Keb’ Mo’ and Old Crow Medicine Show have teamed up to put a happy face on the wait for a COVID-19 vaccine with “The Medicine Man”. The cheery new single arrived on Friday and offered some positivity as people around the country hurry up and wait for their vaccines.
The single finds Keb’ Mo’ taking lead vocals and Old Crow Medicine Show providing some of its patented laid-back roots stylings. “The Medicine Man” brims with joy even as Mo’ explores many of the complex, and downright depressing, issues facing society today. From the pandemic itself to the fallout surrounding former President Donald Trump‘s 2020 defeat, to simple mask requirements across the country, Keb’ Mo’ sings the news set to a sauntering groove backed by fiddle and banjo.
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“I was taking some time out at our house in California with my family,” Keb’ said in a statement. “We were locked in and staying away from people. Doing Zoom writing appointments, watching Dr. Fauci on TV doing interviews, and it sparked some ideas. This was one of those songs that just came to me, and quickly. I woke up early one morning and wrote the whole thing in about 15 minutes.”
According to Old Crow frontman Ketch Secor, this collaboration was a long time coming:
I called [Keb’] up two autumns ago and asked if he’d hold some dates to play some live shows together and he said, ‘Can’t now, but soon.’ Well, soon enough came around again this past December when he sent me a brand new song he’d written a few hours before. The song shook me up and I wrote back to him that night in December, ‘We got to rush this out soon. Real soon.’ Old Crow jumped right into gear, recording Keb’s powerful song of the times within days of the ink drying. It was a joy. It felt dutiful, meet and right, urgent, essential. And harmonious.
Listen to “The Medicine Man”, the new single from Keb’ Mo’ and Old Crow Medicine Show. Scroll down to see the full lyrics.
Keb’ Mo’, Old Crow Medicine Show – “The Medicine Man”
[Video: Keb’ Mo’]
[H/T Rolling Stone]