''American Spirit'' is an album released on American Gramaphone in 2003 (see

2003 in music This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 2003. Specific locations * 2003 in British music * 2003 in Irish music *2003 in Norwegian music * 2003 in South Korean music Specific genres * 2003 in classical mus ...

) as a collaboration between Mannheim Steamroller and country musician

C. W. McCall William Dale Fries Jr. (November 15, 1928 – April 1, 2022) was an American advertising executive and spoken word artist who won several Clio Awards for his advertising campaigns. He is best known for his character C. W. McCall, a truck-drivi ...

. The album focuses on

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

patriotic songs, hence the title. McCall contributed to a number of spoken word songs on the album and rerecorded his 1976 hit song " Convoy" for it; this was also the case with another song of his, "Wolf Creek Pass," which can be found on the album. McCall is a persona created by Bill Fries and Manheim Steamroller leader Chip Davis; Fries provides the vocals as McCall. This was the last album to feature C. W. McCall.

Track listing

# "

Star Spangled Banner "The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States. The lyrics come from the "Defence of Fort M'Henry", a poem written on September 14, 1814, by 35-year-old lawyer and amateur poet Francis Scott Key after witnessing the bo ...

" (

Francis Scott Key Francis Scott Key (August 1, 1779January 11, 1843) was an American lawyer, author, and amateur poet from Frederick, Maryland, who wrote the lyrics for the American national anthem "The Star-Spangled Banner". Key observed the British bombardment ...

John Stafford Smith John Stafford Smith (bapt. 30 March 175021 September 1836) was a British composer, church organist, and early musicologist. He was one of the first serious collectors of manuscripts of works by Johann Sebastian Bach. Smith is best known for w ...

) – 2:41 # "American Spirit" (Bill Fries, Chip Davis) – 2:38 # " America the Beautiful" ( Katharine Lee Bates, Samuel A. Ward) – 3:44 # " Convoy" (Fries, Davis) – 3:53 # " Fanfare for the Common Man" ( Aaron Copland) – 3:48 # "Yellowstone Morning" (Davis) – 2:53 # "Heritage" (Davis) – 4:40 # "Wolf Creek Pass" (Fries, Davis) – 4:02 # " Home on the Range" (

Brewster Higley Brewster Martin Higley VI, MD (November 30, 1823 – December 9, 1911) was an otolaryngologist who became famous for writing "My Western Home". Originally written in 1871 or 1872 and published under the title "My Western Home" in the ''Smith Coun ...

, Daniel Kelly) – 4:18 # "Mt. McKinley" (Davis) – 2:54 # "Cloudburst" (

Ferde Grofe Ferde AS is a Norwegian toll company owned by Agder, Rogaland and Vestland counties. The company was created on 5 October 2016 is headquartered in Bergen. The company was called Sørvest Bomvegselskap AS until 1 January 2018. All toll roads in No ...

) – 9:31 # "Tin Type" (Fries, Davis) – 4:49 # " Battle Hymn of the Republic" ( Julia Ward Howe) – 4:45

Personnel

* C. W. McCall - Vocals * Chip Davis - Percussion, Drums and Toys, Conductor, Producer * Jackson Berkey - Keyboards * Ron Cooley - Bass and All Fretted Instruments * Arnie Roth - Violin Solos, Concertmaster * Bobby Jenkins - Oboe Solos * Members of the

Chicago Symphony Chorus The Chicago Symphony Chorus began on September 22, 1957, when the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) announced that Margaret Hillis would organize and train a symphony chorus. The music director Fritz Reiner's original intent was to utilize the choru ...

Duain Wolfe A. Duain Wolfe (born 24 October 1945, Hammond, Louisiana) is an American choral conductor, conductor of the Colorado Symphony Chorus and the Colorado Children's Chorale. He is the former chorus director and conductor of the Chicago Symphony Chorus ...

- Chorus Director and Conductor * Dale Clevenger, Oto Carrillo, Greg Flint, Melanie Cottle - Horn * John Hagstrom, Mark Ridenour, Tage Larson - Trumpet * Ward Stare, Adam Moen - Tenor Trombone * Charles Vernon - Bass Trombone * Charlie Suchat - Tuba * Doug Waddell - Timpani * Ted Atkatz, Mike Folker - Percussion

Additional personnel

* Chris Sabold, Mike Konopka, Dick Lewsey - Engineers * Mat Lejeune, Brian Pinke, Mike Scasiwicz, Darren Styles - Assistant Engineers * Metro Mobile - Recording

References

External links

NarrowGauge.org album information for ''American Spirit''
American Spirit American Spirit American Spirit American Gramaphone albums {{2000s-country-album-stub, American Spirit