We’ve all been in that dark, despairing place that multi-talented singer/songwriter DeeAnn sings of on her soulful, deeply passionate new single “Stay Here with Me.” We thought we had met the mate of our dreams, only to question everything when he or she walks away, sometimes without reason or warning. No matter what we’ve been through, we remember how it felt to be with this person who changed our life and we’ll do anything to have just a little more time.
Recorded live at Red Booth Studios in Rochester, NY with a full band and string quartet, “Stay Here with Me” was originally released on DeeAnn’s 2019 EP Stay Here, but now makes the perfect follow-up single to her remarkable 2023 breakthrough album It’s My Time. There were a lot of possibilities to choose from, including any of the beautifully arranged standards and originals from her latest collection. She chose “Stay Here with Me” because it’s become a much-requested staple in her live performances at Buffalo hotspots like Sportsmen’s Tavern, PAUSA Art House and the historic Colored Musician’s Club.
DeeAnn could never have imagined it at the time of recording, but the concept of “Stay Here with Me” extends beyond the realm of romantic longing as an expression of her grief and enduring love for her son William, who passed away in a motorcycle accident at 23 not long after she and Odel had completed most of the tracks of It’s My Time.
When DeeAnn returned to finish It’s My Time, she added several new, very personal songs, starting with a heartrending, gospel-influenced version of “You Are My Sunshine”, a song she sang to William to put him to sleep when he was a child. Odel’s sensitive yet rousing and inspirational production features members of the Buffalo Philharmonic String Quartet (Roman Mekhulnov). Another original tune she added, the soulful ballad, “A Little Romance,” is a homage to the “angels” who helped her during her lowest points.
The singer laid the foundation for her newly burgeoning career with her cleverly titled 2017 collection Desperately Seeking DeeAnn.
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