Gail Swanson Takes a Stand

With “My Mama Marched”

Acclaimed Singer-Songwriter

Celebrates Her Mother’s Rebellious Spirit

With Inspiring New Single

Official Music Video Features Cameos

From Sheryl Crow and The Legendary Willie Nelson 

Listen to “My Mama Marched”

Apple Music | Spotify

Maui, HI-based singer-songwriter Gail Swanson is celebrating her mother’s rebellious spirit with the deeply personal new single, “My Mama Marched,” available now at Apple Music and on Spotify. Produced by acclaimed musician/multi-disciplinary artist Micah Nelson (Neil Young and the Chrome Hearts, Particle Kid), the track is joined by an inspiring official music video featuring cameo appearances from Sheryl Crow and the legendary Willie Nelson, streaming now at YouTube HERE.

“I’ve always wanted to write a song about my mom and have had lots of ideas over the years but none of them ever felt good enough to represent the most important person in my life,” says Gail Swanson. “I grew up in the Chicago area where my mom, Myra Ducharme, was a folk-singing social worker, activist, and feminist. She raised us on her own for years, working as a waitress while going to school for her Master of Social Work during the day. On the weekends she would take my sister and I to the marches and rallies when Martin Luther King Jr. was leading the civil rights movement. We were so young, my grandma was always very nervous about us getting hurt, but my mom really wanted to engrain into our souls how important it was to be there and take a stand.

“My mom was a real badass. Over the years, she helped abused women escape from life-and-death situations and fought hard for the ERA, equal housing and civil rights. My mom was the most supportive person to me in my life and this song is the perfect way to honor her.”

The official music video accompanying “My Mama Marched” was created by filmmakers Todd Soliday and Leah Warshawski (of the award-winning production company, Inflatable Film), with inventive animation by Micah Nelson and the invaluable support of Swanson’s close friend, Annie Nelson.

“I’m lucky to be friends with Todd Soliday and Leah Warshawski and I ran the idea of a video by them,” Swanson says. “We talked about the whole experience of protesting against the insane situation we are all in right now. They immediately got excited and fired off all kinds of creative ideas, they were in! My good friend Annie Nelson was one of my most pivotal and passionate collaborators on this project. We made signs at her house, took a pic of Willie for a cameo – Annie even made the actual “My Mama Marched” sign that we are using for the cover shot. It took a village to bring the song and video to life and I feel like it’s the most important and meaningful thing I’ve done in my musical career and in my life.”

Listen to “My Mama Marched”

Apple Music | Spotify

Gail Swanson has earned critical acclaim and a devoted following that includes an array of famous fans with her heartfelt brand of indie folk songcraft. Her ongoing musical journey brought her to Maui, HI more than four decades ago and there she began performing her songs and idiosyncratic covers as both a popular headliner as well as supporting such icons as Willie Nelson, the Doobie Brothers, Mellissa Etheridge, Lisa Loeb, Leon Russell, David Crosby, Jon Anderson and more. Swanson – who has also won over mainland audiences with shows across the continental US – first attracted attention with her distinctive renditions of such classic rock touchstones as Jethro Tull’s “Locomotive Breath” and the Rolling Stones’ “Sympathy for the Devil” (which drew featured high-profile placement in a number of TV projects). Having established herself with covers, Swanson pushed herself as a songwriter on a series of increasingly diverse releases. Recorded in both Maui and Nashville with a full backing band, 2002’s Living In A Movie earned the Hawaiian Academy of Recording Artists’ prestigious Nā Hōkū Hanohano Award for “Best Rock Album” thanks in part to such original songs as “Half A Heart,” a tender duet with her dear friend Willie Nelson. Simple Truth followed in 2009 which saw Swanson once again sharing duet vocals with Nelson (on “The One That Got Away”) as well as collaborating with Hutch Hutchinson (long time bass player for Bonnie Raitt), and the Doobie Brothers’ Michael McDonald, John Mc Fee, and Pat Simmons, the latter of whom produced and contributed his indelible guitar sound to a number of tracks. Over her long career, Swanson has also asserted herself as a committed social activist, performing at local benefits and marches in support of causes near and dear to her heart. Now, with “My Mama Marched,” Gail Swanson takes a powerful stance with her most personal and outspoken song thus far, fueled by enduring love and passionate commitment.

“I just want to spread the word to people about how important it is right now to stand up and march and resist the things that are unacceptable,” says Gail Swanson. “To exercise our constitutional rights while we still have a constitution. Everything is so upside down right now, and the only thing that makes sense is to stand up and speak out.”

 

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