Feature: Deborah Silver's COVID-19 BLUES CELEBRITY REMIX Brings Big Names Together For Charity

Because of the internet and social media, people are always trying to start a movement, invent a hashtag, go viral... ok, look, here's what it is: somewhere, every day, someone is trying to make "fetch" happen. And we all know that "fetch" is never going to happen. But sometimes, something really does happen, and when it does it can be something special and something important.

Deborah Silver was in bed sick. You got it: she had Covid-19. In March of 2020, Deborah was one of the unlucky ones who got it, and she was one of the lucky ones who overcame it (yes, ma'am) but even sick in bed, Deborah Silver could not stop the artist inside of her from creating. The much-lauded singer wanted to do something to help others, as soon as she was well enough and strong enough to do so, and when a person has the musical gift that Ms. Silver has, music is the first place they go.

"During the forty days I was sick with Covid-19, I knew I wanted to help others as soon as I recovered. My husband said 'Why don't you write a song called COVID-19 BLUES?'"

Taking inspiration from the suggestion of her male muse, Deborah would lie in her hospital bed, whispering lyrics into her phone at all hours of the night, and by the time her forty days and nights were done, she was ready to start working with another inspirational male, her longtime friend Dennis Lambert. Deborah called with a suggestion that they sit on opposing sides of her swimming pool and write the song that she hoped would raise money to assist artists unable to create during the pandemic. The idea, while a good one, never came to fruition because the entire song ended up being composed through a series of voice memos flying from phone to phone over a matter of weeks. One month later the song COVID-19 BLUES was finished and a healthy Deborah recorded the tune with her voice-memo mate, Dennis, and their plan to donate all monies from the song's release to charity was set in motion. And that's the end of the story. Or so they thought.

Flash forward to March of 2020, vaccines are rolling out, the country is opening up, there might be an actual end to the real-life Covid-19 blues... but there wasn't. People in Deborah's life and strangers around the country were still feeling the emotional fallout from the pandemic, especially those in show business, which was taking longer to bounce back than the artistic community wished. Again, Deborah had a flash of inspiration... a remix. And a video. And a challenge.

For the remix, Deborah explains she and Dennis both opened their personal phone books to ask "...each individual who we handpicked from different genres of music artists, including ones who are newer to the "celebrity world of fame" and artists who have been celebrities forever such as Tony Orlando and Melissa Manchester - each artist was someone we thought would really add a special vocal part to the song - each of these artists is incredible as a vocalist alone but they each brought a certain passion and understanding of the lyrics and the meaning of the song, and that's what really mattered, as it came from their hearts, and they sang it all from their hearts and their homes!"

With the celebrity performance videos in hand, the duo wanted the general public to get involved, so Silver and Lambert used their social media to throw into the air The Covid-19 Blues Challenge "...asking for everyone to send in video clips of what they did during the pandemic, including what cured their blues, and that is where you will see the additional footage during the video. A lot of healthcare workers got involved and the early reaction (to the song and video) has been truly heartwarming."

The celebrity remix of Covid-19 Blues has a music video where audiences can see the footage Deborah and Dennis got from their challenge, as well as a virtual (literally!) Who's Who of musical celebrities who loaned their time, talent, and beauty to the project. This celebrity remix was produced by Silver and Lambert, with some help from a legendary producer (ok, and drummer) by the name of Steve Jordan. Also sharing their talents on the recording are guitarist Ray Parker Jr., Alan Palanker on keyboards, bass player Leland Sklar, Tom Scott on horns, and Mickey Raphael, who has been Willie Nelson's harmonica player for nearly a half-century. In a special moment of friendship and humanity, Deborah Silver decided that the entire effort should be dedicated to a dear friend that she lost during the lockdown: "I dedicate this video to the memory of my dear friend Mary Wilson, who shared our passion for this project. Unfortunately, she passed away and never got the chance to contribute her remarkable talent to the song. But her joyful spirit and beautiful heart are a huge part of this project."

One hundred percent of all donations from the Covid-19 Blues project are being used to directly help individuals needing assistance due to the pandemic. The Jazz Foundation of America and The Actors Fund of America are the highly-respected organizations earmarked to receive those funds, and Silver says she and Lambert could not be happier about it. Adds Mr. Lambert: "You can hear the passion in the voices of every performer on COVID-19 BLUES. These folks are fed up. Like lions in a cage about to be set free, they can't help but sing about it."

This major talent-laden remix directs all donations and sales to The Actors Fund https://actorsfund.org and Jazz Foundation of America
https://jazzfoundation.org

Additional donations for this charitable project can be made online at www.jazzfoundation.org. (Please designate your gift for "COVID-19 BLUES/Deborah Silver and Dennis Lambert.") Or by mail: Send a check payable to "Jazz Foundation of America" to Jazz Foundation of America, 247 West 37th Street, Suite 201, New York, New York, 20019 with the memo "Covid-19 Blues/Deborah Silver and Dennis Lambert