David Egan
"Twenty Years of Trouble"
Rhonda Sue/Louisiana Red Hot Records
In 1995 I purchased several blues and soul albums among them Percy Sledges Blue Nights and Little Buster and The Soul Brothers Right On Time much to my delight both albums contained the song First You Cry. I noted that the songwriters names were David Egan and Buddy Flett.
In 1998 I tripped over Johnny Adams Man of My Word cd. The late Johnny Adams was the toast of New Orleans and today he remains in the hearts of music fans everywhere. On this Johnnys last album, he opens with Even Now also penned by David Egan and Buddy Flett. When I first heard it, it was so good; its the kind of song where you check to see who wrote it, I played it over and over. Blues Access magazine wrote Theres something especially poignant about the track that leads off his final album, recorded when he knew he was dying of cancer. David Egan and Buddy Fletts terrific composition is an adult look at a rocky relationship, and Adams oh-so-knowingly wraps himself around it like the master he was.
I attended my third New Orleans Jazz & Heritage festival and there I heard for the first time the Lil Band of Gold. I left New Orleans with their cd that I had purchased in the cd tent. There in the band was David Egan on keyboards, and he was singing on First You Cry. I couldnt believe it.
Later that year or maybe the next I attended Michael Arnones Crawfish Festival. Michael produces the best New Orleans festival that I have ever attended in the northeast and I will never miss it. He brings in five bands for Saturday and another five for Sunday. The festival is held in Augusta New Jersey and takes place each year on the first weekend in June. One year he had Lil Band of Gold and the next year he had File, a Cajun band. David Egan was in both bands. For File he penned both One Foot in The Bayou and I Just Cant Do Right on the album La Vie Marron, The Runaway Life. Recently I began writing cd reviews for The New York Blues and Jazz Society website (www.nybluesandjazz.org) and I contacted David Egan to do a review of his album. David Egan to me is the best new songwriter in the tradition of Dan Penn. Who is Dan Penn? Well thats another review.
Great performers choose great songs to sing, because they can, and because they know. Emotions run high in Davids songs. It is a unique talent to say just a few words and have them evoke deep feelings. Your writing has to be concise and to the point. You have to know music very well. You have to know where the singer might pause, where he might sigh. I am not a musician but Ive been told I have a good ear. It doesnt take too good an ear when your listening to a David Egan song. The man can write a song, really.
The album opens with a piece called Twenty Years of Trouble. Its about a life, making trouble out of nothing. David Egan recently quit File. It was an agonizing thing for David, but David will have his own band. On this outing there are 30 musicians who lend David a hand so that there is no trouble, including Steve Riley, C.C. Adcock, Miki Honeycutt, and Buddy Flett. David says when he made this album, he and his wife sold the net, that theyre now working without one. The song however is about a rocky relationship not really the good one I know David has. I expect they will play Michael Arnones Crawfish Festival someday soon. Here is the rest of David Egan & 20 Years of Trouble.
Slingshots and Boomerangs, David tells me he wrote this while riding a bus when he was on tour with File. They rode past a truck full of rickety-ass sticks, the drummer said Man, they aint gonna get anything outta that but a load of slingshots and boomerangs. We all better watch what we say around this guy, he might just write a song about it. This one is about a woman who uses people.
If She Calls and Im not at home tell her to come on in. Need I say more.
You laugh about my dreams, you make fun of my lovin, but I was Good to You Baby.
Half Past The Blues, I Just Cant Do Right, Fail, Fail, Fail rocky relationships.
Next comes People Will Be People. This song and two others David wrote appeared on the album Sing It by Marcia Ball, Tracy Nelson, and Irma Thomas. Its a feel good song.
Beg, Borrow & Steal, She dont Play By The Rules, each of these songs are strong enough to appear as covers on other artists albums. With a crack backup band often he gets into a deep New Orleans groove while other times he has an almost Cajun feel. He can also be downright jazzy as on the opening track.
Three bonus tracks follow. The live After This Time, shows us that David has a sharp sense of humor as he introduces the song. If You Knew How Much and Wake Up Call follows. Each song is penned by David. Six are co-written with Buddy Flett, (two of which are also credited to Earl & Ernie Cate. One is co-written with C. C. Adcock and one with David Love Lewis.
David just had Etta James record his song Please, No More on her new Lets Roll album. If your looking for a new emerging artist to brighten up your day look no further than David Egan.
Richard Ludmerer
ricdale2@yahoo.com
Thanks so much for the new CD... I LOVE Proud Dog and Smile and If It Is What It Is (Its Love) definitely belongs in a movie somewhere!!! Good Stuff My Man thanks for comin' out and I hope we were satisfactory HA!!!
Shreveport native scores at Grammys
February 16, 2007
From Staff and Wire Reports
Keyboards player and singer David Egan, a native Shreveporter known to many here for his years of work with the former A Train, was prepared to upbeat and consoling last Sunday at the Grammys, as his current boss, New Orleans singer Irma Thomas, nominated for an award, waited for the winner to be named.
Egan, son of Shreveport actress and singer Jasmine Egan, and who had written three songs for homas' "After the Rain CD," was part of the singer's small entourage at the awards ceremony.
But when the winner of the Best Contemporary Blues Album was announced, Egan's better-luck-next-time speech quickly went down the drain.
"We all had a little short circuit there for about two seconds," said Egan, who long ago moved to Lafayette. "I think Irma was fully prepared to be philosophical about the nomination.
"When it hit, she just about fell apart. We were all crying like babies.
"She said something very gracious about New Orleans having believed in her for 50 years and they were all pulling for her. So when she won, the whole city won."
Egan celebrated with Thomas and friends in Los Angeles following her first Grammy win in her five decades in music. Heralded as the Soul Queen of New Orleans, Thomas enjoys a worldwide following after hits like "(You Can Have My Husband But) Don't Mess With My Man," "Wish Someone Would Care" and the original recording of "Time is on My Side," which became a million seller for The Rolling Stones.
Recorded at Dockside Studio in Maurice only months after Hurricane Katrina, Thomas' Grammy winner contains two songs written by Egan "(These Honey Dos, If You Knew How Much)" and an Egan-Thomas collaboration, "Stone Survivor."
Writing songs for the stars is nothing new for Egan. Percy Sledge, Marc
Broussard, Solomon Burke, Etta James and Mavis Staples are just a few of the artists who have recorded his tunes. In 1992, Egan's Please No More appeared on Joe Cocker's "Night Calls" album, which sold more than one million copies.
But Egan is not resting on his laurels. A pianist in the Lafayette-based,
all-star group Lil Band Ol' Gold, Egan and other band mates backed up Thomas, Dr. John, Art Neville, Allen Toussaint and others at a Fats Domino Lifetime Achievement Award performance in January at the House of Blues in New Orleans.
Lil Band Ol' Gold records a Fats Domino tribute album with Robert Plant in the spring. The group will also release a new CD and perform on the high-profile Acura stage at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival.
The Promised Land, a forthcoming independent film, chronicles the band¹s
recording session and a concert in Memphis.
'first you cry' brings tears to my eyes, every time i hear it.
thanks for letting me record the shows.
I love hearing and feeling the vibe of your songs over & over again....
Grammy-Time Is On Their Side!
Irma Thomas After the Rain contains Louisiana songsmith David Egan’s Songs!
Lafayette, LA, December 8, 2006: The National Association of Recording Arts and Sciences announced the Nominations for the 49th Annual Grammy Awards yesterday in Santa Monica, CA. Among the Nominations for Best Contemporary Blues Album was Irma Thomas After The Rain which contains a handful of songs written and/or co-written by Louisiana’s Premier Blues Songster David Egan. This is Irma’s third nomination, and with three Egan songs, perhaps Time Is On Her Side to be third-time lucky with a win! Egan talking about his involvement in the Irma Thomas After the Rain recording on Rounder Records: “I was sole writer on two of the songs, and played on them as well. The third one, Irma had started, Corey Harris had thrown in a couple of lines, and I finished for a three-way split. I also brought in the song, "Flowers", by Kevin Gordon and Gill Owen, which Irma and the guys tore up...I think it will be the biggest Irma record in some time. Small group, Rhythm/Roots sounds and contributions by Sonny (Landreth) and Dirk (Powell), with Marc Broussard doing some backgrounds. Simply some of the greatest vocal performances we have ever heard from the Soul Queen!” The songs David Egan contributed to After the Rain are: Stone Survivor (David Egan); If You Knew How Much (David Egan); These Honey Dos (David Egan-Corey Harris-Irma Thomas.)
David Egan has contributed tunes to 6 Grammy Nominated Albums (including his “Please No More” which was on Etta James 2004 Grammy Award Winner in Best Contemporary Blues Album.) And the nominations are for Best Contemporary Blues Album (Vocal or Instrumental)
• After The Rain—Irma Thomas [Rounder]
• Live From Across The Pond—Robert Cray Band [Vanguard Records/Nozzle Records]
• Sippiana Hericane—Dr. John & The Lower 911 [Blue Note Records]
• Suitcase—Keb' Mo' [Epic/One Haven/Red Ink]
• Hope And Desire—Susan Tedeschi [Verve Forecast]
The 49th Annual Grammy Awards will be held February 11, 2007 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. From L.A. to La.; Time is on her side for Irma Thomas After The Rain to bring the Grammy home for Louisiana!
I'm old enough to remember Egan and the Yat at Enoch's on Centenary. ENOUGH SAID ! Thanx for the add David, and look forward to seeing you again soon. Maybe with the Bluebirds ??
