Listen: Rhiannon Giddens Releases "Hey Bébé" from New Album, "Freedom Highway"

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Rhiannon Giddens has unveiled a third song from her forthcoming album, Freedom Highway, called "Hey Bébé," which you can hear in a lyric video here. The song is one of nine original songs Giddens wrote or co-wrote on the album, which also includes a traditional tune and two civil rights–era songs. She co-wrote "Hey Bébé" with Dirk Powell, who co-produced the album with her. Download "Hey Bébé," "At the Purchaser's Option," and "Freedom Highway" now with pre-orders of the album.

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Rhiannon Giddens, whose new album, Freedom Highway, is due out on Nonesuch Records on February 24, has unveiled a third song from the album called "Hey Bébé," which you can hear in the lyric video below and on Spotify. The song is one of nine original songs Giddens wrote or co-wrote on the album, which also includes a traditional tune and two civil rights–era songs, "Birmingham Sunday" and Staple Singers' "Freedom Highway." Giddens co-wrote the song with multi-instrumentalist Dirk Powell, who also co-produced the album with her.

"This song was inspired by listening to a whole lot of early Creole music star Amédé Ardoin," says Giddens. "I only had one verse when I went to record Freedom Highway with Dirk Powell down in Louisiana—he helped me finish the lyrics and here we are! The bass, drums, and stand-up bass were recorded all in one room ... and Alphonso Horne added his genius trumpet to it all, as well as Desireé Champagne on rubboard. Dedicated to the Zydeco dance at O'Darby's pub in Carencro, LA, and Leroy Thomas and his band."

To download "Hey Bébé" along with the previously released album tracks "At the Purchaser's Option" and "Freedom Highway" now, head to iTunes and the Nonesuch Store, where album pre-orders include instant downloads of each. Nonesuch Store pre-orders also include a limited-edition print autographed by Giddens.

Giddens co-produced Freedom Highway with Powell in his Louisiana studio, with the bulk of recording done in wooden rooms built prior to the Civil War, over an intense eight-day period. The result is an album that is rawer and more personal than its predecessor.

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Rhiannon Giddens: "Hey Bébé" [video]
  • Friday, February 3, 2017
    Listen: Rhiannon Giddens Releases "Hey Bébé" from New Album, "Freedom Highway"

    Rhiannon Giddens, whose new album, Freedom Highway, is due out on Nonesuch Records on February 24, has unveiled a third song from the album called "Hey Bébé," which you can hear in the lyric video below and on Spotify. The song is one of nine original songs Giddens wrote or co-wrote on the album, which also includes a traditional tune and two civil rights–era songs, "Birmingham Sunday" and Staple Singers' "Freedom Highway." Giddens co-wrote the song with multi-instrumentalist Dirk Powell, who also co-produced the album with her.

    "This song was inspired by listening to a whole lot of early Creole music star Amédé Ardoin," says Giddens. "I only had one verse when I went to record Freedom Highway with Dirk Powell down in Louisiana—he helped me finish the lyrics and here we are! The bass, drums, and stand-up bass were recorded all in one room ... and Alphonso Horne added his genius trumpet to it all, as well as Desireé Champagne on rubboard. Dedicated to the Zydeco dance at O'Darby's pub in Carencro, LA, and Leroy Thomas and his band."

    To download "Hey Bébé" along with the previously released album tracks "At the Purchaser's Option" and "Freedom Highway" now, head to iTunes and the Nonesuch Store, where album pre-orders include instant downloads of each. Nonesuch Store pre-orders also include a limited-edition print autographed by Giddens.

    Giddens co-produced Freedom Highway with Powell in his Louisiana studio, with the bulk of recording done in wooden rooms built prior to the Civil War, over an intense eight-day period. The result is an album that is rawer and more personal than its predecessor.

    Journal Articles:Artist News

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