Rosanne Cash, Graham Parker, Marshall Crenshaw, Gary Louris of The Jayhawks, others cover John Wesley Harding tunes for Sweet Relief benefit album

Having interviewed Wes Stace a couple times in the past and being a fan of many artists involved in this project, I can't wait to hear it. All for a good cause too! Read below for details...

What started one year ago as an innocent social media game, when Facebook friends and fans suggested artists they would like to cover Wesley Stace a.k.a. John Wesley Harding’s songs, became a reality with the Community Coronation Covers Project, a community-curated playlist featuring myriad well-respected artists.

The tracks have now been gathered on Bandcamp as The Good Lyre: Songs of John Wesley Harding, available Fri., April 2. All proceeds from sales and downloads will benefit Sweet Relief Musicians Fund.

From the hundreds of suggested artist/song pairings, Stace compiled a list: “Realizing that some of these wild ideas were tantalizingly within my grasp, I wondered whether the musicians in question might be willing to help out, to make someone’s day.”

These are “bespoke covers: requested by a single person, and hand delivered, as it were, to that person,” says Stace. “The object was first to blow the mind of whoever made the suggestion ‘You said you wanted to hear Graham Parker sing ‘Devil in Me’? Here you go!!’ and then to blow the minds of any fans of the performing artists whom they never thought they would hear sing this song or perhaps any other of my songs: handmade custom-built quarantainment.”

“The project started purely as a way to lift spirits at the beginning of the lockdown; a way for musicians to cheer people up. Now we’re bringing it full circle: all the proceeds from this album will benefit Sweet Relief, and specifically musicians affected by the COVID pandemic. It’s a beautiful way to mark the end of the project’s journey. I immediately think of John Prine, Adam Schlesinger, Dave Greenfield, Matthew Seligman, Hal Willner and other friends and/or musical influences lost to complications from the virus.

“These performances were acts of great generosity and kindness by these artists — it’s not necessarily an easy thing to work up a new song by request — and I’d like to thank everyone who contributed. Now, in a further act of generosity, all musicians gave an enthusiastic YES to all proceeds being donated to Sweet Relief. There but for fortune go all of us.”

Says Aric Steinberg, EVP Sweet Relief Musicians Fund, “We’re so grateful to Wes and all of the amazing artists that donated their time and talent to this project. The proceeds will be used to help musicians who have been financially devastated by the pandemic; artists helping artists, so cool!”

Track List:

1. Ryan Miller (Guster) - Your Ghost (Don’t Scare Me No More)
2. Eric Bazilian (The Hooters) - The Person You Are
3. Tanya Donelly (Belly) - The World (and All its Problems)
4. Josh Ritter - Sussex Ghost Story
5. Rosanne Cash - I’m Wrong about Everything
6. Gary Louris (The Jayhawks) - Kiss Me, Miss Liberty
7. Britta Phillips (Dean and Britta) - Sleepy People 8. Steven Page - Why Must the Show Go On?
9. Chris von Sneidern - Negative Love
10. Graham Parker - The Devil in Me
11. Wreckless Eric - Sick Organism
12. Bad Scene - You in Spite of Yourself
13. Casey Neill - Darwin
14. The Minus Five - Making Love to Bob Dylan
15. Marti Jones and Don Dixon - Dreamfader
16. David Lewis - Infinite Combinations
17. Bob Pernice - To Whom It May Concern
18. Marshall Crenshaw - I Just Woke Up
19. Dean Friedman - Top of the Bottom
20. Dag Juhlin (The Sunshine Boys) - People Love to Watch You Die

About John Wesley Harding:

Wesley Stace was born in Hastings in 1965. Since 1988, he has released many albums under the name John Wesley Harding — his most recent, 2018’s Wesley Stace’s John Wesley Harding, with the Jayhawks as his backing band — and recorded duets with, among others, Bruce Springsteen, Lou Reed and Rosanne Cash. Stace has published four novels, including the international bestseller Misfortune, and recently co-wrote Mark Morris’ memoir Out Loud. He also created Cabinet of Wonders, a monthly show that plays at New York City’s City Winery, and which The New Yorker called “one of the finest nights of entertainment this city has to offer.” He has taught at Princeton, Swarthmore and Fairleigh-Dickinson, and writes regularly for the Times Literary Supplement and The Wall Street Journal. He lives in Philadelphia. Learn more at www.wesleystace.com
John Wesley Harding Bandcamp page: https://found.ee/AECF

About Sweet Relief’s COVID-19 Fund:

Founded in 1994 by singer-songwriter Victoria Williams, Sweet Relief Musicians Fund provides financial assistance to all types of music industry professionals who are struggling to make ends meet while facing illness, disability, or age-related problems. In March of 2020, Sweet Relief launched a COVID-19 Fund, with a limited amount of funds available to be used specifically for musicians and music industry workers affected by Coronavirus. Funds raised will go towards medical expenses, lodging, clothing, food, and other vital living expenses to those impacted due to sickness or loss of work. For those wishing to apply or donate, please visit www.sweetrelief.org/covid-19-fund