If there is one piece of his life that singer-songwriter Josh Kelley is more than comfortable displaying, it’s how he feels about his family. The central line running through My Baby & The Band, out today, is the contentment he’s found in his life with his wife and three kids. Kelley paints a picture of a man who has found his place nestled deep into the small mountain town they call home, along with everything that entails: the simple, extraordinary moments, the disagreements, the makeups, and a deep love for one another. It’s wrapped in sonic packaging that’s true to who Kelley is, clear in its reverence for a great voice and song but unafraid to experiment with new textures surrounding it.
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The album’s most recent release, “Hold Me My Lord,” exists thanks to some divine intervention. Originally written while searching for a thread of hope for himself, Kelley realized the world overall could use some of the same, resulting in the powerful video released two weeks ago. Co-produced by Grammy, Emmy and Dove award-winner Shannon Sanders, the track includes the addition of the remotely-recorded 30-member All Voices choir. My Baby & The Band traces Kelley’s and his family’s story, a scenic walk through the evolution of a relationship, family, and growth. Kelley solidifies himself as a talented vocalist and lyricist while tapping into the details of everyday life: watching his kids develop their own personalities and continuing to find new reasons to love his wife after 15 years together. “We Don’t Need The Money” offers a good bit of groove; “Back To You” begs for a sing-along, and “If That’s Alright” continues the theme. “You Can Count On Me,” with background vocals from his kids, takes its sonic inspiration from Bill Withers and Shuggie Otis, written with Alen Chang. “I Want You Tonight” and “Loves You Like Me” are straight-up love songs. “You And I,” written with Nashville songwriter Dustin Christensen, slows things down with an ode to an all-consuming kind of love. Kelley also wrote the album’s title track with Christensen, all about sitting back with the one you love and listening to timeless music, in this case, specifically The Band. My Baby & The Band follows the release of “Love Her Boy,” a clever, smooth and soulful number employing wordplay, and “Busy Making Memories,” a deeply personal excerpt, written on New Year’s Day while watching his kids play. Kelley and his wife, Katherine Heigl, collaborated on the video, featuring treasured memories and adventures on their ranch. Kelley produced and engineered the single himself; and in fact, creates most of his music in a barn that he’s converted into a studio. Kelley released his solo debut, Changing Faces, while attending the University of Mississippi, and subsequently signed a record deal with Hollywood Records. His mainstream debut, For the Ride Home, found a Top Five single with “Amazing,” and his second album, Almost Honest, included the Top Ten single “Only You.” Kelley later released four independent albums, between 2006 and 2008; Georgia Clay was released in 2011 with MCA Nashville, and 2015’s New Lane Road with Sugar Hill Records. In 2017 he independently released an album of covers, titled Under the Covers, Vol. 1, and a holiday album, Christmas Traditions. Kelley has appeared on “TODAY,” “Good Morning America,” “The Ellen Degeneres Show,” “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” “Live with Regis & Kelly” and “Last Call with Carson Daly,” and his songs have been featured on such shows as “Smallville,” “Scrubs,” “Brothers and Sisters” and MTV’s “The Hills.” Kelley also wrote and performed the theme song for the TV sitcom “Mike and Molly,” scored the feature film Home Sweet Hell, and created the theme song for TV’s Golf Channel. |
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My Baby & The Band Track Listing: 1. We Don’t Need The Money |
The central line running through Josh Kelley’s upcoming album, My Baby & The Band, set for Nov. 13 release, is his family. It’s fitting that the video for his gospel-soaked next single, “Hold Me My Lord,” was made with them in mind. The song was co-produced by Grammy, Emmy and Dove award-winner Shannon Sanders and includes the addition of the 30-member All Voices choir.
“I think in the instance of this song, my heart was calling for hope. I was trying to muddle through the dark nights of my soul and how I’ve managed to find my way again and again. When we started putting the video together for this song, we realized that this world has been suffering through a dark night of the soul. Despair, hurt, anger, violence, pain, suffering, disease and death have been the headlines every day for the last eight months,” Kelley said.
“I realized this song that came through me speaks to more than my own suffering. It speaks to humanity’s,” Kelley continued. “The video felt like an opportunity to unite us in our pain and in our hope. It felt like a way for me to make one small difference in this tumultuous time so I can look at my children, years from now, and tell them I did something. I didn’t just bury my head in the sand, or hide from the pain, or run from the fear. I did what I could do, and I did it for them.”
