"Baby Maybe" music and lyrics by Liona Boyd
From the CD LIONA BOYD SINGS SONGS OF LOVE
Released by Universal Music Sept 22nd 2009
Guitar and vocals Liona Boyd and Srdjan Givoje
Beach scenes Liona Boyd and actor Frank Campana
Finally after so long I'm thrilled to announce that my long awaited CD "Liona Boyd Sings Songs of Love" is being released in Canada by Universal Music on September 22nd!!!. It will be available for purchase on this site and stores across Canada. It basically took me four years to complete this project which I think is my best CD ever, and I know you're going to love it! It contains seventeen songs interpreted by myself and my guitar and singing duo partner originally from Dubrovnik, Croatia Srdjan Givoje. We are both singing in harmony throughout the record and accompanying ourselves on the guitar. You'll recognize no doubt, the beautiful "The First Time ever I saw your Face" which I've never heard sung before as a duo. I also secured the rights to interpret and write my own English lyrics to two of the most haunting love themes ever written. Previously they have only been interpreted in Italian and Spanish and became mega-hits around the world, recorded by everyone from Andrea Bocelli, Pavarotti, Josh Groban, Julio Iglesias etc. I have three special guests who join me, the American guitarist Esteban adds some light flamenco touches to one song, my dear late friend Oliver Schroer plays fiddle on another and Doug Emery and Christopher Glansthorpe add their soulful piano and cello to the very last piece.
The CD is my longest ever and runs one hour and five minutes. When Universal Music first heard the album they loved it and signed me on the spot. If the album does well in Canada, (as I'm hoping it will with your support!), in 2010 it should be available around the world. Without sounding boastful I wanted you to know that there is no other album in the world that sounds quite like this one and the blend of our two voices has a very unique quality, soothing, relaxing and uplifting. You'll also hear a lot of soulful guitar playing throughout and seventeen melodies that will stick in your head for sure. In order to accomplish this album I had to turn my life upside down including moving four times and getting divorced, so that just shows how very important it is has been to me. Even the CD booklet is exceptional, as it runs 24 pages and contains all the lyrics to the songs and many photos.
Now to the second part of my story. About nine years ago I started to develop something called Task Specific Focal Dystonia, which quite often affects musicians, and in my case the right-hand fingers that I took for granted all these years . Rather than go into a whole explanation I'm going to copy the short bio that John Santana, a renowned program director from Los Angeles was kind enough to write for the CD booklet. After reading it, you'll understand why I've been absent from the concert stage for so many years. I truly do feel that this condition that has afflicted me, has been a real blessing as it opened up this wonderful new career as a singer/songwriter and will enable me to once again touch people's hearts around the world as I did for many years as a classical soloist. Since I was five years old I have been been writing poetry, songs, short stories, etc. and of course wrote a book too. I now believe it was always my destiny to sing and write songs, even though if you had told me at age six, when I was thrown out of my English school choir, I would never have thought it imaginable! But life works in mysterious ways and I want to be an inspiration to everyone out there who's ever had a dream that they never thought was possible. I also want to warn fellow musicians ( many of whom are still, as I've been, "in the closet" re: FD ) about the danger of over practice which is what causes focal dystonia to happen in the first place. Ironic isn't it that loving to play an instrument too much can actually backfire? In my case it almost destroyed my life and I'm so grateful to have found a happy and positive solution.
Last month, one beautiful summer day on a little island off the coast of Greenwich, Connecticut, my producer, camera man and I filmed a music video from one of the pieces on this album and I hope you enjoy watching it as much as I did making it. The man singing with me in the studio is Srdjan Givoje, and the man kissing me on the beach is Frank Campana, an actor I hired for the day through a New York modeling agency. Almost everybody I showed this video to got confused and thought they were the same guy, and he must for sure be my boyfriend. Both of these men are happily married guys (and I'm still single) so I wanted to make it clear! Ha ha maybe I have an acting career ahead of me, not that running around on a beach with a handsome Italian ex-SWAT team officer 13 years younger than me was exactly hard work. The other thing you might be interested to note in this video is the special technical effect that happens when I'm singing in the studio and all the fabric is moving in slow motion. I had to sing the song very very fast sounding like some crazy chipmunk on speed and then when the producer slowed it down, my lips more or less matched the music, yet the dress and I were floating in slo mo.
To launch the record next week Srdjan and I will be singing and playing guitar on Canada AM ( Canada's version of the Today show) at approximately 8.15 AM September the 22nd, and I'll let you know as more TV shows are announced. I was lucky to be on the cover of two magazines this month and Al, my wonderful webmaster, will be posting them somewhere on the site.
Autumn is already in the air in my little Connecticut village and the summer has flown by all too fast. I cannot wait to be back on stage again, and thanks for your patience all these years that I haven't been touring and getting to see many of you as I used to. Now finally you'll understand why, and my evasive responses re concerts. I have two additional sites full of friends, MySpace and Facebook ( which has already filled up to its 5,000 quota I learned yesterday, wow thanks everyone, but you can still register as a fan.) Thank you once again for supporting me all these years and I know you'll also support this new adventure I'm embarking on in a few days. Don't expect me to sound like Celine Dion, but unless you dislike good melodies and are not a romantic I know you're going to LOVE everything about this duo CD!!!
Love as always, Liona September 2009
Bio taken from the Sept 22nd release by Universal Music Canada of "Liona Boyd Sings Songs of Love" with Srdjan Givoje. two guitars and two voices
(John Santana, program director K-Mozart, Los Angeles and programing consultant WQXR New York)
A virtuoso performer and composer, Liona Boyd is known internationally as "The First Lady of The Guitar." Her Gold and Platinum selling records have been awarded the music industry's top honours, including five Junos. Her artistry bridges the gap between Classical and Pop, and she has collaborated with many renowned performers such as Sir Andrew Davis and the English Chamber Orchestra, John Williams and the Boston Pops, Yo Yo Ma, Georges Zamfir, Chet Atkins, Eric Clapton and David Gilmour. Liona has appeared in television specials around the world and has graced symphony halls in the Far East, theatres, community halls, and stadiums across North and South America, opera houses in Europe and castles in England where she has performed recitals for the British Royal Family.
Liona Boyd's life had always been a whirlwind of composing, recording and touring, but in 2003 she was diagnosed with the "incurable neurological disease" of Task Specific Focal Dystonia. She was devastated to discover that her beloved guitar was the cause. Years of repetitive guitar movements had caused her brain maps for the right hand fingers to lose their clarity and the neuroreceptors to smudge. Even a simple arpeggio had become uncoordinated. This was the condition that derailed the careers of many performers such as renowned pianists Leon Fleisher and Gary Graffman.
For many years Liona had tried to determine what was going wrong with her fingers until doctors at the the National Institute of Health in Washington, D.C. told her that nothing could ever restore her playing. They claimed the damage was irreversible. She was determined to find a solution and consulted specialists around the world while witnessing her playing deteriorate. In 2003, realising she could no longer perform to her own high standards, she left the concert stage.
Until the release of this CD only a few close friends and family have known about her condition. Seeking a way to use the guitar in a less demanding fashion, and an outlet for her creativity, Liona decided to take up singing, something she had never felt possible ever since she was thrown out of a choir at the age of six. Nevertheless, in 2004 she began songwriting and moved from Los Angeles to Miami. While there she discovered a guitarist from Dubrovnik, Srdjan Givoje, who before coming to the USA had been part of a famous Simon & Garfunkel style duo in Croatia. His voice and Liona's seemed to have a special magic together, and adding his harmonica and whistling resulted in a unique sound. Liona flew to Europe to meet with Djelo Jusic, Croatia's most revered and loved classical composer, who gave her permission to write English lyrics to some of his haunting melodies that had never been heard outside his country.
After relocating to Connecticut, Liona made a CD with Srdjan and her music producer friend, Joanne Perica. With the exception of one song, Liona wrote all of the lyrics and composed many of the melodies. She also persuaded the European publishers of two mega hits in Spanish and Italian, "Abrazame" and "Caruso," sung respectively by Julio Iglesias and Lucio Dalla, to let her write English lyrics to these two songs for the first time. Srdjan set about arranging the majority of the guitar duets and the vocal harmonies while Liona contributed some of the more elaborate guitar parts. Having written poetry since she was a child and being "an incurable romantic," Liona now had a chance to express herself in a whole new medium. She realised that Focal Dystonia, which had seemed such a curse in her life, had actually opened up a new door and had blessed her with her second career as a singer/songwriter. Her "Little Sea Bird" seems an obvious allegory for her own life struggles. Liona still has to contend with Focal Dystonia, and may never be cured, but through painstaking retraining she has been able to make some progress. She writes, "I'm thrilled to have found such a fulfilling way to deal with this challenging condition. Focal Dystonia has led me on a tough but fascinating journey of self discovery. I've poured my heart and soul into these songs. I'd like to dedicate them to all those who long for romantic love and to those who believe in their own impossible dreams. I'm also determined to warn fellow musicians who may not be aware how much they can be harming their brain through over-practice."
Liona's affection for melody and words is evident throughout this recording. Her guitar still speaks with the special touch, tenderness and passion that has always characterized her playing. Srdjan's guitar skills and tenor voice provide a perfect accompaniment. Listening to this lovely collection of songs, we are about to discover a whole new dimension to Liona Boyd.
Dear very patient fans and friends, 
Last month, one beautiful summer day on a little island off the coast of Greenwich, Connecticut, my producer, camera man and I filmed a music video from one of the pieces on this album and I hope you enjoy watching it as much as I did making it. The man singing with me in the studio is Srdjan Givoje, and the man kissing me on the beach is Frank Campana, an actor I hired for the day through a New York modeling agency. Almost everybody I showed this video to got confused and thought they were the same guy, and he must for sure be my boyfriend. Both of these men are happily married guys (and I'm still single) so I wanted to make it clear! Ha ha maybe I have an acting career ahead of me, not that running around on a beach with a handsome Italian ex-SWAT team officer 13 years younger than me was exactly hard work. The other thing you might be interested to note in this video is the special technical effect that happens when I'm singing in the studio and all the fabric is moving in slow motion. I had to sing the song very very fast sounding like some crazy chipmunk on speed and then when the producer slowed it down, my lips more or less matched the music, yet the dress and I were floating in slo mo. 
Autumn is already in the air in my little Connecticut village and the summer has flown by all too fast. I cannot wait to be back on stage again, and thanks for your patience all these years that I haven't been touring and getting to see many of you as I used to. Now finally you'll understand why, and my evasive responses re concerts. I have two additional sites full of friends, MySpace and Facebook ( which has already filled up to its 5,000 quota I learned yesterday, wow thanks everyone, but you can still register as a fan.) Thank you once again for supporting me all these years and I know you'll also support this new adventure I'm embarking on in a few days. Don't expect me to sound like Celine Dion, but unless you dislike good melodies and are not a romantic I know you're going to LOVE everything about this duo CD!!!