Happy Easter!

There's a not-so-new new video posted, logically, on the videos page at Hensley Farms. It's called "Sing Joy," and the artist called Tony, Tom and Ludwig.

Tony, Tom and Ludwig is not, as you might have expected, a new boy band planning to storm the charts, if there are still actual charts to storm. 

And they’re not boys. Au contraire, mes enfants. While Tony and Tom are relatively normal-age people by human standards, Ludwig is a very senior citizen. In fact, he will be turning 250 next December, raising the average age of the group considerably. 

Wait, I’m lying. That's their publicity bio sheet. This is the truth: 

It’s a holiday, and I thought it would be fun to share this artifact from the last century with you people who hang out at Hensley Farms. 

Truth: while going through my archives during our quarantine, I came across the track, which dated from the early 1970s, when Tony Asher (with whom I was collaborating on some commercials for Mattel), asked if I could record a rather rockish track of Beethoven’s Ode to Joy, which I apparently could. Tony then wrote far too many words and learned the well enough to perform a truly surprising vocal—aided by some of his friends, big-time backup singers in the LA studio scene. I’m not sure exactly who played or sang or just stood around when we recorded this, but I assume everybody who should have been paid was paid. Tony, in case you don’t know him, is a great lyricist and co-writer of songs you probably know, including one we recorded with Neil Diamond some years ago, which remains one of my favorites. 

If you were part of this recording, just convince me and I’ll be relieved to share that information.

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