Paal Flaata - Bless Us All - The Songs Of Mickey Newbury

Former vocalist with the Americana band Midnight Choir, Paal Flatta's fifth solo album pays homage to the late great Texan singer/songwriter Mickey Newbury.

Endorsed and praised by Newbury's wife Susan, the album contains eight Newbury originals and two songs co-written by Flatta and his pianist G�ran Grini; Newbury's Voice and For Milton Sim. Of the Newbury songs, probably the most famous is An American Trilogy, made famous, of course, by Elvis Presley who recorded and adopted it as an anthem in his Vegas shows. There have been several cover albums of Mickey's work, and some have accomplished what they set out to do while others have missed something. Paal's album has captured the spirit of Mickey and I know Mickey would have been touched by these tracks. - Susan Newbury

Micky Newbury was known for writing unique songs that covered the whole spectrum of human emotion and experience, from poetic love songs through to songs of anguish and political commentary - sometimes humorous and sometimes dark. His songs were recorded by more artists then it's possible to name here, but they include Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison, Hank Snow, Jerry Lee Lewis, Tammy Wynette, Don Gibson, Charlie Rich, Joan Baez, Tom Jones, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, John Denver, Ray Charles, Kenny Rogers, B.B. King, Linda Ronstadt, Bobby Blue Bland, and Elvis Presley. In 1980, Mickey Newbury was given the distinction of being the youngest songwriter ever inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. He died in 2002 aged 62.