Illinois Entertainer December 2020 | Page 18

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DON also a songwriter , but back then I suddenly had to come up with new things all the time . So I thought , “ Well , I ’ ve done three of my own albums , so now

DM : Well , I ’ ll go into the studio and come out with like , 40 songs . I ’ ll do some songs of my own , and some by other people . And I usually do it in Nashville , because all of my players are there . So after I made the “ Botanical Gardens ” album in 2018 , I had five songs left over , along with 20 other ( cover ) that I already had , so I just edited that down and thought , “ Hey — let ’ s make an album out of this ! But what do I call it ? I know — ‘ STILL Playin ’ Favorites !’”
IE : It ’ s kind of ironic — like The Simpsons , everybody around the world is taking the time to look up and view
Don McLean

12 • 2020

I ’ m gonna do some songs that I really wanna do .” So there was a song on there I covered called “ Mountains of Mourne ,” which became this big hit in Ireland and the U . K ., and it ’ s still a song that people know me for over there . But it wasn ’ t written by me — it was written by a guy named Percy French , a very famous writer in Ireland .
IE : Why make a sequel now ? the Starry , Starry Nights again in this reflective post-pandemic era . DM : Yes . And you know , the next time I actually get to go out and play a concert , I ’ m going to be might appreciative of all this . It ’ s not going to just be a job anymore .
Tom Lanham
18 illinoisentertainer . com december 2020