Deborah Berg | Posted on Tuesday, December 25, 2018 at 12:15PM It was an honor to sing the last solo with my choir in the Christmas Eve Special, "A Bold New Love: Christmas Eve with Middle Collegiate Church," which aired on CBS on December 24, 2018.
Check it out here!
Deborah Berg | Posted on Wednesday, December 12, 2018 at 9:25AM Hello Music Lovers,
Happy Holiday Greetings to you!
Today, I'm releasing a new track from my upcoming album "New Road Home."
The song is called "Lady Liberty," and you can download it here:
iTunes: http://bit.ly/LadyLibertyiTunes
CDBaby: http://bit.ly/LadyLibertyCDBaby
Amazon: https://amzn.to/2EsTo9U
Stream it on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2zUmBqH
Please also check out Lady Liberty music video (from Johnny Jake!) on YouTube:
I'm releasing the song early because its message dovetails with an upcoming special musical event.
I've been singing with Middle Collegiate Church Jerriese Johnson Gospel Choir (MCJJGC) in New York City for close to six years.
This year, CBS will air a Christmas Eve service of Middle Church and MCJJGC to be aired nationwide on December 24th at 11:30pm. I have the honor of singing the solo on the classic James Cleveland gospel standard "Long As I Got King Jesus." (I'll share more details about the television program when I get them!)
I feel so free when I sing a big gospel song like King Jesus. It seemed fitting to release Lady Liberty to share at this time as well.
ABOUT LADY LIBERTY:
The lyrics for "Lady Liberty" focus on the symbolism of the iconic statue with emphasis on the Emma Lazarus poem "The New Colossus," which is inscribed on the statue's pedestal.
The poem's most famous lines:
"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
Lady Liberty is a much-admired and respected American monument. Droves of people visit NYC every year to visit it. People whose ancestors came through Ellis Island explain to their children, "This is what your great-grandparents first gazed upon when they came to this country."
We are very aware of Lady Liberty and her presence in our culture, but are we aware of what she represents as an American institution?
By standing proud in the New York Harbor with her torch eternally lit, guiding the way home to hundreds of thousands, Lady Liberty has spread a message of hope and inclusivity to immigrants from all over the world for over 150 years.
Is her message still relevant?
If we say we will support her, does it mean we will support the economy by purchasing posters and foam crowns?
Or does it mean we will support her gracious message to embrace immigrants looking for a better life in America?
This is the first protest song I have written, and it needed help being born. This song best represents what I've been learning as an active member at Middle Collegiate Church. I feel I have the freedom to express my faith in God through community activism when I sing in gospel choir.
I wanted to give Lady Liberty a voice so that she could do the same.
I would love to hear from you,
Love,
xx
Deborah
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"New Road Home," my third solo album, is due for release on February 14, 2019. Join my mailing list to get all the details!
Check out the Lady Liberty music video on You Tube: http://bit.ly/LadyLibertyYouTube
Deborah Berg | Posted on Friday, November 23, 2018 at 5:15PM 
Deborah Berg | Posted on Wednesday, October 31, 2018 at 9:49PM Maybe it is the changing season that has gotten me thinking about two things: how quickly time can sneak up on us and how easily our circumstances can change.
With that in mind, I have put together a Spotify playlist entitled "Hard Times, Troubled Mind" for your Halloween week!
Songwriters often write about difficult themes, probably because pretty much everyone can relate to songs like that. At some point, most everyone will have to face challenges and burdens that are too hard to bear alone.
The musicians who wrote, played, and sang the songs on "Hard Times, Troubled Mind" touch on some of life’s biggest challenges: lost love, divorce, homelessness, systemic poverty, addiction, family troubles. Their beautiful melodies, chord changes, and lyrics make even the most downtrodden message fill up our minds and hearts. Rather than leave us feeling overwhelmed and isolated, these songs somehow give room for empathy or insight or an encouraging reminder of not being alone.
The "Hard Times, Troubled Mind" playlist was also inspired by a troubled song I made up a few years ago, called, Bet on The Horses, which will be on my “New Road Home” record (release date early 2019). In the song, a desperate woman escapes a domestic dispute but ends up accidentally shooting her lover with the gun he was threatening her with. She knows it doesn’t look good. She knows that what she has done will not hold up well in a court of law but she did what she had to, to survive.
However small, along with the inevitable guilty verdict, this fictional murder ballad does offer the girl a glimmer of hope and for a short amount of remaining time, that glimmer of hope is her silver lining. That is where she can dwell; in the fast fleeting, present moment, where she can spend the afternoon at the racetrack with her dearest brother and bet on the gray. . .
I do hope you enjoy these songs. Please let me know what you think of the lineup.
Be safe out there!
Love,
xxx,
Deborah Berg | Posted on Monday, October 8, 2018 at 2:54PM Greetings Music Friends,
I have a little news to report from many parts of my musical life!
In Deborah Berg news -
We are nearing completion of my brand spanking new solo record entitled New Road Home. This will be my third, following Places Where I Dream and No Rush.
This collection of songs is a more pared down style, mostly live recording, very few overdubs, and I am playing all guitar parts. I play mandolin on a couple of the songs as well.
I love my musician mates. More details on all of them in a later post!
My illustrious producer, Ken Rich and I are mixing at Grand Street Studio throughout this month to have ready all the songs to be mastered.
On Friday, November 2nd I will meet with Greg Calbi from Sterling Sound to complete the process with my 10 new songs. From there, it’s on to the manufacturer to be made ready for an early 2019 release date. I toyed with the idea of pressing vinyl this time but after thoughtful consideration, I have decided back off that idea. Instead, we will offer digital downloads and those relics from the past, the CD. We are also working on creating simple music videos for your viewing pleasure on my Deborah Berg YouTube channel.
I am so looking forward to sharing these new songs with you in early 2019.
Watch this space!
In Teaching News-
In NYC, the Singin’ Seniors are at it again at Lenox Hill Senior Center. Our class is a lively, positive singing group of enthusiastic seniors, interested in singing big and having a good time. Some of our songs this session are: Tumbling Tumbleweeds, Strangers in the Night, Hey Baby, and Try to Remember! A December 7th recital is in the books, which we will be sending a reminder out for anyone interested in coming down.
In Eye to Eye news-
Recently, Neta Weisman, a musician from Israel, let Julian and I know that he had recorded a cover version of our very first recorded single, Am I Normal? He said he’s loved the song since he saw our live performance on the television show, Top Pop in Amsterdam back in 1980! His version features vocals by Elinor Fireman in a very faithful homage to my original vocal performance. Their recording is now out in the world, on Spotify and YouTube.
Back to London, 1980, where it all began!
Recording Am I Normal? in London was a blast. We recorded the song at Basing Street Studios with Rhett Davies producing and Jon Kelly engineering.
The players were Julian on keyboards, Gary Twigg on bass, Jeff Seopardie on drums, and of course, me singing lead vocals. No guitars or backing vocals on the song.
So simple!
...Comes alive...Driving auto fast...Exhaust-a-vent...
...Loves to drive...Shifts away from that what’s got her pent...
We were between record companies (that sounds so awesome)--Automatic Records, our London record company, had recently passed our contract on to our United States record company, Warner Brothers. We were about to move to L.A. to begin our first record with Gary Katz producing.
Of course, we now wish we had been taking numerous photographs of those awesome moments but alas, no one was snapping pics. We were just young musicians, working hard, trying to find the pocket and deliver the goods! We do remember going to Manna, a vegetarian restaurant in Primrose Hill in London after the recording. And guess what? It’s still there! All hail the longevity of vegetarians (or at least their restaurants)!
Enjoy the changing seasons, whether you experience them literally or figuratively!
Love,
xxx
Deborah