This Is My America Wins Over Listeners with Mix of Education, Entertainment
Critics, Historians, Educators Embrace Concept, Unique Box Set
(Nashville, TN – March 19, 2009) Initial response to the three-disc This Is My America project has seen critics, educators and historians alike all praise the epic set for its ambitious combination of educational concepts, moving narratives and entertaining music.
“It would have been very easy for a project like this to have been filled with nothing but variations of ‘America the Beautiful’ and ‘The Star-Spangled Banner,’ uber-patriotic songs about the beauty and the majesty of the United States,” writes HistoryNet.com’s Senior Online Editor Gerald Swick. “Instead, the songs and narrations have depth. Listening to this three-CD set is like watching an epic motion picture!”
The This Is My America collection features 38 songs and 26 spoken narratives, documenting prominent events and subjects in American history, such as the Underground Railroad, the California Gold Rush, the Civil War, the Great Depression, World War I and II, the emergence of Radio, journalist Daniel Pearl, Hurricane Katrina, 9/11 and many more.
“Many of the songs would make great introductions to new topics in a U.S. history survey or other U.S. history classes,” says North Carolina State University History Professor Richard Slatta. “Students today are well attuned to music in all its varieties, so this collection makes a great ‘hook’ to draw them into discussions and questions about the American past. Excellent writing, production, and performances add to the attractiveness of ‘This is My America.'”
The History Channel Magazine called the collection of songs “as aesthetically pleasing as they are patriotically rousing.”
College professors and history buffs aren’t the only ones praising This Is My America for its educational value. Several of the album’s singers and songwriters spoke on the subject during the official CD release party in Nashville.
“I finally read the entire Declaration of Independence,” said Billy Dean, singer of one of the album’s trademark songs, “Wave On, Old Glory, Wave On.” “I realized that I had never read it all the way through, and I think when fans listen to this album, they will get a better appreciation of this country. It definitely had a profound effect on me. It got me back watching the History Channel again!”
Renowned music critic and author Robert K. Oermann described Dean’s “Wave On” as “an anthem for a new era. Stirring, patriotic and completely thrilling.”
The album also features performances from Dolly Parton, Charley Pride, Kathy Mattea, Mark O’Connor, the Nashville Symphony, the Fisk Jubilee Singers and many more. In total, nearly 60 different singers and songwriters contributed to the This Is My America project, one of the most expensive albums ever recorded in Nashville.
“This Is My America is a prime example of what can happen when you gather up a ton of superb songwriters, a few dozen nationally known artists, a renowned symphony and a historical group of harmonic singers to share and blend their craft,” wrote About.com’s Jan Duke. “It’s the perfect recipe for success.”
About This Is My America:
This Is My America is a musical journey through America’s history. It is much more than another contemporary collection of patriotic hits; it is an epic concept album that provides unique insight into the Story of America, as told through the original interpretations of 58 award-winning songwriters and performers. For more information, or to buy the album, visit: www.ThisIsMyAmerica.com
For press materials, interview requests or CD review copies, please contact Christy Watkins at: christy@aristomedia.com