Carson Whitsett was in the top echelon of Hammond B3 organ players; he played piano beautifully, and was a songwriting-melody machine. Other than Rap and

Heavy Metal, there isn't any form of American

Popular music he didn't contribute to as a producer,

arranger, songwriter, or session musician.

In one role or another, he worked with many of the

late 20th century’s most notable artists: Paul Simon,

Bobby "Blue" Bland, Conway Twitty, Wilson Pickett,

Jerry Butler, Janis Ian, B.B. King, Connie Francis,

The Staple Singers, Barbara Mandrell, Eddie Floyd,

Lorrie Morgan, Solomon Burke, Joe Cocker, Tony

Joe White, Patti Page, Emmylou Harris, Eric Clapton,

Etta James, Michael McDonald, Mark Knopfler,

Waylon Jennings, and Kathy Mattea, to name a few.

Carson and I were just 18 months apart, so I couldn’t

imagine what life would be without him when he died

in 2007. As it turns out, I feel he’s still close by, ready

with a quip, a pun, or a song for any occasion.

Growing up, Carson’s melodic piano improvisations

floated through our house. There was something

Joplin-esque about them, even Norman Rockwellian:

nostalgic, sentimental, jaunty, and wistful; That’s why

this collection means so much to me. It sounds just

like home, a time magically recaptured when I listen

to this album. My son summed it up this way: We are

lucky and blessed that we can have Carson here with

us anytime we want, just by pushing play.