Mark Twain Museum Releases CD on Mailboat Label
Last Updated on Thursday, 29 September 2011 03:32 Friday, 16 September 2011 19:39
The Mark Twain Boyhood Home & Museum in Hannibal, Missouri is pleased to announce that Mailboat Records, Inc. will manufacture and distribute its new CD project, Mark Twain: Words & Music, scheduled for release on September 21, 2011. The Mailboat label was founded by Jimmy Buffett, who provided the voice of Huckleberry Finn for the project, a double-CD that tells the life story of Mark Twain in spoken word and song. Several new songs were written expressly for the project.
Other voices on the album include Garrison Keillor as narrator, Clint Eastwood as Mark Twain, and Angela Lovell as Susy Clemens. Thirteen songs compliment the narrative and are performed by Emmylou Harris, Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, Rhonda Vincent, Bradley Walker, Carl Jackson, The Church Sisters, Sheryl Crow, Brad Paisley, Marty Raybon, Val Storey, Vince Gill, Joe Diffie, and Ricky Skaggs. Carl Jackson, a multiple Grammy Award-winner, produced the CD.
Jimmy Buffett, who has paid homage to Twain in his books and songs, said, "A hundred years after Mr. Twain left this world in the wake of Halley's Comet, he is still a force to be reckoned with. Mailboat Records was named for a song that was based on Twain’s Following the Equator, so it seems apropos that we are distributing this great collection. It was a personal honor to participate in this project and get to be Huck Finn, if only for a few days. Time has not eroded the spirit, force, character and humor of Huck and Mr. Twain's words. The music on this album, I believe, fits Sam Clemen's own words on the subject: ‘Singing is one of the most entrancing and bewitching and moving and eloquent of all the vehicles invented by man for the conveying of feeling.’ I think this collection does just that.”
Museum director Cindy Lovell conceived the CD as a tribute and benefit for the Museum and to commemorate the 175th anniversary of Twain’s birth last year. Proceeds will help maintain nine historical Museum properties including the Boyhood Home, a National Historic Landmark. Lovell began planning the project in 2005 with Jackson, her childhood friend.
“My dream for this project from Day One was for Carl to produce it and for Jimmy Buffett to be involved,” Lovell said. “I’ve been a Buffett fan since 1974 and always felt a kinship with him because of our shared love of Twain. I was over the moon when he offered to do the voice of Huck. And Carl is the best acoustic producer anywhere. I’m forever indebted to all of the great talents who stepped forward to give so generously in making this dream come true. The Museum has severely felt the effects of the economy, and this project will raise much needed revenue while sharing Twain’s legacy in a unique format. Signing with Mailboat Records was the cherry on the top of this project.
The CD can be pre-ordered at marktwainmuseum.org and will be available in many other outlets. Because of Twain’s immense popularity around the world, Mailboat plans a global release.
