River of Freedom

I had a great day singing in the studio yesterday. Gary Sadler and I are recording a new project that has been in the making for several years. We wrote Ancient of Days together back in 1991 and really didn't co-write much after that. The song continues to be the most recognized and profitable of any other song we have written together or apart.

When Brenda and I moved to the Nashville area in 2001, Gary and I started meeting on Wednesdays to write. We wrote several songs and even started a project but it was postponed. I took a position as a worship leader in 2004 at World Outreach Church in Murfreesboro where I am to this day. My responsibilities there as well many other factors caused our writing sessions to stop for quite a while. Deep within my soul, and as a necessity for my creative temperament, I needed those writing sessions back in my life more than ever. The warmth and friendship that exists between us is certainly a primary reason for getting together. Last year in '09 we started our weekly get-together again, this time on Thursdays.

We pulled out some of those old songs that had been sitting for years, wrote some new ones, and decided on the nine songs we are recording now. The one we were working on yesterday is called River of Freedom. In it we talk about the state of America and its need to turn back to God. It has a black gospel feel but has kind of a "Walking in Memphis" vibe. We brought in my dear friends Todd Suttles and Danielle Cruz along with a new friend, Shirley Settles, to sing. The song sprang to life. We still need to record some horns then get it mixed so we can give everyone an early taste of the new record. We are praying that the other songs in the batch turn out as well. I am confident that they will.

Gary and I hope to have the record out by summer, 2010. Please be on the look out for Sadler/Harvill!