“The World Needs Music,” the title track for composer Richard Peshkin’s recently
released album, is a fun, beautiful pop song that shares a royal lineage in both its
musical heritage and message.“It’s fairly obvious that the world is in a total state of disunity, chaos and disharmony,”said Richard, “and there’s so little that unites people and so much that creates
divisions.”And music, he said, is one of the two things he’s seen that unites people. The second is
sports.“You can go to a football game, and you don’t even know the person next to you, never
met him, but if you root for the same team, by the end of the game you’re high-fiving
and hugging, and you might have hated the guy under other circumstances.”
Then there’s music. “When you go to a concert, and you have 40 thousand or 50 thousand people, and some are white and some are brown, some are yellow, some are gay, some are straight
and some are everything,” he said, “and they’re all there in unity to celebrate the power
and the beauty of music.”And now there’s “The World Needs Music”:
The world is an angry place to be We’ve got to sing, not shout We need to figure it out
A way to sing away the hurt we feel today Let’s put it in a song it’s better
The song, beautifully sung by Kelsey Demsky, who also stars in the video, was
produced by Mick James, known for his work on Criss Angel’s Mindfreak show. Mick
was the producer for the entire album, which features Kelsey as the female vocalist and
Dan Brenner as the male vocalist.
Richard, a retired physician, has been writing songs since he was 10, when he
copyrighted his first song, “Nadine.” He has been composing ever since. In 2019 he
wrote the music and lyrics for a musical comedy, Boca Bound,” which was on the ballot
for Grammy nomination.
The 10 tracks of “The World Needs Music,” the first recording he has released, have
attracted a wide audience so far. A second album, again featuring Kelsey, Dan and
Mick, is ready for release around March, and a third is in process.
He writes his own music and lyrics.
“That’s something I pride myself in,” he said. “Some of my musical heroes did, some
didn’t, and it’s kind of neat to do both, so you don’t have to answer to any critics.”
Now we come to musical ancestry. His heroes of musical composition include Hal
David, Carole King, Paul Simon, Neil Diamond, the stars of Motown, James Taylor and,
the chief idol in his pantheon, Burt Bacharach.
“Burt Bacharach has had an enormous effect on me in my life through his music. I’ve
seen him in concert in various venues throughout my life, and his music has meant
more to me than I could ever put into words. The lyrics written by Hal David, of course,
were unbelievable.”Bacharach wrote the music and David the lyrics for 1965’s hit “What the World Needs
Now.” Sixty years later, the song still enjoys great popularity. For a couple of decades, it
was an anthem of a movement to unite people in their common humanity.
“The World Needs Music” is “kind of an homage to that song but brought up into another
time period where people can celebrate the unifying value of music.”
“We can all sing together and maybe put aside our differences,” he said.
He hopes that his song will become an anthem for things that bring people together.
“When I wrote it, Mick, my producer-arranger, and I discussed the instrumentation and
everything because we wanted it to sound like something you could sing at a high
school or middle school, a grammar school or college. I could always picture young
children singing it together in harmony — there’s a lot of harmonies in that song —
before they learn how to hate.”
The album is a demonstration of what he wants music to do for people.
“What I want is for people to do what I do — sing the music, feel better because of the
music, get out of a funk maybe, enhance things. Like, if I’m in love, make me feel love
more. If you’re sad, music can make you happy. If you’re happy, music can make you
happier.”
He wrote the songs with multiple genres in mind. The second song, coming right after
“The World Needs Music,” is “Shut Up,” which almost became the one selected to
promote the album. It is a pop version — and a hilarious video — based on a true story
about a couple’s dinner confrontation over cooking.
“Right after ‘Shut Up’ is a beautiful ballad called ‘I Love You.’ I’m constantly aware of
balancing those things,” he said.
Enrich your life by connecting to Richard Peshkin on all platforms for new music, videos,
and social posts.
Single, “The World Needs Music,” YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBNOGJInxSY
Single, “The World Needs Music,” Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/track/4fohtm5CmZGYXI2jHRdk1P?si=61dd20d77185484f
Amazon Music: https://www.amazon.com/music/player/artists/B0BTKL6L8T/richard-
peshkin

Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/richard-peshkin/1669340892

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6ckuIpAbleH8DaGCsHzwOf
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@RichardPeshkin