Please note, proceeds from the sale of this song will be donated to Alzheimer's research. Your donations (in any amount) really help and are appreciated.

The summer of 2015, I watched the excellent Glen Campbell bio-pic, "I'LL BE ME", which documents the so-called "Goodbye Tour" - which launched just after Glen was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.
As a lifelong fan of Mr. Campbell (especially his version of Jimmy Webb's "Wichita Lineman" -- arguably, one of the greatest pop songs and recorded versions of that song, ever), I was very moved by this film and particularly, the last heartbreaking song Glen recorded called, "I'M NOT GONNA MISS YOU". The lyric is gut-wrenching and is written from Glen's perspective as he succumbs to the disease and his memories of his loved ones vanish.

This had a powerful and sudden impact on me.
Somehow, instead of taking the guitar out its case, I gravitated to the piano. I set out to capture the feeling I had while watching the documentary in song but lost the muse and stalled along the way.

Late December of last year, my long time friend, Tim, texted me that he was diagnosed with a form of early onset Alzheimer's known as "FTD" which is short for "fronto temporal dementia". I called immediately and learned he had been struggling for some time with the disease and it had begun to reek havoc on his personal life.

Needless to say, this is a devastating diagnosis for anyone. What makes FTD doubly challenging is it typically attacks YOUNGER adults... as early as in their 40's!

Tim has been one of the finest blues/rock guitarists I've had the privilege to know. He asked me to help him get some music recorded at my earliest convenience. Leaving a legacy of his playing music became extremely important to him. I was busy at the time with a new business and was overbooked. But I promised him I'd figure something out.
I did.

I was back at the piano almost immediately and started writing. By the end of January, I had the basic song structure.
The result is this song, The Tempest of Neverwhen.

By April, I had scrubbed the lyrics several times over and headed to Philadelphia where my son, Zachary, a gifted musician/songwriter himself, was finishing up Grad School. I had the pleasure to record the piano track on the stunning Steinway Concert Grand at Temple University's Boyer School of Music recording studio. What an instrument!

Over the course of the summer, I made several trips to Magnetic North Studio in Saugerties to record the rest of the track with my favorite engineer and close friend, Tod Levine.

We enlisted some of the Woodstock area's GREATEST musicians to help out and had the rhythm section together in no time.

Now it was time for Tim's part.
He arrived the next day very upbeat, affable and ready to work. I hadn't seen him in a year, or more but he seemed like the old Tim: Happy. Smiling. Upbeat and ready to work. There were lots of hugs and off we went to haul his Mesa Boogie amp and Gibson SG into the studio.

I had no reason to doubt he'd be anything but terrific as his talent and unquestionable guitar prowess have been evident to any and all who know him. As for me, someone who had spent hours with him in and out of the studio for decades, I had very high expectations.

Despite my excitement ... I got to see the deficits caused by this tragic, life-altering disease first hand. My remarkable friend; my friend who had boldly scaled a mountain peak in South America with a Martin Backpacker guitar strapped to his pack; My friend who could launch into a Hendrix or Stevie Ray Vaughn riff at the drop of a hat. My friend who had not only been blessed with magic fingers and a sharp, acerbic wit... My musically gifted friend of 30+ yrs whom I have always held in the highest esteem as a personal adviser and confidant... this progressive, high thinking, over-achiever from a family FULL of over-achievers - seemed, as my lyric professes, lost.

It was a gut-wrenching dose of the reality of this disease and I nearly choked on it.

We struggled through two+ hours worth of "takes" (79 to be exact). Where once Tim would have turned on his amp and simply let rip and nail it, he was confused and his fingers refused to bend strings to his will.

He was evidently getting tired and frustrated until finally, I took away the chart and told him to just play from his gut in the key of D.

And so he did.

The crazy hot guitar lead in the middle break of the song is the result. It captures Tim in all his glory. It's brief, but It's inspired. It's full of angst and passion. And it's really good musically.

The situation is horrific as it is heartbreaking. The song is too. But I hope it speaks to you, especially if you know someone or have a loved one struggling through this horrific illness.

I don't know if I will ever get to play music with my friend again (he lives 2.5 hours away). But Tim - your legacy lives on in this song and the tunes we've recorded previously when you were in your prime.
This is your song. I wrote it for you, pal.

Again, a portion of the proceeds from the sale of this song will be donated to Alzheimer's research. Your donations are appreciated.