John's "Anthem for a New Beginning"
"America's Heart and Soul," Blacklight Films' 2004 documentary about ordinary Americans whose lives are really quite extraordinary, will be rereleased starting April 17th with an exclusive 10-day engagement in three test markets-Bloomington, Ind., Madison Wis., and Burlington, Vt. The main title song is John's "The World Don't Bother Me None," which he wrote exclusively for the film. Director/producer/cinematographer Louie Schwartzberg hails it as "an anthem for a new beginning."
"We reached out to John because he embodies America's grassroots," says Schwartzberg. "His music certainly resonates with hardworking Americans and epitomizes the best in the common man. The film is all about recognizing remarkable 'ordinary people'--everyone from a dairy farmer in Vermont to a bike messenger in New York City to jazz musicians in New Orleans, oil well fighters and a blind mountain climber. The real kind of heart and soul of America. In these challenging times especially, we need to reach back and remember and honor the values that made this country great."
Having approached John to write the main title track, Blacklight described for him the film's key themes of freedom, diversity, family, hard work, following your dreams, overcoming adversity. "We needed to give people a taste of all that at the beginning, and being a great artist, John put it all together in one song with a great rock 'n' roll drive: We want people to feel like they're jumping on a train and taking a journey through all these themes, and John nailed it the first time-with no revisions. It was perfect, and I'll always be grateful to him."
"America's Heart and Soul," Schwartzberg continues, "affirms and celebrates the resilience and positive nature of Americans." Besides John's song, it features a great soundtrack of blues, gospel, salsa, jazz, rock and country music. As the legendary Cajun accordionist Marc Savoy states in the film, "It's not just one kind of food or music or landscape. It's the wonderful diversity of this country that makes this place so great."
Schwartzberg, incidentally, supplied film montages that were projected at the Lincoln Memorial inauguration concert that John performed at. "America's Heart and Soul" is available on DVD and can be purchased online by clicking HERE.
"We reached out to John because he embodies America's grassroots," says Schwartzberg. "His music certainly resonates with hardworking Americans and epitomizes the best in the common man. The film is all about recognizing remarkable 'ordinary people'--everyone from a dairy farmer in Vermont to a bike messenger in New York City to jazz musicians in New Orleans, oil well fighters and a blind mountain climber. The real kind of heart and soul of America. In these challenging times especially, we need to reach back and remember and honor the values that made this country great."
Having approached John to write the main title track, Blacklight described for him the film's key themes of freedom, diversity, family, hard work, following your dreams, overcoming adversity. "We needed to give people a taste of all that at the beginning, and being a great artist, John put it all together in one song with a great rock 'n' roll drive: We want people to feel like they're jumping on a train and taking a journey through all these themes, and John nailed it the first time-with no revisions. It was perfect, and I'll always be grateful to him."
"America's Heart and Soul," Schwartzberg continues, "affirms and celebrates the resilience and positive nature of Americans." Besides John's song, it features a great soundtrack of blues, gospel, salsa, jazz, rock and country music. As the legendary Cajun accordionist Marc Savoy states in the film, "It's not just one kind of food or music or landscape. It's the wonderful diversity of this country that makes this place so great."
Schwartzberg, incidentally, supplied film montages that were projected at the Lincoln Memorial inauguration concert that John performed at. "America's Heart and Soul" is available on DVD and can be purchased online by clicking HERE.