BILL CHAMPLIN - Leon Russell's "A Song For You" (Live at The Church Studio, 2021)

Bill Champlin of Sons of Champlin and Chicago performs a unique version of "A Song For You" during the LEGACY Concert Series at the historic The Church Studio in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

The Church Studio is redefining live music events – bringing a musical revival to a very finite group of 100 guests in the transcendent sanctuary of The Church Studio. The Church Studio, a legendary state-of-the-art recording studio, archive, and historic landmark has scheduled a series of rare but highly curated, intimate concerts showcasing legacy artists. Each concert is undeniably a “bucket list” level experience.

Bill Champlin, vocalist and songwriter for Chicago, is one of the countless musicians who performed alongside Leon Russell and has fond memories of working with him. In this excerpt, after briefly sharing about an experience with Leon Russell and The Gap Band, Champlin covers the first two verses of “A Song For You,” and merges it beautifully with one of his own masterpieces, “A Stevie Song,” from his most recent album, “Livin’ For Love,” accompanied by Grady Nichols on the saxophone.

00:00 - Remembering Leon Russell
01:35 - A Song For You
03:43 - A Stevie Song

SONG: A Song For You
ALBUM: Leon Russell
ARTIST: Leon Russell
WRITERS: Leon Russell

“A SONG FOR YOU” LYRICS:
“I've been so many places in my life and time
I've sung a lot of songs
I've made some bad rhymes
I've acted out my life in stages
With ten thousand people watching
But we're alone now
And I'm singing this song to you

I know your image of me
Is what I hoped to be
I treated you unkindly
But darling, can't you see?
There's no one more important to me
Baby, can't you see through me?
'Cause we're alone now
And I'm singing this song to you

You taught me precious secrets
Of a true love withholding nothing
You came out in front when I was hiding
Now I'm so much better
And if my words don't come together
Listen to the melody
'Cause my love is in there hiding

I love you in a place
Where there's no space or time
I love you for my life
You're a friend of mine
And when my life is over
Remember when we were together
We were alone
And I was singing this song to you

I love you in a place
Where there's no space or time
I love you for my life
You're a friend of mine
And when my life is over
Remember when we were together
We were alone
And I was singing this song to you
We were alone
And I was singing this song to you
We were alone
And I was singing this song, mm
Singing this song to you”


SONG: A Stevie Song
ALBUM: Livin’ For Love
ARTIST: Bill Champlin
WRITERS: Bill Champlin

“A STEVIE SONG” LYRICS:
“It doesn’t really matter who you are
You’re never gonna travel very far alone
A melody you hear it comes across
something on the radio and you’re lost
somewhere deep inside a Stevie song

Music is the perfect path to love
And poetry belongs just because it does
How’re you gonna break somebody’s heart
when you just heard a really soulful part?
somewhere deep inside a Stevie song

How can you hurt somebody?
When something you need had been missing way too long.
Could it be your music may be wrong?

You’re marching in the wrong parade
Following new rules somebody made
When one or two Stevie’s songs
Will take you to where you belong

Just listen for the power in the words
Every note designed to take you far beyond
Never have we been so much in need
Music can forever set you free
Get yourself inside a Stevie song

How can you hurt somebody?
When something you need had been missing way too long.
Could it be your music may be wrong?

You’re marching in the wrong parade
Following new rules somebody made
When one or two Stevie songs
Will take you to where you belong

Music is the perfect path to love.”


Live concert recorded live at The Church Studio in Tulsa, OK, September 30, 2021.
Executive Producer: Teresa Knox
Producer: Grady Nichols
Media Team: Jordan Price, Matthew Simonson, Austin Howerton
Photography: Phil Clarkin

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