Luke Winslow-King Returns with New Single “Lissa’s Song” that Pays Tribute to Old Friend, New Orleans Icon Lissa Driscoll
Out Everywhere via Ghost River Records Friday, October 1, 2021
(September 7, 2021) - American folk guitarist and singer Luke Winslow-King returns with his new single “Lissa’s Song.” “Lissa’s Song”, co-written by LWK and Tuscan blues maestro Roberto Luti, is an homage to the late blues lady and New Orleans street singer “Washboard” Lissa Driscoll. The single pieces together the stories she told, songs she sang, and all that she left behind.
Winslow-King earnestly vows to carry her memory forward; “I will keep it with me everywhere I go, and try to give a little, to everyone I know.” The song is a grateful remembrance of a woman whose example and impression remains etched in the hearts and characters of both her once husband Roberto Luti, and Luke Winslow-King.
Those who had the privilege of knowing “Washboard” Lissa Driscoll, can attest that her passing in 2017 left the Seventh Ward hollow. Her one-of-a-kind, bittersweet, country-blues renditions were as raw, authentic, and unapologetically honest as she was. “Lissa’s Song” is a final embrace and send off manifested as some sort of mystical, ritualistic, ceremony taking place along the railway at dusk. Paraphrasing Elizabeth Cotton’s Freight Train, King laments;“We will dig your grave now, Dig it wide and dig it deep, And we will tell the children, That you have gone to sleep.”
Luti’s chugging yet delicate acoustic guitar provides a bittersweet element that harkens back to Lissa’s unique Caribbean-Country infused blues style, laying track for Winslow-King’s echo soaked slide guitar and earnest lyrics: “Listen to the railcar rolling down the track, The lonely whistle told me that you ain’t coming back.” Luke Winslow-King adds, “It’s the song that me and Roberto have been working toward our entire career.”
Accompanying “Lissa’s Song” is an intimate and impressionistic music video that captures the delicate and brave spirit of a woman who made deep lasting impressions on so many. The video artistically expresses sincere love and gratitude while taking you to the very places that Luke and Roberto’s year long collaboration was born. Weaving through the graveyards of Calatayud, Spain, where LWK now resides, the train yards of Memphis, Tennessee, where the song was recorded, and snippets of archival VHS footage of Lissa’s kitchen.
A live in-studio video, and short documentary series featuring interviews, unseen footage, and recordings of Lissa will also be released. Proceeds from the documentary series will go to The New Orleans Musicians’ Clinic (NOMC) (Est. 1998) who provide comprehensive medical care and social services to local musicians, performing artists, cultural workers, and tradition bearers, regardless of insurance status or ability to pay.
Much like all of Winslow-King’s work, “Lissa’s Song” demonstrates Luke’s ability to invite his audience into a contemporary, metaphoric rustic space, adorned with charming and meaningful lyrics. “You’re in every song now, in everything I do, and when I feel I’m sinking, I will reach for you“
Luke Winslow-King’s seventh full-length album is slated to release in 2022 on Memphis label Ghost River Records.