DESCRIPTION:
All three versions of 'Don't Number Us' by Chris Birkett & Joyce Aldrich NOW on iTunes! http://www.musicvos.com/joyce-aldrich...

Chris Birkett Version
Instrumental Version
Joyce Aldrich Version (Listen on YouTube https://youtu.be/wrUDbgUPQUk)

The Back Story...​

Almost a year ago, on the saddest holiday on the Jewish calendar, Tisha B'Av, I sat in the synagogue, as we recalled the destruction of the Temple. We also listened to many stories and watched many videos of tragedies that had occurred that year, for our people. All were very sad.

After one of the videos, one of our Rabbis asked us to write a letter about something we would promise to do, for a man I did not know. His Name? He was Gavriel Sassoon, who had lost seven of his eight children in a fire in Brooklyn, just months before. Only his wife, Gayle, and their 13 year old daughter, Tzpara, were able to jump from the second floor of their burning home. Gabriel was not home, at the time...one of the rare times he was away from his family. The fire occurred on Shabbat, when he was at another synagogue on a retreat. Please watch this wonderful video featuring Gavriel Sassoon delivering his message of how he survives, after experiencing his own Tisha B'Av. https://youtu.be/z86OWhxVIMc.

​In ​my letter to Gabriel Sassoon, I promised to write a song dedicated to the memory of his children. I had no idea what I was going to write. I didn't want to write a song about the tragedy of the loss of seven children in a fire. Instead, it had to be hopeful. I went home that day, and the words started streaming into my head, along with a melody. The song started out, 'Don't number us, don't call our name...' At first, I thought I was getting a song about the children, but as the song fell into place, it became a song for all G-d's children...about the Parsha about the census...about hope... about antisemitism...

For many months, I sat on this song because my mother died on August 22nd, 2015, and I had a lot to deal with, on all levels. So, I did what I had to do. Early this year, I went into the studio to start putting down the track. My dear friend and record producer, Chris Birkett, recorded a guide vocal track for the song and when I came out to listen, he mentioned how I had the same chord progressions as 'Windmills of My Mind' by Michel Legrand. It wasn't the exact melody...but too, too darn close for comfort! I needed to come up with a new melody... a bit hard for me, though, as my songs usually come together...lyrics and melody...

After labouring over a new melody I, finally, asked Chris to write one, as I just couldn't get a handle on it. He asked me to send him the lyrics and got back to me, within hours, to tell me he had a beautiful, haunting melody for the song. Man, I thought, this guy is amazing...which he is, but this was something else!

It happens that when Chris was living in Paris, he was dating a Jewish lady, who he would go to synagogue with. He was quite entrenched in Jewish culture and he had heard a lot of sacred Jewish music. One day, in Paris, several years ago, a melody came to him and he recorded it on his iPhone. He never had lyrics to go with it, but always knew it was a Jewish song. He filed it away and, pretty much, forgot about it.

I guess you can guess the rest. It's pretty amazing. Except for needing to add two syllables to three lines of the verse, my lyrics fit very well into Chris' melody...including the refrain. Effortless. Meant to be.

And, there's more...something I didn't know about the Sassoon children, until I was writing the dedication of 'Don't Number Us' to them on the CD cover. You see, I never looked anything up, after I had watched that excruciatingly painful video we watched last year. As I read one of the few articles I found, I sat in amazement as I read the Sassoon children had recorded a song two weeks before the fire. The song was 'Cry No More.' My heart jumped and I searched YouTube to find the recording of the song. Here is the song the children sang...

Cry No More - Sassoon Family - https://youtu.be/W18mQd2VSSw

It is with great humility, sadness and hope that 'Don't Number Us' is dedicated to these angels...

Joyce
...and I speak for Chris, too...

Artist Contact Info:

Chris Birkett: www.chrisbirkett.ca

Joyce Aldrich - https://www.reverbnation.com/joyceald...

Natalie Wong_ http://www.niagarasymphony.com/about-...

Leo Zhang - http://www.urban-gypsyband.com/