Fly Like An Eagle featuring Steve Miller - Song Around The World/Playing For Change

"Join us in this musical celebration of World Day of Social Justice as 'Fly Like An Eagle' Song Around The World serves as a heartfelt reminder of the ability of individuals to rise above adversity and come together to inspire hope and solidarity, as we collectively celebrate the richness and diversity of our global community."

Written by Steve Miller, this 1976 timeless classic, "Fly Like an Eagle," features the iconic Steve Miller alongside Franklin Vanderbilt, Ivan Neville, Quiana Lynell, and accomplished artists from five different countries.


It's been a while since I've posted one of these Songs Around The World videos. If you enjoy this one, just enter "Song Around The World" in the Search field to the right to view—and hopefully enjoy as well—a half dozen additional vids!

"La Bamba" featuring Los Lobos - Song Around the World/Playing for Change

And yet another Playing for Change video featuring musicians from around the world covering the classic song "La Bamba." When I hear this song, I think of the Ritchie Valens version, or the Los Lobos version that was recorded for the film of the same name.

According to Indiana University: "'La bamba' is a traditional son jarocho wedding song originating in the Mexican state of Veracruz. Famously adapted by Ritchie Valens in 1958, it was the first Spanish song to reach No. 1 on the American charts, and the only non-English song to be included in Rolling Stone's '500 Greatest Songs of All Time,' at #354. The earliest recording of 'La Bamba' currently available was recorded by Alvaro Hernández Ortiz, credited as El Jarocho, in 1939."

In the "More Red Ink Search" field at the top of the right column, enter the words "Playing for Change," and you will be able to read and view five other "Song Around the World" entries that I have posted on this blog.

"All Along The Watchtower" featuring Warren Haynes - Song Around the World/Playing for Change

 

"I remember having a daydream about the opening acoustic guitar part of 'All Along The Watchtower' ending with a Native American scream and a big native drum on the downbeat. That was the spark to assemble one of our biggest and deepest Songs Around The World. From Beirut to New Orleans to the Lakota Nation, musicians play and sing like a musical army determined to stop suffering and greed all over the world. As a society, we need to get back to our roots and connect deeper with our ancestors and native people in general so we can find the wisdom we need to move forward as a human race. As Jimi Hendrix once said, 'If there is something to be changed in this world, then it can only happen through music.'"

−Mark Johnson, Playing For Change Co-Founder

 

See the previous Song Around the World/Playing for Change videos: The Band's "The Weight" here, Led Zeppelin's "When The Levee Breaks" here, Peter Gabriel's "Biko" here, and U2's "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" here.

Learn more about Song Around the World on the Playing For Change website -- and check out all those other videos!

 

"I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" featuring Daniel Lanois - Song Around the World/Playing for Change

"I have to admit that I'm a soft-hearted sucker for the Playing for Change videos of musicians around the world covering a classic song together. This cover of U2's 'I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For' was released in support of The International Day of the Disappeared, an effort to raise awareness of disappeared peoples (victims of armed conflicts, trafficking, violence, natural disasters, migration) around the world and the loved ones who continue to search for them." [BoingBoing.net]

See the previous Song Around the World/Playing for Change videos: The Band's "The Weight" here, Led Zeppelin's "When The Levee Breaks" here, and Peter Gabriel's "Biko" here.

Learn more about Song Around the World on the Playing For Change website -- and check out all those other videos!

 

"Biko" featuring Peter Gabriel - Song Around the World/Playing for Change

"'You can blow out a candle, but you can't blow out a fire. Once the flames begin to catch, the wind will blow it higher.' – Peter Gabriel, 'Biko'

In honor of Black History Month, we are proud to bring the message of Peter Gabriel's 'Biko' back to the forefront, 40 years after its initial release. Inspired by the death of anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko while in police custody, this song's relevance still holds true with the unfortunate police brutality that continues to take place in the USA, Nigeria and many places around the world. More than 25 musicians from seven countries join Gabriel for this global rendition to share a message of unity, peace, and hope, including Beninese vocalist and activist Angélique Kidjo, Silkroad's Yo-Yo Ma, and bass legend Meshell Ndegeocello.

The eyes of the world are watching... Let each of us lead with love and let that love ripple throughout the universe.

Produced by Sebastian Robertson and Mark Johnson"

See the previous Song Around the World/Playing for Change video for The Band's "The Weight" here and Led Zeppelin's "When The Levee Breaks" here.

Learn more about Song Around the World on the Playing For Change website -- and check out all those other videos!

"When The Levee Breaks" featuring John Paul Jones - Song Around the World/Playing for Change

From Rollingstone.com (February 18, 2022):

John Paul Jones has re-recorded the 1971 Led Zeppelin classic "When The Levee Breaks" with help from 17 musicians from around the globe, including guitarist Derek Trucks, drummer Stephen Perkins, harmonica player Ben Lee, singer Susan Tedeschi, singer Elle Márjá Eira, slide guitarist Keith Secola, and vocalist Mihirangi.

Sebastian Robertson (who also plays guitar on the song) and Mark Johnson produced the video and new version as part of Playing for Change’s Song Around the World initiative. All funds generated from the song will benefit the charity partners of Peace Through Music, including Conservation International, American Rivers, WWF, Reverb and the Playing For Change Foundation.

"When The Levee Breaks" was written by Kansas Joe McCoy and Memphis Minnie two years after the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927.

See the previous Song Around the World/Playing for Change video for The Band's "The Weight" here.

In Celebration of the 50th Anniversary of "The Weight" - Song Around the World / Playing for Change

"The Weight" was written by Robbie Robertson, recorded by his group The Band, and released on the album Music From Big Pink in 1968.

From Rollingstone.com (September 18, 2019):

"What key is it in, Robbie?" Ringo Starr, sitting behind a drum set, asks Robbie Robertson over the phone. Ringo nods. "F-demented!" What happens next is a joyous cover of "The Weight," with Robertson reprising the recording's soulful intro lick. A series of musicians from all over the world – Marcus King, Lukas Nelson, the Japanese guitar virtuoso Char, Congo soul singer Mermens Mosengo and more – all add their own flavor to the classic from different locations.

The project comes from Playing For Change, a group dedicated to "breaking down the boundaries and overcome distances between people." That includes 15 music schools across 11 countries, documentaries and viral videos bringing artists from different cultures together; the group has released videos for "Redemption Song" [Bob Marley], "What’s Going On" [Marvin Gaye], and more ["All Along The Watchtower by Bob Dylan]. "The Weight" was done on an epic scale, a year and a half of production over five continents. "We made it brick by brick, starting with Robbie," says co-founder Mark Johnson, a Grammy-winning producer-engineer who's worked with Paul Simon, Keith Richards, and more. "That's what makes this special. We could never have never assembled this group in the studio. You need to go there, and then when you go there, you're where they feel comfortable....

We had built a mobile recording studio... Now I have little battery packs so we traveled the world with a mobile studio, great equipment and some cameras and this one we started off with Robbie Robertson playing guitar... And then as we traveled the world, we would deconstruct [the track.] So Ringo would replace the drums. Hutch [James "Hutch" Hutchinson”] would replace the bass. Everywhere I go, I'm putting headphones on musicians, and they're listening to whatever preceded them and playing along. And that's how we built it as we went from country to country. I think in this video, we went to about ten different countries.

Learn more about Song Around the World on the Playing For Change website -- and check out all those other videos!