{"id":15582,"date":"2021-06-28T05:49:23","date_gmt":"2021-06-28T09:49:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/?p=15582"},"modified":"2021-06-28T05:49:23","modified_gmt":"2021-06-28T09:49:23","slug":"feel-good-music-special-starring-phil-wickham-ryan-ellis-home-free-don-mclean-lee-greenwood-and-the-united-states-air-force-band","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/2021\/06\/feel-good-music-special-starring-phil-wickham-ryan-ellis-home-free-don-mclean-lee-greenwood-and-the-united-states-air-force-band.html","title":{"rendered":"Feel-Good Music Special starring Phil Wickham, Ryan Ellis, Home Free, Don McLean, Lee Greenwood and The United States Air Force Band"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3><strong>Here&#8217;s the latest from the crossroads of faith, media &amp; culture: 06\/28\/21<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><strong>Songs of faith, hope and gratitude. <\/strong>As I take off for the Fourth of July holiday (I&#8217;ll be back on 7\/7), I leave you with four songs that will, hopefully, bring a smile to your day and lift your spirits as we all regroup to carry on the gift of freedom that has been gifted to us. No more shame, no more anger. No more being manipulated and demoralized by those who would divide us. To paraphrase Lee Greenwood &#8220;God Bless&#8230;U.S. All.&#8221;<\/p>\n<div class=\"yiv8842804833e2ma-p-div\"><span class=\"yiv8842804833e2ma-style\"><b><strong>1. <\/strong><i><a href=\"https:\/\/t.e2ma.net\/click\/nrw2if\/fplmen\/byxa3u\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Hymn Of Heaven<\/strong><\/a><\/i><\/b>, <strong>Phil Wickham&#8217;s<\/strong> <strong>eighth album<\/strong> dropped Friday, debuting strong on both the iTunes Christian and overall album charts. Encompassing 13 songs, including his multiple-week No. 1 hit <em>Battle Belongs<\/em>, the release is the follow-up to his 2018 recording <i>Living Hope.<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<p><iframe title=\"Phil Wickham - Hymn Of Heaven (Official Music Video)\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/CjB0mkj0XaM?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>2.<\/strong> Also dropping Friday, singer-songwriter <strong>Ryan Ellis&#8217; new single<\/strong> <span class=\"yiv1953191846e2ma-style\"><b><a href=\"https:\/\/t.e2ma.net\/click\/njq0if\/fplmen\/nfv52u\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Heart of the Father<\/a><\/b>. <\/span><span class=\"yiv1953191846e2ma-style\">Sharing about how he came to write the song, Ellis says &#8220;This song was written in a season where I was really discovering the grace of God and His kindness, patience, and mercy&#8230;I was a worship pastor living in a city called Isla Vista, California. The goal behind our ministry was to show the people in the party city that it doesn\u2019t matter where you are or what stage of life you\u2019re in &#8212; there\u2019s always going to be the grace and love of God waiting for you. He always accepts us exactly where we\u2019re at, and walks alongside us. I feel like this song shows what it is to be a believer and how we\u2019re called to walk and love people. I hope this song blesses you.&#8221;\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"Ryan Ellis - Heart of the Father (Official Lyric Video)\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/34GcRkWIY3s?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>3.<\/strong> As Independence Day approaches, the all-vocal group <strong>Home Free<\/strong> is releasing a special salute to the red, white, and blue via their new patriotic album <em><a href=\"https:\/\/2911.us1.list-manage.com\/track\/click?u=bf141dbbd818f4f933816b13a&amp;id=dca44d3547&amp;e=f016c671ec\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Land of the Free<\/strong><\/a><\/em> which includes their memorable duet version of <strong><em>American Pie<\/em><\/strong> with the guy who wrote and first performed it, Songwriter Hall of Fame inductee <strong>Don McLean<\/strong>. The album is available on all streaming services today via Home Free Records.<\/p>\n<p>About the collaboration, McLean says \u201cI am really excited about this version of American Pie&#8230;You know, everyone that has heard it just loves it. I wasn\u2019t sure if I was going to be able to do it because I have always performed with a guitar. I felt I was going to lose my security blanket when I didn\u2019t play guitar on this version. Then, all of a sudden, I started to hear it and it just blew me away. The harmonies that Home Free produce with their vocals reminds me so much of the Jordanaires.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Home Free + Don McLean version of the song was recorded in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic in Nashville, Tennessee, with a video being produced remotely. Check it out.<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"Home Free - American Pie ft. Don McLean (Official Music Video)\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/9RlTZdYXcKg?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<div>\n<p><strong>4. <em><a href=\"https:\/\/2911.us1.list-manage.com\/track\/click?u=bf141dbbd818f4f933816b13a&amp;id=dca44d3547&amp;e=f016c671ec\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Land of the Free<\/a><\/em><\/strong> also features harmonious renditions of <strong>Bruce Springsteen\u2019s <em>Born in the USA<\/em><\/strong>, <strong>Tim McGraw + Tyler Hubbard\u2019s (of Florida Georgia Line)<em> Undivided<\/em><\/strong>, <strong>Brooks &amp; Dunn\u2019s <em>Only in America<\/em> <\/strong>and, perhaps my favorite patriotic song, <strong><em>God Bless the U.S.A.<\/em><\/strong> (in collaboration with singer-songwriter <strong>Lee Greenwood<\/strong> and<strong> The United States Air Force Band<\/strong>. I&#8217;ll leave you with that one. Happy Fourth, everybody!<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"Home Free - God Bless the U.S.A. (featuring Lee Greenwood and The United States Air Force Band)\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/SrMftm6Km3g?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong><em><span class=\"st\">Encourage one another and build each other up &#8211; <\/span><\/em><span class=\"st\">1 Thessalonians 5:11<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Here&#8217;s the latest from the crossroads of faith, media &amp; culture: 06\/28\/21 Songs of faith, hope and gratitude. As I take off for the Fourth of July holiday (I&#8217;ll be back on 7\/7), I leave you with four songs that will, hopefully, bring a smile to your day and lift your spirits as we all&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":225,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,10,1085,7192,14,15,25,1],"tags":[12030,12009,12033,12021,12006,12018,12027,12012,12024,12015],"class_list":["post-15582","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-christianity","category-current-events","category-forgiveness","category-freedom","category-gratitude","category-history","category-music","category-uncategorized","tag-american-pie","tag-don-mclean","tag-god-bless-the-u-s-a","tag-heart-of-the-father","tag-home-free","tag-hymn-of-heaven","tag-land-of-the-free","tag-lee-greenwood","tag-phil-wickham","tag-the-united-states-air-force-band"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Feel-Good Music Special starring Phil Wickham, Ryan Ellis, Home Free, Don McLean, Lee Greenwood and The United States Air Force Band<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, nofollow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Feel-Good Music Special starring Phil Wickham, Ryan Ellis, Home Free, Don McLean, Lee Greenwood and The United States Air Force Band\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Here&#8217;s the latest from the crossroads of faith, media &amp; culture: 06\/28\/21 Songs of faith, hope and gratitude. 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Kennedy","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/#\/schema\/person\/e5d5ef9caeb6b01bcbf08ca6de6591c2","name":"John W. Kennedy","description":"John W. Kennedy is the founder and Dir. of Development of The Creative Universe Entertainment\u2122, a media consultation and development company focusing on the creation, development and support of high-quality mainstream entertainment that upholds positive timeless values, including trust in God. Current projects include \"Bryant Park\" (an uplifting romantic-comedy) and \"Photo Finish\" (an award-winning sci-fi TV pilot). He has written over 100 children's novels based on episodes of the Cartoon Network series \"Ben 10\", \"Ben 10: Alien Force\", \"Ben 10: Ultimate Alien\", \"Ben 10: Omniverse\" and \"Generator Rex\" among others. He also writes Beliefnet\u2019s \"Faith, Media &amp; Culture\" blog. Previously, he has produced successful news and talk programming for CNN, Fox News, Pax TV and SiriusXM. Specialties: Script Writing, Movie\/TV Novelizations &amp; Adaptations, TV Content Creation and Development, Creative Consultation, Producing and Booking News and Talk shows. He can be reached for writing, producing and consulting services at 516-640-1182.","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/author\/jkennedy"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15582","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/225"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15582"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15582\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15606,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15582\/revisions\/15606"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15582"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15582"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15582"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}