“THE SOLDIER’S SONG” A CELEBRATION OF THE MUSIC OF THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR

“The Soldier’s Song” is a multi-media reader's theatre musical that was written by Grammy Award-winning Nashville songwriter Wood Newton and  Daniel L. Johnson - who is also a retired college professor and  a professional songwriter.   

 Johnson said that the script was written to tell the story of the music of the Civil War in a historically-accurate and entertaining way, incorporating both the music of the era and songs which were written by him and Newton.  The music accompaniment uses the type of instruments that were available the Civil War era, including guitars; mandolins; banjos; fiddles; and harmonicas. 

 The script also uses a combination of direct quotations from famous figures of the Civil War era and fictitious monologues by Sam Watkins and James Landon.  Watkins, who was from Maury County, was a private in the Confederate army who wrote his famous memoir “Co. Aytch” after the war. Landon was a sergeant in the Union army who spent six long weeks in a Confederate prison camp – Camp Sumter – in Andersonville, GA.  

 Since its premiere performance on Columbia State’s Cherry Theatre stage in October, 2011, the show has been presented on numerous stages throughout the South, including The Old Capitol Museum Stage in  Little Rock, Arkansas, and the Mockingbird Theatre in Franklin, TN.  “Wood and I are very excited that we have been given the opportunity to stage a performance of our musical tribute at various stages throughout the South,” Johnson said.  “We believe that by using the voices of Sam Watkins and James Landon to tell the story of the Civil War and its music, it  brings the story to life.  We've seen as  it has touched those who attended in a profound way.  It has certainly touched us as we researched and wrote the script and performed it." 

 Newton, who  portrays Watkins, has won numerous awards as a member of the Nashville songwriting community and has written numerous hit songs, including Kenny Rogers’ “Twenty Years Ago;” The Oak Ridge Boys’ “Bobbie Sue;” Razzy Bailey’s “Midnight Hauler;” Steve Wariner’s “What I Didn’t Do;” and David Ball’s “Riding With Private Malone.”  Along with Johnson, who portrays Landon, and Newton, the cast of the showl also features several professional musicians and actors from Nashville.  Musicians include: Jim Sales, who wrote the country music hit parody “She Thinks I Steal Cars:”  Gretchen Priest-May, an outstanding fiddle player/teacher and the founder of the “Fiddle & Pick” music school in Pegram, TN; Odessa Settles, a well-known Nashville actress and Civil War-era musical performer; and Alan O’Bryant, who founded the Grammy Award-winning group The Nashville Bluegrass Band.