Hear My Daddy Pray

Nobody could pray in ”Jesus Dear and Precious Name” like my father, and I loved the way he’d use a certain tone in his voice that let you know he was getting through. Mother played the piano or organ for nearly every church service, and she always directed or sang in the choir too. Dad and us five kids usually sat in pretty much the same spot so mom could come down to sit with us during the sermon and then sneak back up to play for the invitation hymn. Growing up going to Church every Sunday played a large part in making me who I am today, and it was good to Hear My Daddy Pray.

Hear My Daddy Pray

Critiques, comments, complements, or any suggestions for improvements are all welcomed. Thanks

Tom,
Very clear sparkley mix. Caused some good memories to surface for me.
Thanks for that. Hope your still having fun with JS2.

Tom,

Really good heartfelt song with a simple- but always true- message. My dad was similar- church attendance was not an option at our house, and he was a good man who believed. And I have some Easter Sunday pictures like the one you posted with this song.

The country accoustic instramental and your earnest vocal matches the good sentiments expressed here perfectly.

Enjoyed it,

Bert

Thanks John for staying up so late and listening to this right after it hit the air. I hope I didn’t wake the house. Thank you for the nice comment on the lyrics.

Bruce, Glad to hear it brought back fond memories. Just visited my folks in Arizona last month and they’re having to move to get dad into assisted living. It got me thinking, and remembering, and writing. Yes, those are great memories. Thanks for the props on the mix and of course I’m still loving JS2. Phil sat on the stool for this one.

James, Thanks for the comment on the vocals. I almost decided not to put the song out this weekend as I thought I might need to re-record the vocals. It was like my voice is changing or something (and I knew I’m way too old for that). Resonator.

Bert, That photo was taken Easter Sunday 1960. That’s me on the right, the baby. When I got the idea for the song, I knew it had to be a country song. Glad you liked the way it came together.

Martin, Thanks for taking the time to listen and for adding such a nice comment. It mean a lot to have someone of your talent and ability take the time to post on this forum. It makes me feel pretty good to know you enjoyed the song.

Tom, another nice song. I like the lyrics on this one. Good catchy melody. Did you do the slide stuff? It's really good.

Max Arwood

Just got in after an all day/all night shift... This was a pleasent treat :-) I really like the slid on this one Tom, top notch. Are you using an open tuning? And if so, is it an open G?

Nice work Tom, really liking the slide dobro, piano sounds great right in step with the happy shuffled drums. Vocals are strong and confident. Cool sentiment and story line too .. "no regrets" .. powerful. The mix is nice and clear but there is something about the high high end that seems a little hyped or overdone to me (headphones), just a little too crispy if you know what I mean. Excellent piano in this .. would be cool to hear you cut loose for an 8 bar solo or something . Great job, the song has a sense of ease and comfort about it, straight from the heart.

Janet, when you like the keys I know I’ve done well with them. Thanks for saying so! Glad you enjoyed listening.

Max, Thanks for listening. No, not me on the resonator, I wish it was but I am pretty stoked about the way it sounds and have been dreaming about getting one. I appreciate your kind comment on my lyrics.

Jason, Nice compliments. Thank you for being a fan too. I very much appreciated it.

Robby, Good to hear from you. Only virtual instruments, samples, synths, computer program generated stuff is used in the making of my music. The only live instrument is me, singing. I am extremely happy with the realism of both the resonator and the electric guitar on this piece.

Mark, I’m glad you liked it. Film soundtrack. Wow, that would be too cool! Thanks for taking a minute listen to my song and add this comment.

Bill, The resonator is my favorite part of the accompaniment too. Thanks for the compliment on the vocals. I may have left a little too much above 8kHz and that’s what you are hearing. I should let some one with younger ears than mine help me with the high end EQ. I don’t really hear that high, and definitely not hearing above 10, so it’s a guess for me in that range. I kind of thought about a solo somewhere on this but liked the lyrics, felt they repeated themselves the way I liked and was afraid of the song being too long. And leaving someone wishing for more is not a bad thing. Your comments are great and mean a lot to me. Thanks for taking the time to write it out for me.

Frank, Thank you kind sir. If you enjoyed listening that’s a good thing, ‘cause you’ve definitely got a great feel for music. I love hearing yours.

Hear My Daddy Pray

Hey, Tom,
Really good work on this! Love the resonator. piano sounds really good as well. nice vox, clean and clear.

the only crit I have would be that the instruments are almost overpowering the vox and I might suggest backing them down a little and letting the vocals come up in the mix.

good as it is, tho!

Tom

This is superb. A nice clean clear mix and all well played. I love the run down (under 'How I loved to hear') during the Chorus.

You've got a very pleasantly distinctive voice and have sung this well and I agree with Reece it can come out from 'under the bushel' a bit.

Great song evoking some great imagery and again this is augmented by your usual excellence at creating a realistic stereo sound stage.

Top Quality.

Jon, That progression in the chorus is one of my favorites too. Thanks for the comments on the voice. I tried recording with difference tones until I found the one I liked the sound of and thought was best for this style and then tried to sing though the whole song using that style, but I found myself taking on my father’s praying accent/lisp tone, even after rehearing over and over trying not to. I didn’t want to splice multiple takes together fearing they would each have a different distinct tone. I finally got through it in an acceptable manner and am a little shy to boost up the volume fearing any gaffs will stand out. I appreciate the comment on the imagery. That really mean a lot to me.

Dave, buddy! A signature TD piece, eh? Speaking of signatures, some of the folks at work are teasing me that I’d better get stocked up on sharpies. They were in my office bright and early this morning to tell me I’d moved up in the charts, which I’m sure they had all contributed to by playing it on about every PC in the place yesterday. People in Oklahoma really like country music. A guy who used to work for me here in Guymon, but has now transferred to headquarters in KC, made a similar comment to what you said about me being a storyteller. I’m pretty stoked about how well received this song has been, even by people who don’t work for me anymore.I even got invited to appear on a country music TV show in Nashville (I think they just want to sell me a music video though). Thanks for listening and commenting on my tune. I’ll take a listen to see what I can do with the drums.

Hear My Daddy Pray

Tom,

Nice job, as usual. Your vox are better every time. Arrangement is stellar and that dobro playing is extra-sweet.
My guess is you're the first on the left in the little pic. Yes?

Tom - great tune and love that Dabro!!! I'm always thankful for growing up in church myself. I love the grass-roots/story-telling song.

The mix is very nice and the country western style of the song is good. The lyrics are great. Great job.

Tom...congrats on the #1 soundclick song position. Not an easy task to accomplish....to bad there isn't a check to accompany it....or at least a plaque.

Anyway....good song. The vox are nice and bright, the instrumentation is good...all around good job.