For Life Story Writers

Life stories have long, high-jumping, fast-running legs. They can heal, pass on culture and history to future generations, and set the record straight. They leap into memoirs, autobiographies, songs, poetry, visual art, satires, cartoons, novels, and fact-based fiction. If you're already writing your life stories, or planning to, I hope that my writing journeys shared here will give you ideas for where your journey can take you.


Links to My Released Albums and Songs

These are my released albums. The link for each sends you to the CD Baby web site, where you can listen to a sample of a track and/or download it. You can also download these albums or individual tracks on every web site that carries music, including Amazon, Rhapsody, and iTunes. 

Note that all of my songs are registered with BMI, the organization that helps to ensure we get paid when our music is played on TV or radio, or in live public concerts.

One-Way Conversations

On this album I'm singing five of my favorite one-way conversation songs that I've written. The first three tracks are my recordings of songs Kay Williamson wrote. 






 
Gonna Love All Those Hurts   
 
This is a collection of country songs, some sincere, some tongue-in-cheek, written by talented songwriter Kay Williamson. Over the years, when she finished with a new song, I was the lucky one who got to go into the recording studio with my keyboard and demo them for her. Many of her songs won awards, and my vocals performed in "Another Time” won an international award. 


Single Released April 2011


I Stand for Canton

I love this up-tempo big band swing song! My happiest memory is jitterbugging to it out in the street with my tap dancing teacher. It's so joyful and fun to listen to--I'm glad I wrote it! Residents in the Canton area might already be familiar with it; it's been played for events since 2007. Now everyone can find it. Download it for $.99 and let me know what you think.


Spiritland



This album reflects, celebrates, and affirms life's sacred journeys in this eclectic mix of serious to silly jazz, talking blues, country, and pop songs and song-stories. I wrote all of the songs with the exception of two songs that Bob Dubik of St. Augustine wrote and gave me permission to record: "Love Is" and "Celebre."

Since their release in 2004, the songs on this album have had some major successes. "Sunday Blessing" was played in a segment on ABC "World News Now" one evening in 2007. I found out when BMI sent me a hefty royalty check. "Cake Song" on this album is the most frequently downloaded of all my songs on the Internet.  My recording of "Celebre" (music and lyrics by Bob Dubik) opens a movie.

I recorded the vocals in Leon Olguin's S.O.L.O. Creative Media studio. Leon plays most of the music on the tracks--keyboards, bass, and drums. Becky Bolt sings harmonies on "Divinely Guided" and Daina Gold sings harmonies on "I Praise You, God." Recording artist/jazz pianist Ron Tiexiera added his talent on "Sunday Blessing," "Celebre," and "Love Is." Bo Frazer plays his personality fiddle on "Say Howdy." Bo also plays the guitar track on "Search for Myself." He didn't complain at all on grinding out that repetitious chord pattern!

Divinely Guided: Meditation Music for the Day


Simple, original, inspiring messages in haunting melodies and lush vocals, along with musical interludes, create the gift of time and space for meandering in quiet personal meditation, or in group-guided meditation led by a spiritual leader.

These are my three music/vocal tracks over which Paula Langguth Ryan recorded her meditations in our popular Face to Face album shown below.


Face to Face:  Meditations for Spiritual Guidance

Inspirational singer/songwriter Renelle West and popular author/speaker Paula Langguth Ryan offer three nearly-twenty-minute meditations of the spoken word and music to quiet and comfort the soul.