10/29/2021
Ricky Watkins and I are in the midst of reworking an original song named, "You", written by Ricky. The original tune turned out great in my opinion but Ricky and I both felt, the tempo swayed a bit and we could correct that and better the song using my new recording tools.
The lyrics and chord progression was skillfully written by Rickyroo, while the two of us collaborated on giving the song it's finished feel. Ricky is credited with the beautiful beginning, the eerie middle section and the funky feeling end, while I lent my hand at bringing some heavy drop D feel to the over all composition. Mr. Watkins is singing lead vocals while I handle the harmonies and as I stated, Ricky laid down the super cool chords, bringing three different sections and feels, together into one song. I was fortunate enough to be asked to write the solo for the middle piece of the song, so, thx Ricky!
The original collaboration took place in 2012 and was the first or perhaps the second full blown collaboration between the two of us. That was really the beginnings of what would be darn near a decade of friendship and creative endeavors that we would come to share with you from time to time. If you're still reading this, we both appreciate your patience and loyalty to what we love to do. Here' a small sample of the 1st recording. Please stay tuned for the, what we feel will be, an awesome recreation of our first collaboration, "You".
All material is the sole property of, and was written, performed and recorded by, Ricky Watkins and Mark Johnson in, the "Iconica Sight & Sound Studios" facility(my music room😁).
Thx again,
-Mark Johnson