GIVE TO THE GRANNY PROJECT

Remembering singers who went unsung with new recordings of daring songs about hot-button topics and female empowerment.

“In 2013, I was asked to perform at a club that caters to the more “adventurous” in NYC. They loved my voice and asked if I knew of any racy tunes. I was kind of dumbfounded, but it piqued my curiosity, I started to research and there they were … albums of them! While many were written for and by men, there was a gold mine full of songs written and sung by women as well.  This opened a door for me to explore, which I did. Each of these “dirty” songs was extremely funny and very rich in double entendre and poetry. Then I found an equal cache of songs about marijuana and other taboo topics. They all came from 1910-1950. I was hooked."

Rev. Mary Elizabeth Micari, founder of The Granny Project

Now it’s time to take this further.

It’s time to commit these songs to modernized audio … and video … recording for a new generation. 

The Granny Project is planning to create a music video and audio recording of the ground-breaking tune, My Daddy Rocks Me. This is the first song ever recorded that mention the then-unheard term … Rock and Roll. This will be the first song but certainly not the last. We want to create excitement ... and interest. 

Rev. Mary and her company have chosen Freddy’s Bar & Backroom. This club is a replica of the original speakeasy by the same name in the heart of Brooklyn.

Rev. Mary is in negotiation with guitarist, Jontavious Willis, to join the company.  

"That's my Wonderboy, the Wunderkind," says Henry Saint Clair Fredericks, better known as American blues musician, Taj Mahal, "He's a great new voice of the twenty-first century in the acoustic blues. I just love the way he plays," he concluded. “Only a few like him emerge every decade or so, when even the most hard core blues fans realize immediately that this is the real deal," writes Frank Matheis in Living Blues Magazine.

Who better than Willis to back-up Rev. Mary and help keep the torch lit for this kind of music and for helping memorialize these great old tunes and the musicians that created them?

Sounds great … but the project is millions of miles away in terms of budget.

What We Need & What You Get

My Daddy – the recording and the video needs:

• A cinematographer
• A director
• Costumes
• Make-up
• Lighting
• Sound and sound editing
• Location expenses
• Various fees and stipends
• Licenses, permits, and insurance
• Contract creation
• Transportation
• Performance and video rights
• Marketing and public relations
• And so much more.

Contributors will receive rewards such as free tickets to all live Granny’s Blue-Mers shows; autographed music and photos with the company; a free concert at the event of your choice (birthdays, weddings, holiday parties, etc.), and even being an extra in the video itself according to the contribution amount.

The Impact

"As my research went further, I’d discovered that many of the female artists who sang these tunes were brave to do so at that time. The sad part was that – now – so few of these songs were ever published or notated and a really heartbreaking amount of the singers were never even given credit at all.

I had a mission … yes, this was for entertainment but also for enlightenment … and education as well as fun. After all, these songs are celebratory and make people laugh and smile.  They were created at a time when that was sometimes hard to come by, very similar to now."

Mary Elizabeth Micari

Risks & Challenges

To stand in a club or bar and sing these songs and mention Trixie Smith, L'il Johnson, Bessie Smith, Julia Lewis, Sophie Tucker, and Ida Cox, is great. The audience loves it and everyone laughs and dances and just forgets their cares for a short time.  However, to be able to commit these songs to freshly video and recording using updated modern digitized equipment and using the internet with its reach to so many on social media will open the ears of so many more to this 100 plus year old music that is not only fun but historic and quite interesting. 

Professional video equipment and the individuals trained to use them costs money.  We also need to secure rights and proper insurance. We have the passion, we have trained and talented singers willing to donate time and energy; we have the music and have spent many hours notating them - some from scratchy records from as much as 100 plus years ago. NOW, we need the nuts & bolts! 

Other Ways You Can Help

Know someone with professional equipment looking for a tax-write-off? Know someone with sound editing equipment? How about video lighting ... or a costume collection ... or a lawyer needing pro bono work ... or...

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-granny-project/x/20513385#/