Recording Academy Releases New Version of John Prine’s “Angel From Montgomery”

All proceeds to benefit the MusiCares COVID-19 Relief Fund

A diverse group of elected leaders from the Recording Academy have recorded and released a new version of John Prine’s “Angel From Montgomery,” with all proceeds supporting the MusiCares COVID-19 Relief Fund. 

Prine, who passed away in April from complications associated with COVID-19, was recently announced a 2020 Recording Academy Lifetime Achievement Award recipient. During his prolific, nearly five-decade career, he earned eleven Grammy nominations and received two Grammy Awards. 

A group of musicians including Christine Albert, Helen Bruner, Brandon Bush, John Driskell Hopkins, Tracy Hamlin, Tammy Hurt, Eric Jarvis, Terry Jones, Lee Levin, Susan Marshall, Jeff Powell, and Michael Romanowski have come together while in quarantine to recreate the track. 

“John Prine was one of the most influential songwriters of his generation and we joined the world in mourning when we learned of his passing last month,” said Tammy Hurt, Vice Chair of the Recording Academy. “John was a much-beloved country and folk singer/songwriter with a very giving spirit. This project is a tribute to honor that spirit and, in turn, raise awareness for the work that MusiCares is doing to support music creators around the country affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The need is still so great and these times remain critical for music people.”

The MusiCares COVID-19 Relief Fund was created to help people in the music industry affected by the pandemic due to the cancellation of income-generating music events and other industry work opportunities. To date, the fund has raised nearly $15M in assistance. In honor of Prine’s kind and giving spirit, all proceeds from the track, including distribution revenue by Stem, will be donated to the MusiCares COVID-19 Relief Fund.

“We’re so proud that a group of Recording Academy elected leaders have chosen to honor John Prine’s memory by collaborating on a special version of his beautiful, iconic song,” said Debbie Carroll, Vice President, Health and Human Services MusiCares.

“This moving tribute not only honors John, but will generate much needed funds to aid members of our music community in need during this unprecedented pandemic.”

Stem, the leading distribution and payments platform empowering independent musicians and labels with tools to grow their business, has partnered with the Recording Academy to distribute the recreated version of “Angel from Montgomery.” With the assistance of Stem’s unique splits technology, all revenue generated from the song’s distribution on the platform will be donated directly to MusiCares.

“In this time of uncertainty, it is an honor to support the music industry and partner with the Recording Academy to release a new version of John Prine’s classic,” said Milana Rabkin Lewis, CEO of Stem. “Through this partnership, we are excited to enable these prominent organizations to facilitate the release and continue to support those who have been deeply affected by the pandemic.”

ABOUT MUSICARES:

A friend and ally of the music community, MusiCares was established by the Recording Academy to safeguard the health and well-being of all music people. A four-star charity and safety net in times of need, MusiCares offers confidential preventive, recovery, and emergency programs to address financial, medical, and personal health issues. Through the generosity of our donors and volunteer professionals, our dedicated team works across the country to ensure the music community has the resources and support it needs.

For more information, visit www.musicares.org, “like” MusiCares on Facebook, and follow @MusiCares on Twitter and Instagram.

ABOUT STEM:

Stem is a distribution and payments solution that brings clarity to the process of releasing music in today’s industry. Stem’s platform empowers artists and their teams to run their business truly independently by providing music and video distribution, visualized data, dedicated personal account support and simplified revenue splits. With the recent launch of Scale, Stem is able to deploy over $100M of advances to provide artists and indie labels with access to capital. For more information visit: www.stem.is