Fund-raising collection of country and pop classics

Former Arkansas governor, part-time bass player and conservative television pundit Mike Huckabee has joined with singer-songwriter Aaron Tippin and producer James Stroud to create this collection in support of the National Association of Music Merchants Foundation’s Wanna Play Fund. The fund sponsors research and public education, raising awareness of music making’s educational and health benefits. This CD project will help fund community-based programs that provide music education and instruments to children. Five of the ten tracks (1, 5, 7, 9 and 10) are newly produced (though you’d be hard-pressed to tell Neil Sedaka’s re-recording of “Laughter in the Rain” from the original), while the rest are pulled from the artists’ existing catalogs. Governor Huckabee plays bass on Aaron Tippin’s celebratory title tune, as well as on Louise Mandrell’s cover of Don Gibson’s “I Can’t Stop Loving You.” There doesn’t seem to be an underlying theme to the song selections (and “Honky Tonk Women” is an odd pick for an album associated with children’s education), but the joy heard in these performances aligns perfectly with the fund’s messages about the enriching nature of music making. [©2010 hyperbolium dot com]

The I Wanna Play CD’s Home Page
The Wanna Play Fund’s Home Page