Americana Highways brings you this premiere of Wilson Banjo Co’s song “Long Hard Day,” written by Copley and Lightman, from the forthcoming bluegrass project Six Degrees of Separation. Six Degrees of Separation was recorded and produced, mixed and mastered by Steve Wilson of Bonfire Recording Studio. Executive producers for the project for Pinecastle Records were Ethan Burkhardt and Lonnie Lassiter. The project was to gather musicians together who had worked with Steve Wilson over the years and record some of the best bluegrass songs out there.
“Long Hard Day” is Sarah Logan on lead vocals; Richard Bennett on guitar; Jason Fraley on lead mandolin; Milom Williams on rhythm mandolin; Tony Wray on banjo; Glen Crain on dobro; Ethan Burkhardt on bass; and Grayson Lane and Steve Wilson on harmonies. Listen to the layers of the stringed instruments spark with mountain bluegrass.
My wife and I first heard “Long Hard Day” on an episode of the tv show The Fosters that we binge watched during the pandemic. While it was playing we both just looked at each other and immediately started to find out more about it. For me, the whole tone of this song sort of represented the feeling of the terrible struggle that we have witnessed our peers, friends, music family and our family, endure during the pandemic. Financially, mentally and physically. Like one “Long Hard Day.” I definitely imagined a swampy, gritty Americana Grass version of the song for the album, brought to life by Sarah’s (Logan) paramount, authentic vocal tones. I couldn’t be happier with the way the custom Wilson Banjo sounds, played by Tony Wray, and everyone on the track as a whole did a killer job. It was definitely one of my favorites on the record to produce. — Steve Wilson