Any lover of music has heard of Nashville, Tennessee. Home of the Grand Ole Opry and the Country Music Hall of Fame, Nashville also is affectionately called Music City. It's no wonder that country music lovers and hopeful performers flock to the city, crowding Music Row to bask in the history and exchange stories about their favorite country music stars.
Jill Johnson, a Swedish country/pop star, decided to take a field trip to Nashville, all the while filming the trip as part of a televised documentary. It was then that she met Doug Seegers, a homeless struggling musician, sitting on a park bench. He sang an original song, "Going Down To The River" for her, and she knew she was meeting someone special. She and Magnus Carlson brought him into Johnny Cash's old recording studio and put together the video below. The song was an instant hit. Doug's song jumped to the number one spot on Swedish iTunes, and it even caught the attention of Lionheart Music Group. Doug was given a record deal, and in the summer of 2014, Doug's first album was released. Although it went gold and was a chart-topper in Sweden, he remains a virtual unknown in his home country.
A voice like this, full of soul and history, deserves recognition. It's been a long time since I've heard a song so impassioned. When he sings, "I'm going down to the river to wash my soul again," he paints the painful portrait of a man in constant struggle with his demons, but one who also clings to the hope of redemption.
We hope you were as moved by Doug's song as we were. Please let us know your thoughts in our comments section.
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