. Many of his songs have been covered by bluegrass artists, classics like The Last Thing on My Mind and Can’t Help But Wonder Where I’m Bound, but this new project may be the first to bring so many top grassers together for this purpose.
For this debut entry, we hear Claire’s rendition of I Give You The Morning, which Paxton first released in 1969. It’s a tender love song that perfectly suits her voice.
She shared her delight in being involved in this album.
“The bluegrass family’s ‘first cousin’ is folk — no doubt about it. It’s a privilege to be involved in further strengthening the ties with this tribute to the music of Tom Paxton.”
Mountain Home’s Jon Weisberger, who produced the project alongside Cathy Fink, says that Claire’s choice of this song was a ideal one.
“Claire Lynch has one of the most recognizable and expressive voices in bluegrass. We knew we wanted to have that voice on the album, and her choice of I Give You The Morning was a great call — it’s got an old-fashioned ballad construction, a deliciously unusual, yet natural rhythm to the first lines in each verse, a captivating melodic rise in the refrain, and an evocative lyric — and the band has just the right balance of strength and delicacy to complement those same qualities in her approach.
It’s a performance that brings out so many aspects of what makes Tom Paxton’s songs so memorable, and I can’t think of a better way to introduce this project to listeners!”
That band includes Chris Jones on guitar, Kristin Scott Benson on banjo, Deanie Richardson on fiddle, Darren Nicholson on mandolin, and Nelson Williams on bass. They provide a subtle foundation for this lovely song, and Claire’s delicate vocal.
Check it out…
I Give You The Morning is available now from popular download and streaming services online. Radio programmers will find the track at AirPlay Direct.
Look for more from Bluegrass Sings Paxton over the upcoming months.
