{"id":3543,"date":"2011-08-21T00:02:31","date_gmt":"2011-08-21T07:02:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/?p=3543"},"modified":"2011-08-21T00:03:15","modified_gmt":"2011-08-21T07:03:15","slug":"jonathan-edwards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/2011\/08\/jonathan-edwards\/","title":{"rendered":"JONATHAN EDWARDS"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/h1>\n

JONATHAN EDWARDS<\/h1>\n

How Mr. \u201cSunshine\u201d found an audience without the help of the music business<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\u201cSunshine,\u201d the Top 5 hit from Jonathan Edwards\u2019 self-titled 1971 debut album, announced his arrival with a bang. But the Minnesota-born singer and songwriter proved unable to follow that now-classic tune with another big pop hit\u2014a quandary that he ascribes in part to troubles with his management. \u201cSuddenly I had some street cred and respect in the business,\u201d Edwards recalls. \u201cBut I was getting lousy advice and lousy decisions were made on my behalf. And because I hired those people and they worked for\u00a0me, I took the heat.\u201d<\/p>\n

He may not have returned to the\u00a0upper regions of the charts, but Edwards was determined and talented enough to build a sizable audience that has kept him going for 40 years now. His diehard listeners have hung in through some protracted absences\u2014in fact, the new My Love Will Keep<\/em> is his first studio album in more than a decade. \u201cI\u2019ve been working on the live show, and the studio has been on the back burner,\u201d he explains, speaking from his home on the coast of Maine. \u201cI really don\u2019t have any excuse. I was just waiting\u00a0for exactly the right time.\u201d He spent more than a year recording the new album before the time felt right for a release.<\/p>\n

Edwards has always followed his instincts, through forays into country music, kids\u2019 songs and other stylistic wanderings. \u201cI depend on the situation and how I\u2019m feeling,\u201d he says. Half originals, half covers, the new album is filled with Edwards\u2019 blend of freewheeling folk and casual country. \u201cI like to do music with a little intelligence now and then,\u201d Edwards says. \u201cTo me, it\u2019s always about the song. I don\u2019t care who wrote it. I love to write and it\u2019s the greatest thing in life. But if I find a song that fits what I want to say and feel I can do it justice I will.\u201d<\/p>\n

Consequently, My Love Will Keep<\/em> takes several unexpected twists and turns. An ambitious cover of the Beatles\u2019 \u201cShe Loves You\u201d turns the once-raucous number into a dreamy ballad. \u201cI think it works. People stand up after we play it in concert. Maybe they\u2019re ready to leave, I don\u2019t know,\u201d he says with a laugh. \u201cI wasn\u2019t trying to disguise it. I just wanted to do an outside-<\/p>\n

the-box arrangement that went a little deeper.\u201d Other tracks include \u201cJohnny Blue Horizon,\u201d a tribute to his late friend and fellow troubadour John Denver; \u201cSurrounded,\u201d which Edwards penned several years ago but hadn\u2019t quite yet found the right album to include it on; versions of Jesse Winchester\u2019s \u201cFreewheeler\u201d and Henry Gross\u2019 \u201cEverybody Works in China\u201d; and his own \u201cCrazy Texas Woman,\u201d inspired by the time Edwards spent in\u00a0the Lone Star State.<\/p>\n

Edwards has attempted on occasion to retire, but always finds himself engaged in some creative pursuit before long. He\u2019s worked on documentaries and film soundtracks and as an actor, but these days he prefers to focus on his own music. \u201cI\u2019ve mostly been on my own,\u201d he reflects. \u201cI\u2019ve never really had anyone in charge of the business end of what I do. I just do what I know well, which is to play music. I knew I never wanted to be a record company executive. I\u2019m all about the music, but I\u2019m not so much about the music business.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2013Lee Zimmerman<\/strong><\/p>\n


\n<\/strong><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

JONATHAN EDWARDS How Mr. \u201cSunshine\u201d found an audience without the help of the music business \u201cSunshine,\u201d the Top 5 hit from Jonathan Edwards\u2019 self-titled 1971 debut album, announced his arrival with a bang. But the Minnesota-born singer and songwriter proved unable to follow that now-classic tune with another big pop hit\u2014a quandary that he ascribes […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18],"tags":[2436,1634],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3543"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3543"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3543\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3547,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3543\/revisions\/3547"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3543"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3543"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3543"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}