Country Stars Celebrate American Music Spirit in First Ever Time Life Original Music Release, 'America Will Always Stand'

Album Features Randy Travis, Ricky Skaggs, Darryl Worley, Blake Shelton and Others

LOS ANGELES, CA (PRWEB) March 4, 2004 -- Grammy winners Randy Travis and Ricky Skaggs along with Darryl Worley, Blake Shelton and other giants of country music are preparing to unveil compelling new songs about the enduring legacy of the Civil War on America Will Always Stand -- the first album of original material ever issued by Time-Life Music.

Scheduled for a retail release in May, America Will Always Stand was conceived and brought to life by Michael Curtis and Michael Pyle, who produced and co-wrote most of the tracks with historical guidance from award-winning filmmaker, writer and director Ron Maxwell (Gods & Generals, Gettysburg.) Curtis also shares the credit with Maxwell, and others, as executive producer.

Many of these songs are based on facts, from the grit of battle (Worley's "Shiloh [Presence of the Past]") to the miracle of "God's tears" shed over the bloody fields of Fredericksburg (Josh Turner's "Tears of God"). Others draw from scenarios familiar to families that face today's challenges: Olivia Maxwell's "All the Daddies" echoes the assurances given by mothers to children throughout history that their father will someday come back to them.

"One Letter" by the Wilsons makes the connection between past and present especially clear, telling the story of a soldier gone to war, leaving only his pledge to return -- so clear, in fact, that it has been selected not only as the first single from America Will Always Stand, but also the first single ever released from any Time-Life Music album.

All of America Will Always Stand embraces the sound of country music, with an emphasis on acoustic textures, intimate vocals, and melodies that stir strong currents of emotion. Whether referring to specific figures from the Civil War, as in Daron Norwood's "God and General Lee," or to the loneliness borne by every soldier far from home, as in Shelton's "Waltzing You Darlin'" and Marty Raybon's "Back in Your Arms Again," each song speaks with a direct yet poetic eloquence, closer in essence to letters written by both Union and Confederate troops to their loved ones than to the formulaic lyrics of pop music.

But each track also touches something deep in our national character and seeks what brings us together -- North and South, soldiers for peace and apostles for victory. "Even though these songs are about the Civil War, they're just as timely today as they would have been 140 years ago," says Curtis. "We hope not only to draw future generations to the beauty of mainstream country music, but also to make them aware of the debts paid in their name by soldiers of the past, present, and future."

Recorded in Nashville and Muscle Shoals, America Will Always Stand is the first step in a journey through music. Maxwell, Curtis, Pyle and their colleagues are already at work on a follow-up album for Time-Life Music, on which another all-star selection of artists will perform songs with a more narrative focus on real-life heroes of the Civil War and the lessons conveyed by their lives. Further projects, including original dramas for television based on this material, are being explored as well.

America Will Always Stand

Track Listing:
1   Darryl Worley   Shiloh (Presence of the Past)
2   Ricky Skaggs   Charlie & Johnny Reb
3   The Whites      Woman Back Home
4   Collin Raye      Oh Virginia
5   Daron Norwood   God and General Lee
6   Josh Turner      Tears of God
7   Lee Ann Womack   On A Womans Heart
8   Blake Shelton   Waltzing You Darlin
9   The Wilsons      One Letter
10   Marty Raybon   Back In Your Arms Again
11   Billy Dean      Home
12   Olivia Maxwell   All The Daddies
13   The Michaels   I Still Hear The Guns
14   Randy Travis      America Will Always Stand

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