Jackson Harris and his debut single, The Man I Want To Be
By Alan Shipston for Country Music News International Magazine
MJH Records has released, The Man I Want To Be, the debut single and title track from the new album by Jackson Harris. At seventeen years old, he is a sixth-generation musician, singer and songwriter whose family’s footsteps go all the way back to the beginnings of The Grand Ole Opry, where they played in 1926. The Man I Want To Be was written as a testament to how Jackson wants to see his life in the future while it talks of true love and his Christian values being at the center. It is a fresh approach to a relationship song that many will relate to, whether just starting your journey or if you’ve been in love for years.
The song opens with Jeff Partin playing a simple and effective dobro line against a strummed acoustic guitar while the upright bass keeps time. The seasoned pros on the session effortlessly guide the song leaving space for Jackson’s rich country voice as he sings,
“This morning I watched you walk in through the doorway
I couldn’t seem to look away
The moment I saw you, your eyes met mine
Shone bright like stars in the night
And the next thing I knew, I was falling in love with you”
Jackson recruited his father, Mickey Harris who plays bass with Rhonda Vincent and the Rage, to produce this project. From there, he enlisted some of the top musicians and vocalists to make his vision come to life. Recorded and mixed by Jeff Partin at Farmhouse Acoustics in Acworth, Georgia, the session also included Rhonda Vincent on harmony vocals, Mickey Harris playing bass and singing backups, Jeff Partin on acoustic guitar and dobro, while Aaron Ramsey played mandolin and Adam Haynes was on fiddle.
Jackson makes good use of imagery in his self-penned song with harmonized chorus lyrics,
“When you light up my world like the sunrise in the morning
And the stars that never seem to sleep
From the moment I met you I knew that you were what I prayed God would send me
Though you don’t know it now, but know that you’ll see
You make me the man I want to be”
Jackson Harris will draw from the inspiration of his musical family, but he’ll have no problem finding his own path with quality songs like, The Man I Want To Be.