Christmas is right around the corner and I would like to introduce you to Liz Kennedy who has written a Christmas song. If your #Homeschooling you could add Liz Kennedy to your upcoming #Music Lesson Plans.
LIZ KENNEDY ENCOURAGES LISTENERS TO BELIEVE IN THE MAGIC WITH NEW SINGLE “LIZZY’S CHRISTMAS SLEIGH”. Embrace Your Inner Child with Heartfelt Support Video
Artwork Design: Eric Peltier
NASHVILLE, TN – (November 1, 2024) – Liz Kennedy has announced the release of her latest Christmas song, “Lizzy’s Christmas Sleigh.” Her reputation of creating lyrical content in her songs that are instantly memorable, she self-penned the song which reflects a true story; as true as a 6-year-old can remember a pivotal event years and years later. Liz believed in Santa so much that she hallucinated a sleigh sailing across the moon from atop her father’s shoulders on Meriday Lane, two blocks from her house. Liz noted, “It may be the first time in my life that I suspected not everyone believed me, but the vision of that sleigh informs my subsequent belief that the magic of holidays exists somewhere in all of us grown children. I saw that sleigh. I did.”
“Lizzy’s Christmas Sleigh” is available on all streaming and download platforms HERE. Watch the lyric video produced and edited by Eric Peltier on her official artist YouTube channel HERE.
“Liz Kennedy’s artistic powers have only grown with time and this latest effort gives no clear hint about where her ceiling might be. Instead, it’s full of lyrical and musical riches all listeners are certain to enjoy.”-No Depression
“Yes, I’m not a kid
And no, can’t be young again
Yet at yuletide
I go back in time
To when I saw the sleigh
I did
Maybe only children see
And when those carols start to sing
On the street or some big store
I behold that sleigh once more
Here’s the story
Once
I was hoisted high
It was Christmas eve
We ducked outside
Underneath the sky
Dad at 6 foot three
That’s high
Look up, Lizzy, I heard him say
And I could see a sleigh
We headed home, Dad and me
And everyone, they were all singing
Deck the Halls
We Three Kings
Hark the Herald Angels Sing
Chestnuts Roasting
And Christmas White
Oh Holy Night
The Costco Chorus sings on high
Jingle Bells and Silent Night…”
Produced, engineered and mixed by J. Jaffe and Liz Kennedy “Lizzy’s Christmas Sleigh” was recorded at Studio on the Hill and Studio D Recording with Liz Kennedy (vocals, piano), Billy Johnson (percussion/chimes), Marc Levine (bass), Joel Jaffe (acoustic guitar/ BGV), Eamonn Flynn (piano/keyboards) and additional background vocals by Larry Batiste, Cliff Payne, Omega Brooks and Lorin Rowan.
In addition to the new holiday music, Liz Kennedy has previously released “Snow In San Francisco” and “Snowman Moon (A Christmas Crime).” Both are available on all streaming platforms.
The song “Snow in San Francisco” was inspired by the 1977 snowfall in San Francisco. It was an extremely rare event. Liz remembers, “Inside my flat, without looking outside, the world suddenly felt different. When I did look out, it was snowing. It felt like … Christmas. It was real and nothing I’d ever felt in the city. Even though it wasn’t Christmas time, it had a lasting effect on me. I’ve never forgotten it and have written a Christmas Carol to celebrate that magical day.”
When asked about “Snowman Moon (A Christmas Crime),” Liz said, “I thought I would never write a Christmas song, but the thought of writing one percolated after someone suggested it. Then, while writing a song about meeting someone at a party, I thought, aha, a Christmas party! Why not? Winter. Snow. (I’ve never had a white Christmas, so I went for it in the song)!
My first husband was generally known to be a curmudgeon. However, when it came to Christmas, he was impossibly positive. What interested me was that he always said he believed in Christmas. He really did. Long after our kids were resistant teenagers, that was a big influence in the song. Magical belief.
However, the guy in the song is, in my head as I was writing, my second husband, who always wore Christmas bowties, was 6’4” and someone you could always see coming towards you through a crowd. And he was quite ebullient. Another ingredient I sprinkled in is my own history of sensing that something important is about to happen. Lastly, I liked playing with the words “taken by you” which is actually the ‘crime’ referred to in the song.”
In her inimitable storytelling style singer-songwriter Liz Kennedy’s Snowman Moon (A Christmas Crime) takes us through an evening of events from a stolen look to a kidnapped heart and an early sense that something is about to happen to the affirmation that the magic of the holidays is not just for kids.
Stay current with everything Liz Kennedy on her website lizkennedymusic.com. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and subscribe to her YouTube Channel for the latest videos.
Music is available on all digital platforms Apple Music, iTunes, Spotify, Pandora, YouTube Music and Amazon Music.
About Liz Kennedy:
After going through a whirlwind of life changes, the San Francisco based singer-songwriter, Liz Kennedy, has come to see songwriting not as a choice but something she has to do. She says music sustains her and offers a way forward. Her decade plus as a critically acclaimed recording artist has brought her confidence in her ever-unfolding identity as a quirky, often humorous and ever insightful storyteller committed to honesty and finding something unique to say.
Jaffe, whose credits include Roy Rogers, Ray Manzarek, Maria Muldaur, Lenny Williams ,The Flamin Groovies, is the renowned engineer and producer of Studio D in Sausalito, where he has worked with legendary artists like Bonnie Raitt, Ringo Starr, Van Morrison, Carlos Santana and Huey Lewis and the News. One of the greatest influences on Kennedy’s development since she took the plunge into recording, he has helmed all her previous recordings, Clean White Shirt, A Good Peach, Nothing Like an Angel, Speed Bump, and Hike Up Your Socks. Jaffe adds numerous string textures to Kennedy’s songs, including acoustic and electric guitar, dobro, mandolin, lap steel and ebow.
Kennedy describes herself as honest and observant and adds, “I sure hope I can easily laugh at myself.” Her songcraft – where the lyrics always follow the music – perfectly reflects that thoughtful self-assessment. The fascinating part of the process is not knowing just where the inspiration will come from. “It’s strange how emotional pain and joy can equally send you racing to the piano to capture something … whether it’s a butterfly or a heavy brick.
After graduating from Stanford University, where she studied anthropology and journalism, she settled in the Bay Area and worked for film companies that made TV commercials. Long before reality TV became a mainstream part of our culture, Kennedy specialized in casting real people (instead of professional actors) for commercials. She also married and raised two children. In her later 40s, around the time she began realizing she had “songs in my head” that had never been recorded, she met Jaffe, who liked what he heard and encouraged her to take her work as a singer/songwriter more seriously.
In addition to her growing catalog of recordings, she has performed over the years at such renowned Bay Area hotspots as Sweetwater Music Hall, the Throckmorton Theatre and Club Fox. Kennedy enjoys performing live in an intimate setting and finding a connection people make to her songs. I love to hear what someone gets from a song, in their own way.
A good song should translate into another person’s language. Yet before performing there is recording. “I’ve had inexpressibly sublime moments in the studio, listening to what these great musicians bring to my songs,” she says. “I have literally fallen to my knees with the joy of an unexpectedly beautiful touch. There’s no greater moment for me than when we are all listening to the finished product and loving what we hear, experiencing our collective ownership.”
Thank you,
Glenda, Charlie and David Cates
