Country Artists Combine to Tell Story of America's History with Music

This Is My America, a three-disc project that tells the story of America's history using songs and spoken narratives, employs the talents of 56 award-winning singers and songwriters to complete its task, including Dolly Parton, Kathy Mattea, Charley Pride and many more."The 'star' of this project is a place called America," said David Hutton, the Canadian producer that developed the project. "Portraits of the American experience have been expressed and distributed through film, television, recordings and countless literary works, but I wanted to tell it in a more inventive way that respects and reflects today's American values. What better way to do that, than through the international language of music?"The project, which is one of the most expensice ever recorded in Nashville, also includes North American Songwriters Association composers, such as Charlie Black, Rory Bourke, Beth Nielsen Chapman, Roxie Dean, Steve Dean, Matt King, J Fred Knobloch, Wood Newton, Tim Ryan, Bill Shore, Sharon Vaughn, Jon Vezner, Jim Weatherly, Brian White, Lynn Wilbanks and David Wills.Performers like Mark O'Connor, Billy Dean, the Nashville Symphony and the Fisk Jubilee Singers, in addition to Parton, Mattea and Pride, also grace the CD.This Is My America touches on themes important to America's journey through time, such as Americans, European exploration and Western settlement, plus specific events such as the arrival of the Mayflower, the California Gold Rush, the Civil War, World War I and II and the recent tragedy of Sept. 11, 2001. Currently, the project is available online at www.ThisIsMyAmerica.com.