*To hear the music referenced in this article, watch the video here.
I made a choice I regretted for a year.
Then did what I should have done in the first place.
Love Again, the title track from my latest release, is one of the best songs I’ve ever written.
It has a great melody and a wonderful acoustic guitar line. I love the imagery and the message the lyrics convey; it is a great song.
And the final version sounds amazing!
When I wrote it, I was thinking of a song I could sing as a duet with my beautiful wife, Angela.
I frequently bring her on stage; she has a great voice and stage presence, and we have fun singing songs like John Prine’s legendary duet with Iris Dement, “In Spite of Ourselves.”
And, when I was writing Love Again, the song just clicked! It was flowing, and Angela – sitting in the chair next to me, reading – chimed in with a few suggestions for where the song could go. And boom!
It was done. We sang it as a duet, it sounded awesome, and I loved it!
It made me happy.
But when it came time to record in the studio…
I second-guessed my strategy for it.
I was hiring A-list Nashville musicians to play on this album.
I was delegating some of my guitar parts to professionals and not playing them myself.
I had an amazing singer (and former Star Search winner) singing backup vocals on the songs. She brought credibility, an incredible ear (and voice), and was simply spotless in the studio. (Seriously…check out her backup vocals on Lavender Lonely)
Should she be the one singing the duet with me?
Angela is a fantastic singer, but she has also never been in a recording studio or sung on a recording of mine or anyone else’s.
This other singer was a professional.
I was spending a lot of money to make this my most professional recording yet.
I need to do this right.
Let’s do it all with professionals.
So that’s what I did.
And you know what?
It was the absolute wrong choice.
Technically, the recording was brilliant. Professional.
The singer did an incredible job, and you’d probably love it!
But to me, emotionally…it rang hollow.
While I was elated to hear the song come to life in the studio – and it sounded great – something was still missing.
The most important part.
Angela.
The love that defined this song – missing.
The joy I felt hearing it when we sang it together – absent.
The gnawing feeling in my stomach – guilt.
I had traded principle for professional—and I regretted it instantly.
So the song existed for a full year, unheard by anyone.
Unequivocally, this song was ours, not mine. Angela belonged on it. I couldn’t listen to it without her voice on it.
So, a year later, we rerecorded another version with Angela singing on it, and that’s what you will hear today.
And I love it.
Angela sounds amazing.
She may not be a professional singer (neither am I), but now she has sung on a professional recording.
It is the way it always should have been.
That experience taught me:
👉 If you lose the point, it doesn’t matter how perfect the product is.
👉 If you disconnect from your heart, your joy, even your best work, falls flat.
Whether you’re leading a team, launching a project, or creating anything meaningful, you’ll be tempted to sideline your instincts in favor of what looks “professional,” official,” “safe,” or “impressive.”
You may get more likes, comments, followers, and money.
But your work will never matter more to others than it does to you. And if it doesn’t feel true to you, no amount of polish will save it.
Trust your gut.
Stay true to you and yours.
If it’s your song, sing it your way.
If it’s your collective song – sing it together.
Because our voices—imperfections and all—are what makes it worth listening to in the first place.
Let’s Rock This
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