Rock-and-roll icon Grace Slick (Jefferson Airplane, Jefferson Starship) and OC singer-songwriter Michelle Mangione wrote a song called “The Edge of Madness” to raise money for aid to Louisiana.
The song, which features over 20 musicians and singers other than Slick and Mangione, pays tribute to the musical legacy of Louisiana, and will benefit fishermen and musicians in the areas hardest hit by the disaster.
]
It debuted at the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles last week.
Local resident Mangione met Slick through a mutual friend, and the duo worked together on “What is a Saint,” the title track of Mangione's 2009 CD. She explained, “Grace was so pissed off at what was happening (or what wasn't happening) in Louisiana. She said she felt helpless and wanted to do something, so she sent some lyrics asking if I would write a 'Louisiana style' song for the lyrics that we could release–donating funds to the people hit hardest. Sharing her frustration with the situation, I finished the song.”
Mangione started asking other artists to pitch in–Billy Zoom (X), Tom Dumont (No Doubt), Martha Davis (the Motels), Terri Nunn (Berlin), Bill Medley (the Righteous Bros.) and more are all part of the recording.
Most of the recording was done in Mangione's bedroom studio and over the Internet.
The track will be released on an independent label and is now available for a download purchase from The GRAMMY Museum's site. Proceeds from sales will be donated directly to the The Greater New Orleans Foundation's Gulf Coast Oil Spill Fund and the MusicCares Foundation.
