SHEMEKIA COPELAND & KENNY WAYNE SHEPHERD have collaborated on a brand new single titled “Hit ‘Em Back”.
The disc see’s Copeland and Shepherd joining forces with guest performances from Robert Randolph on steel guitar and veteran blues drummer Tony Coleman who has worked with B.B. King, Etta James, Bobby Blue Bland, Albert King, and Buddy Guy.
Harlem born SHEMEKIA COPELAND is a force to be reckoned with on the blues circuit. She’s opened for the Rolling Stones, headlined the Chicago Blues Festival and played numerous festivals world-wide. Her delivery is fierce red and power-gold… and she possesses an incredible vocal timbre with a fiery, plummy finish.
While Shreveport-born Grammy-nominated guitarist KENNY WAYNE SHEPHERD is a fully self-taught musician and performs quick-witted, fizzing, rock ‘n’ blues numbers with gutsy & sexy songwriting motifs, dark, driving riffs and valiant vocals. His “Trouble Is” album still holds the distinction of being the longest running album on the Billboard’s Blues Chart and is among nine of his albums that achieved #1 status on that chart, three of which have been RIAA certified Platinum along with one Gold.
“Blues brought us together… Right from the start…”
Hit ‘Em Back was written at the behest of Shemekia who asked her lyricist John Hahn to write a song to address divisiveness and anger within the greater blues community. Thereafter, she reached out to Kenny Wayne asking if he would write music for the lyrics and join her to record the song. Kenny, along with producer Marshall Altman (Natasha Bedingfield, Kate Voegele, Amy Grant).
All proceeds from Hit ‘Em Back will be donated to the Music Maker Relief Foundation, a non-profit whose stated mission is “to preserve the musical traditions of the south by directly supporting musicians who make it, ensuring their voices will not be silenced by poverty and time.”
Shemekia’s relationship with Kenny dates back decades. She says, “We’ve been running into each other for years, ever since we first met as teenagers; I was 17 and he was 19. Before the ‘Hit ‘Em Back’ session, the last time I saw him was 2019 and I teased him saying “You should produce a rock record for me someday.”
“In a sense, that’s happened with “Hit ‘Em Back” but both artists and their track are firmly rooted in the blues. They’ve crossed paths many times and both had opened for B.B. King early in their respective careers. She remarked, “Kenny has been an ally of the blues all this time.”
Links:
https://www.facebook.com/shemekia.copeland
https://www.facebook.com/kennywayneshepherd
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