With Sevendust frontman, Lajon Witherspoon
Lynn Strait was not only an artist that I loved; he was an artist that I looked up to and a dear friend. When he passed away, that was the first young person in our lives to pass away. I was so young. For us to be touring and to know him, it was just very hard to deal with. Then all of sudden, we were asked to do a song for the tribute album for Lynn. Clint (Lowery) and I said, “Yes let’s do it.” We were on tour, Clint had the music written. We had kicked it around and I had written only the lyrics “One last song, given to an angel’s son.” That’s all I had. Two lines of a chorus. I had no verses to the song whatsoever. I just didn’t have it in me because I didn’t understand death, or what had happened to my friend. Then we went into the studio one day. I remember seeing some of the guys from Lynn’s band from behind the glass. I was nervous wreck thinking — I am going to let these guys down because I don’t have anything. I don’t know what to say because I can’t believe this has happened to my friend. I just put it in the lord’s hands and I promise you, that music came on and the first thing that came out was “life is changing.” For whatever reason, I still get the same feeling, even when I just said it, something just comes over me. Then, I didn’t have anything for the second verse and I had the same nervous feeling again. When it came time to sing something over it, once again, the words just came out.
That song, to me, will always be very special. It’s manifested too. It’s become almost like a beautiful celebration. It’s something to hold on to and gives you a reason. I believe that, whoever we relate the song to, it keeps the legacy alive.
~Lajon Witherspoon
Sevendust plays their 20th anniversary show, performing their debut album in full, tomorrow -3.17.17, back where it all began — the Masquerade in Atlanta, GA.
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~Feature in collaboration with/produced by: Jeff Gorra
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