Before there was Adele, before there was Joss Stone and before there was Carrie Underwood ... there was the blue-eyed country soul of Dianne Davidson. I know because I was there for this record, and for gigs at The Exit/In, the Gaslight Cafe in NYC and The Troubadour in Los Angeles.

I met Dianne Davidson because Betty Smythe, who was the manager of the Gaslight Cafe (and mother of Patty) called me and insisted that I and my Laurel Canyon singing partners, Dori Miles and Anita Ball, get on the D train and get down to the club post haste in order to hear a young singer from Nashville.

We were not prepared for what we heard that evening, and for me, it was a life-changing experience. The sounds coming out of this baby-faced, blond-haired and blue-jeaned 17 year old were thrilling to me, a Brooklyn girl who recognized major soul when she saw it.

To cut to the chase, Laurel Canyon started singing with Dianne, and every night I absorbed the powerful lessons of singing from one�s gut and one�s truth, of striving for excellence, of not being afraid as a woman to be powerful. The record you hold in your hands marks a beautiful moment in time, a convergence of all this talent and passion, with the arrangements led by Dianne on her Martin D-35.

Dianne sings with a grace and wisdom way beyond her tender years �the sessions were loose and stress -free as I recall, as the musicians, a combination of old school country and young blood, created the music. This was all under the watchful eye and ear of producer Audie Ashworth. Sadly, many of the legendary players on this record have passed to another plane: Weldon Myrick, Vassar Clements, John Harris, Honey Combs, Bobby Thompson, and Audie Ashworth.

I can�t tell you how thrilled I am that this music will finally be available to more people with this long overdue re-release. Thank you Dianne for the beautiful songs, the Elliston Place Soda Shop, for the Goo Goo Clusters, all the Jack Daniels, for the complete thrill of letting me sing with you on The Best I Can, for the friendship over the years, and for the inspiration that you were and are. So sit back on the couch, roll you a cigarette, pour a few fingers of Jack ... and LISTEN to the backwoods woman.

Janis Siegel
October 2014
N.Y.C.