Pretty Paper

Song: Pretty Paper
Songwriter: Willie Nelson
Publisher: Sony/ATV Tree Publishing
ISRC: QZHYE2484461
Length: 4:12
Producer: Jonathan Edwards & Rock Hearts
Engineer: Jason Phelps - Acadia Recording Company
Mastering: Pat Keane - PatKeaneMastering.com

Musicians:
Alex MacLeod - Lead Vocals, Guitar
Joe Deetz - Banjo, High Baritone harmony
Billy Thibodeau – Mandolin, Tenor harmony
Rick Brodsky - Bass
Austin Scelzo – Fiddle
Tom Snow - Piano

Rock Hearts and friends, Jonathan Edwards and Tom Snow, were interested in collaborating on a project. After a night of jamming together a few years back, the session was nothing short of magical and they all agreed that working together on something would be great.

For many years lead man, Alex MacLeod, was hoping the band would record a holiday song but it always escaped them. Alex and bassist, Rick Brodsky, were actively searching for a holiday song that would carry a message of love and caring. When Alex heard Pretty Paper, he was convinced that was the song. He quickly learned it enough to send the band a scratch version and shortly thereafter they agreed to learn it and started planning.

Jonathan (Edwards) agreed to produce the song and arranged for Rock Hearts to record with the team at Acadia Recording Company in Portland, ME, while the band was up north doing a show. Thankfully, the very gifted and generous Tom Snow agreed to lend some dazzling piano chops to the song.

The guys in Rock Hearts love that blend of bluegrass instrumentation with piano, ala Gary Smith and Dennis Burnside on some of Ricky Skaggs’ albums.

In mid-October, while performing in Dover-Foxcroft, ME, the band stayed with Jonathan and Sandy Edwards and worked up the arrangement of the song.

Alex had envisioned most of the arrangements of the song, desiring to “paint the picture” of the lyrics with both the instrumentation and the harmony vocals. The song begins with Austin Scelzo’s touching fiddle opening, followed by three-part vocals on the chorus, with guitarist and vocals, Alex MacLeod singing lead, mandolinist Billy Thibodeau singing tenor and banjo player, Joe Deetz rendering the high baritone. The complimentary instrumental fills help to accentuate the vocals, bringing to life the real story of the main character. Tom Snow’s piano playing fits perfectly with the sparsity of the mandolin and banjo, while Austin Scelzo pulls it all together with a beautiful triple fiddle break. As always, Rick Brodsky delivers a steady change up between his solid rhythm and walking bass lines,

The vocals soar on the final chorus as the song finishes with a simple fading instrumental sample of the holiday classic, Jingle Bells, illuminating the image of fleeting as the feet of the busy shoppers passing by the lonely salesman peddling his holiday paper and pencils.

Pretty Paper, according to some sources, tells the story of a disabled salesman from Fort Worth, TX, who lost the use of his legs to childhood meningitis. Will Nelson was inspired to write the song, upon seeing the man, Frankie Breirton, on the streets of downtown Ft. Worth, using a wooden cart to navigate around town during the holidays to sell his wares. The lyrics were intended to bring attention to those who are often overlooked during the holiday season.

Rock Hearts is extremely proud of this latest song and can’t wait for everyone to hear it. We pray it causes us all to pause, to be thankful for what we have, and to be mindful of those who may need a helping hand.