Legendary actor Morgan Freeman has accomplished much in his 89 years. Political and environmental activism, his acting legacy, and that commanding yet reassuring speaking voice settle in alongside a dedication to preserving the musical traditions of the Mississippi Delta.
This dedication led Morgan Freeman, with Eric Meier and Howard Stovall, to put together an immersive, symphonic, traveling blues performance. Morgan Freeman’s Symphonic Blues Experience brings the blues to concert halls. That love and respect for the genre and its traditions is now being released as a collaborative album.
Comprised of 12 tracks, Morgan Freeman’s Symphonic Blues Experience, the album, is a celebration of 100 years of blues. Freeman collaborated with many iconic blues and soul artists on the project, covering established classics. Additionally, many of those artists have permanent places in the Symphonic Blues Experience live band. The first single dropped on June 19. It features Freeman and Taj Mahal covering Son House’s 1965 Delta blues classic “Death Letter Blues”.
Morgan Freeman Celebrates the Blues with Collaborative Cover Album
In a statement via Rolling Stone, Morgan Freeman shared his influences for the album. “I heard the blues for the first time on my grandmother’s porch in the Mississippi Delta, and it has never left me,” he said.
Freeman’s childhood was allegedly spread over several cities, but each had its own distinct blues sound. From Memphis to the Mississippi Delta blues, to the surprisingly prosperous blues of Indiana, and finally to Chicago. It comes as no surprise, then, that Freeman’s first album is a blues record.
“Having Taj Mahal kick off this album with a cover of Son House’s classic ‘Death Letter Blues’ strikes the perfect tone for the introduction of this album,” Freeman continued. Notably, this first single dropped on Juneteenth, which Freeman said was deliberate.
“Releasing this on Juneteenth is not just symbolic—it is the truth of where this music comes from and who made it. I hope people listen and remember,” he said.
“This music was born from the same history that Juneteenth commemorates,” said producer Eric Meir in his own statement. “‘Death Letter Blues’ is one of the rawest, most honest pieces in the American songbook, and hearing Taj Mahal inhabit it with a full symphony behind him … is something that is groundbreaking and unique. We’re incredibly proud to introduce our album with this track.”
The album also features performances from Keb’ Mo’, Shemekia Copeland, Anthony Big A Sherrod, Lady Adrena, Keith Johnson, and more. Renditions include Blind Willie Johnson’s “Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground”, Robert Johnson’s “Crossroads”, Roy Hawkins’ “The Thrill is Gone”, and a cover of “I Lied to You” from the 2025 film Sinners.
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