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'Long Way to Heaven' is a track Wily Bo Walker has been playing in his set for almost 20 years. Autobiographical and written of a time when he lived in Marseille, France. Places mentioned in the song are real (given poetic license!) and the song still evokes a whole load of memories for Wily Bo when he perform it.

This version came from Wily Bo's 'Moon over Indigo' sessions so features Danny Flam & the New York Brass as well as Cenovia Cummins' String Quartet amongst the fine players involved.
Danny worked the arrangement of this version and has done a stellar job as always.

On a side note, Cenovia Cummins' Quartet has worked with and been featured on recordings by Rod Stewart and Barbara Streisand!

The late, great Benjy King played Hammond and the rest of his band (Patty Smyth's 'Scandal') provided the backing (Keith Mack, guitar; Eran Asias, drums, Tom Welsch, bass).

Kareña K added her backing vocal arrangements to the song after it was recorded.

Said of this track:

"what a wonderful sound-scape that record has…" Paul Long - Blues & Roots Connections

"the amazingly voiced Wily Bo Walker & Kareña K…" Pete Feenstra - Blues & Rock Show

"Long Way To Heaven …could have been written for Joe Cocker to power out at Woodstock" John Bottomly - Blues in the North West

lyrics

THIS IS THE STORY OF JOHNNY AND LOUISE
DOWN ON KENNEDY BOULEVARD
COULD BE THE STORY OF YOU AND ME
LOSING TRACK OF THE FOLKS WE BOTH ARE
SOME HOLD ON TO DREAMS
SOME HOLD ON TO THE FEAR
THEY’RE JUST GROWING OLD…
LOUISE TURNS TO JOHNNY
PUTS HER HAND INTO HIS
WITH A SMILE THAT ONLY HE KNOWS

SUCH A LONG WAY TO HEAVEN
SUCH A LONG WAY HOME

JOHNNY SAYS “LOUISE, I DON’T KNOW
HOW FAR WE’VE COME DOWN THIS ROAD
THIS TOWN DON’T HOLD THE SAME FASCINATION
I DON’T KNOW WHICH WAY WE SHOULD GO”
HE LOOKS ACROSS
TO THE SUN SINKING DOWN
IN THE SHIMMERING, SHIMMERING GOLD
‘I DON’T KNOW WHAT THEY CALL A PLACE YOU CAN’T RETURN FROM…
LORD…
I DON’T WANT TO KNOW’

SUCH A LONG WAY TO HEAVEN
SUCH A LONG WAY HOME

TIRED AND ALONE
AND A LONG WAY FROM HOME
JOHNNY AND SWEET, SWEET LOUISE…
PULLED THEIR HOPES
OUT OF THE OCEAN
HAND IN HAND IN THE SWEET SUMMER BREEZE

SUCH A LONG WAY TO HEAVEN
SUCH A LONG WAY HOME

WHEN YOU’RE DOWN UPON YOUR LUCK
YOU’RE LUCKY TO HAVE SOMEONE YOU CAN HOLD
A LONG WAY TO HEAVEN
A LONG WAY HOME…

© 2012 Wily Bo Walker. All Rights Reserved.

credits

from A Long Way From Heaven, released January 26, 2015
Wily Bo Walker - Vocals / Tambourine
Kareña K - Backing Vocals

Drums - Eran Asias
Electric Bass - Tom Welsch
Keyboards - Ruslan Agababayev
Keyboards - Benjy King
Guitar - Keith Mack
Trumpets - Tony Gorruso, Michael McGovern, Kenny Rampton
Trombones - Daniel Flam, Steve Withoft
Saxes - Ron Bertolet, Mark Gatz, Nir Naaman

The Cenovia Cummins String Quartet:

Cenovia Cummins - Violin
Louise Owen - Violin
Alissa Smith - Viola
Laura Bontrager - Cello

Arranged by Wily Bo Walker & Danny Flam

Produced by Wily Bo Walker

Engineering: Daniel Flam, Blue Tha Engineer, Wily Bo Walker

Recorded at: Brown Sugar Studios, New York & Wily Bo Studios, London, UK

Mastered at Abbey Road Studios, London, UK

license

all rights reserved

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Wily Bo Walker London, UK

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