{"id":29413,"date":"2021-11-27T07:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-11-27T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kjagradio.com\/themic\/?p=29413"},"modified":"2021-11-27T06:28:00","modified_gmt":"2021-11-27T12:28:00","slug":"orleans-christmas-album-new-star-shining","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kjagradio.com\/themic\/orleans-christmas-album-new-star-shining\/","title":{"rendered":"Orleans Christmas Album “New Star Shining”"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n

Orleans Celebrates Christmas With New Album, \u201cNew Star Shining\u201d On Sunset Blvd. Records<\/strong>(Band Members: Lance Hoppen and John Hall Available For Interviews)<\/strong>
Orleans is releasing their first and only Christmas album.  Subconsciously, the group\u2014which is about to celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2022\u2014must have been working on the holiday collection for decades. Orleans co-founder Lance Hoppen says, “The material comes from various sources, most written internally and some by friends from other bands. Some had previously recorded lives elsewhere and were remastered, others had previous starts but underwent major revisions and upgrades. Some were cut from scratch in isolation. Some are purely secular, while others center around the Christmas story.\u201d John and Johanna Hall co-wrote the title track, \u201cNew Star Shining\u201d which the band recorded in 1994 for a \u201cWoodstock Holidays\u201d CD released only in Japan. The group\u2019s only Christmas song until now, it was also cut as a duet by Ricky Skaggs and James Taylor. This version features shared lead vocals by John, Larry Hoppen, Lance and Bob Leinbach. The acclaimed songwriting duo also co-wrote \u201cSnowed In With You,\u201d  \u201cI Wish I Could\u2019ve Been There\u201d with Tad Richards, and “Quiet Place” with Jonell Mosser.  \u201cI Wish\u201d features Little Feat\u2019s Bill Payne on piano and multi-instrumentalist John Jorgenson (the Desert Rose Band and The Hellecasters) playing mandolin. “Snowed In” shines with Dan Dugmore’s pedal steel and Andrea Zonn’s fiddle. 
Two more historical recordings came from the Hoppen family.  Lance found his late brother Larry\u2019s version of \u201cWinter Wonderland\u201d on YouTube, which was recorded for a 2010 Rock Xmas Foundation charity.  Larry, Lance, brother Lane and sister Lynda sang the introduction of the traditional song \u201cMary Had a Baby\u201d around 1985 at a Hoppen Family holiday gathering; Lance found the tape, a snippet of which was digitized and included.  The band then recreated the entire four-part harmony arrangement during the pandemic. Fly Amero contributed three songs: “Jinglin’ In New England” was written with his wife Donna. Other Fly songs include \u201cBallad of the Christmas Day Cowboy\u201d (a collaboration with platinum country writer Robert Ellis Orrall) and \u201cI Wish I Could Fly\u201d, written with Allen Estes, featuring Beaver Brown Band\u2019s keyboardist, Steve Burke. Other songs include \u201cMary\u2019s Christmas,\u201d originally recorded by The Little River Band, and \u201cI\u2019m Coming Home for Christmas\u201d originally recorded by Ambrosia’s Joe Puerta.  \u201cThe Sound of Christmas\u201d came from Orleans alumnus Chip Martin, who\u2019s written for Billy Paul and Randy Meisner. Orleans\u2019 \u201cNew Star Shining\u201d will be on all digital platforms and available in music stores and holiday catalogs. The band went from club and college shows in the Northeast to worldwide acclaim with their top ten singles “Still the One,” Dance With Me,” and “Love Takes Time.\u201d  Orleans has produced a body of work spanning 16 albums and several DVDs. The band\u2019s music is still streamed millions of times a week and featured in TV, movie and commercial productions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

WAV audio file & MP3 available on request.  Band members on Album:John Hall: Guitars & VocalsLance Hoppen: Bass & VocalsFly Amero: Guitars & VocalsLane Hoppen: Keyboards & VocalsBrady Spencer: Drums & Vocals Historical contributions from former members Bob Leinbach, Larry Hoppen.    Songs:1. New Star Shining (written by John & Johanna Hall)2. Quiet Place (John Hall, Jonell Mosser, Johanna Hall)3. Jinglin\u2019 in New England (Fly Amero, Donna Amero)4. Mary\u2019s Christmas (Roger Helton, Tony Elenburg, John Swaim)5. I Wish I Could\u2019ve Been There (John Hall, Johanna Hall, Tad Richards)6. The Sound of Christmas (Daniel \u201cChip\u201d Martin, John Cirillo)7. Mary Had a Baby (Traditional)8. Snowed in With You (John & Johanna Hall)9. I\u2019m Comin\u2019 Home for Christmas (Bill Pfotdresher)10. I Wish I Could Fly (Fly Amero & Allen Estes) 11. Winter Wonderland (Felix Bernard, Richard Bernard Smith) 12. Ballad of the Christmas Day Cowboy (Fly Amero & Robert Ellis Orrall) OrleansOnline.comFacebook.com\/OrleansMusic<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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