**NOTE**
To enjoy all of the artwork on this album: Click on each song’s title (not the arrow) to be taken to a separate page for artwork and liner notes. Click on the photo for a pop out for a larger image.
Or, if you prefer, click on the play button at the top of *this page*, to cycle through to music and enjoy as you wish.

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In a departure from previous recordings. the music and the stories behind them are uniquely intertwined. The voice of my music and the voice of the river are one.

The first story begins in the late 1840s; each subsequent story surges through the twists and turns of the Mississippi’s indomitable progress and three late twentieth century tales from my own family’s deep and lasting connections with the river. These are tales of abandonment, adventure, heroism, delight and the lull of the river’s gentle rise and fall amidst midnight lotus blossoms.

February 5, 2021 marked my late parents, Richard and Marian Bissell’s 83rd wedding anniversary. In celebration of their marriage and their love for the river they shared with their four children, the last three songs belong to parents, beginning as newlyweds in the late 1930’s on their first houseboat, “Prairie Belle.”

I dedicate “book and music” to my parents, brothers and sister, and our extended Iowa families, out where the tall corn grows, who have lived, or continue to live, on the big river.

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The proceeds from this release will be going to Souls United --streetteamlegal, a charity feeding the homeless around Nashville. Initially begun as a single table of food, Sheldon Diggs prepared and served a much-need sanctuary and respite outside of Church Street Park in 2017. These days, he does his cooking at First Lutheran Church in the early morning as the homeless lineup for much-needed free meals. He can also be seen handing out bag lunches to a needy community.
For those experiencing the trauma and stress of homelessness and the unhoused, the mission of Souls United is simple and direct: “Remember those who may have been forgotten. Our brothers and sisters living in the streets. Helping to nourish their bodies, and, where possible, their souls through expressions of caring.”

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Photograph:
Taken by me of the Mississippi River, taken from 35,000' while traveling West from Nashville to Denver in June 2019. I used my Samsung Galaxy S9 cellphone for this photo.

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All artwork & liner notes © 2021 Samuel P Bissell, unless otherwise stated.