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Song Stories

“Louisiana Fairytale”

Jim James and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band | 2010

My Morning Jacket singer Jim James sat in with these traditional New Orleans old-time jazz legends for a song on a benefit effort to support the group. First recorded by early jazz great Fats Waller, this version hews closer to that than anything written by MMJ. For authenticity, it was recorded at Preservation Hall's hallowed French Quarter home base, where fans can see the band nightly. "What a thrill," recalls James. "We did it old-school: all live with no electricity, and the garbage trucks even played along!"

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Song Stories

“He Will Break Your Heart”

Jerry Butler | 1960

A lightly swinging Latin-influenced, almost cha-cha groove and close harmonies decorated Jerry Butler's early soul hit "He Will Break Your Heart," delivering a stately warning that his rival would never love his girl like he did. The melody came to Butler as he was driving on the highway from Atlantic City, New Jersey, to Philadelphia with Curtis Mayfield, and as Butler told Rolling Stone, "I just sang the melody and Curtis put the chords to it." The song's premise, Butler added, "was something that I'd lived ...The lyric was an experience rather than a revelation. Whereas music is usually a revelation."

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