May 2008 ... I was staying at the recently opened Greenwich Hotel in New York when I got an email from Bryan Adams, with an audio file attached:
"Hey Jim, this was forwarded to me by Brian May of Queen, check it out".
It was a recording of "Summer Of '69" by singer Catherine Porter, a member of the Brian May Band. She'd just released a solo album comprised of covers of her favourite songs. The album was titled "Gems For Ruby" (her daughter's name) and it included a recording of "Summer Of '69".
I have to confess, nine-times-out-of-ten I'm not very thrilled with cover versions of my songs, but this was one of those rare occasions when I was MORE than thrilled. Catherine and arranger Danny Saxon brilliantly reinterpreted "Summer Of '69 as a beautiful ballad and found something in the song that I never could have imagined. |