NAACP award-winning author, Grammy-nominated producer, and multimedia storyteller The Reverend Shawn Amos shares “Back To The Beginning,” the second single from his upcoming album Soul Brother No. 1. The song builds from a slow-burning soul groove to a revelatory crescendo courtesy of the celebrated Nashville gospel group The McCrary Sisters who lend their powerful vocals to the song. Soul Brother No. 1 will be released on May 3 via Immediate Family records.
“It’s a song about looking yourself in the mirror and learning to love what you see,” writes Amos. “Like much of the album, it’s also a reminder that our time here is limited. We can use it hating or use it loving. I’m working hard to love.”
Soul Brother No. 1 represents both the culmination of a unique, two-decade-plus artistic career, and a breakthrough in a journey of self-exploration. From the get-go, Amos has expressed an ever-evolving musical vision through rootsy Americana, singer-songwriter pop, and, as harmonica ace The Reverend Shawn Amos, the blues. Through The Rev persona, Amos immersed himself in African American culture, directly linking to the ongoing story of his people’s struggles, triumphs, and unshakable joy. “The whole reason I started playing the blues,” he says, “was it connected me to my race in a way that I hadn’t fully understood. With Soul Brother No. 1, I’m taking that journey even deeper.”
Amos and producer James Saez (Social Distortion, The Road Kings) crafted a sonic landscape full of the socially conscious ’70s soul/funk that inspired Amos in his youth. The two assembled a dream team: drummer Steve Ferrone (Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, Average White Band, Chaka Khan), bassist Jerry “Wyzard” Seay (Stevie Nicks, Keb’ Mo’, Mother’s Finest), keyboardist-songwriter Dapo Torimiro (Lauryn Hill, Earth, Wind & Fire), and longtime Amos guitarist Chris “Doctor” Roberts.
In the thick of making Soul Brother No. 1, Amos realized, “I’ve spent so much of my life partially dimming my own light. No more. With this album, I am uncovering every last fucking root, undoing my own programming. I was brought up to think I was white, cut off from my own roots. No more. I spent weeks trying to figure out who this version of Black Pride is for me. Now I know. Soul Brother No. 1 is who I am.”
