Doug Parkinson chats career and Janis Ian remembers

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Doug Parkinson - the King of Australian Soul

Australia’s much loved Doug Parkinson, a singer-songwriter, recently released his album titled Give Me The Night. The album is a collection of ten tracks, some of which are newer and some of which are songs that Doug has been working on for some time. Doug describes the album as being like him coming to someone’s house and singing them some lovely songs. During the conversation, Doug talks about the inspiration behind the album and two of his favourite tracks from the album: I Can’t Make You Love Me and Turn Down The Light. He explains that both songs are about a relationship breakup, which is something that many people can relate to. Doug calls this album his quiet album, as it was inspired by the time of deep reflection he experienced during the pandemic. He says it was time to put down his thoughts in song, and he chose to cover the old song Since I Don’t Have You, which has been haunting him his whole life. He explains that he wanted to do the song in a special way and he most certainly has. 

Dear Prudence - what a cover!

The legend that is Janis Ian

Singer songwriter Janis Ian, is celebrating her 70th birthday. Janis recently released a new album called Hope via her website. The album includes a collection of songs from her archive, many of which have never been heard before.  Janis tells us that she is doing well despite the current circumstances (pandemic and lockdowns).  

Janis Ian recently launched the Better Times Project, a project that started out as a way to give others hope in the midst of the pandemic. It has since grown into a collaborative venture between 175 artists, all singing the same song. Janis’ song, Better Times Will Come, has been viewed by over 70,000 people. Before launching the project, Janis had already made a name for herself with her hit song, Society’s Child, which came out in 1966-67.   Janis talks about the power of music when she released her song Society’s Child and the reactions from radio broadcasters and the threats she received. Janis discusses  her heartfelt song At 17 and how it was a reflection of her own struggles in high school. She also talked about her pride in Stars and how that song changed the genre and marked the start of her career as a songwriter. 

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