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Soulful Serenade: Pete Hopkins’ ‘Don’t Want Another (Be The Last)’


Introduction:

In the world of music, some songs stand out not only for their enchanting melodies but also for the emotions they evoke and the stories they tell. Pete Hopkins’ “Don’t Want Another (Be The Last)” is one such song that captures the essence of love, longing, and the desire for something enduring.

The Melody that Enchants:

From the moment you press play, “Don’t Want Another (Be The Last)” envelops you in its beautiful melody. Pete Hopkins’ composition sets the perfect backdrop for the emotional journey that the song takes you on. The music is sweet and soothing, drawing you in and preparing you for the heartfelt lyrics that follow.

Heartfelt Lyrics that Resonate:

At the heart of this song are its lyrics, penned by Pete Hopkins himself. They speak of a desire for lasting love, a love that defies time and circumstances. Lines like “I don’t want another, I want you to be the last” encapsulate the yearning for a love that is unique and enduring. These lyrics resonate with anyone who has ever wished for a love that stands the test of time.

A Journey Through Love and Commitment:

As the song progresses, it takes you on a journey through the depths of love and commitment. The singer expresses his willingness to work tirelessly to keep the love alive, giving it his all to ensure that his loved one feels cherished and valued. It’s a beautiful portrayal of the sacrifices and efforts people are willing to make for the ones they love.

Emotional Impact:

What sets “Don’t Want Another (Be The Last)” apart is its ability to stir deep emotions within the listener. It’s a song that tugs at the heartstrings, making you reflect on the love in your own life and the importance of holding onto something precious. The emotional impact of the song is profound and lingers long after the music fades.

Conclusion:

In a world filled with music, “Don’t Want Another (Be The Last)” by Pete Hopkins shines as a soulful serenade that speaks to the depths of the human heart. Its enchanting melody, heartfelt lyrics, and emotional impact make it a song that stands the test of time. It reminds us of the enduring power of love and the beauty of cherishing what we hold dear. So, take a moment to listen to this captivating composition and let it resonate with your own journey through love and commitment.

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PETE HOPKINS Human Nature, covered


Pete Hopkins Human Nature

13. February 2023 By WALTER PRICE 

PETE HOPKINS Human Nature, covered

Pete Hopkins Human Nature redux is available on SpotifyApple MusicBandcamp

Pete Hopkins Human Nature

by Walter Price

The monuments in pop music can not be simulated easily. Think about it, who can reach the vocal talent of Mariah or Celine? The suave of Ol’ Blue Eyes or the hip-swaying appeal of Mr. Presley? Nor will anyone really be able to capture the enduring lightning in a bottle of The King of Pop, Michael Jackson. But if you’re going to take on a track from Jackson and a song that featured on his seminal album “Thriller”, it has to be Get Back Val mastermind Pete Hopkins, and the song will be a surprising studio intensive redux of “Human Nature”.

We’ll let Hopkins go into the backstory of his version of the Steve Porcaro-penned classic. But first, let’s mention that taking a silky early 80s track that Jackson interpreted as him wanting to escape fame long enough to fraternize with regular people and be a real human and turning it into a mega-tracked odyssey showcasing Hopkin’s production wizardry was a bold move for the retro-loving producer. And while some may find his version odd or so far out that it seems surreal at moments, this cover version is what Hopkins does. He envisions and hears things in a near-galactic way. Layring and tinkering until the original is transformed into an eccentric blast!

From a Facebook post dated Febuary 3, 2023, Hopkins goes deep on the cover’s backstory, “Human Nature has always been one of my most favorite songs by the late great legendary King of Pop, Mr. Michael Jackson. I was privileged to get to record the vocals on this track at the equally legendary studio Westlake Audio the very studio where MJ recorded the real thing as well as the whole album Thriller among many other great records.”

He adds, “I spent almost 6 months honing the production and arrangement on this track then another year on my own. I didn’t want to just redo the song as is. I wanted to put my own stamp on it in every way possible. I’m very proud of the final outcome and I’ll say this song is kind of a flex of how many different skills of mine I pushed to the limit. Musical arrangement, reharmonization, guitar virtuosity, vocal performance… pre and post-production. I produced and performed and mixed all the music. Edo Tancredi my good friend and talented drummer lended some live drums to the production as the final addition and Chris Andrews put his touch into some of the vocal processing. Then I set to the task of mixing this monster. There are more than 150 tracks to this piece. Live instruments, guitars, bass, tons of percussion and drum layers as well as synths of my own design, EDM programming automation, and modern production techniques that I learned during my time at Westlake Audio… It really is quite something. Took a lot of special friends and supporters to make it happen. Always so grateful for the support I receive from the music community.”

If you’re a fan of going the extra lengths to not mimic a beloved classic but transform it into a mindblowing experience, Pete Hopkins’ redux of Michael Jackson’s “Human Nature” will set your senses ablaze.

PETE HOPKINS Human Nature, covered

Artist photo and quotes via Facebook

Written by John Bettis / Steve Porcaro

REDUX: Composed, produced, and performed by Pete Hopkins

facebook // website

Thank you to all. RIP MJ forever. Super love and acknowledgment to the genius of Steve Porcaro of Toto and John Bettis the amazing songwriters/lyricists and musicians who gave this song the ice-fire instrumental riffs beautiful poetry that hold up even decades later as groundbreaking and timeless all at once. Hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed creating it.” – Pete Hopkins

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New Release. Hold On Don’t Cry


This song is an about having to say good bye when a couple of lovers has to be separate for long periods at a time during their time at work or service and having to hold on. All Music by Pete Hopkins, Video production shot at the Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills by Videographer Pamela Manning on her Iphone 12, edited on CapCut a free editing software by Pamela Manning.

 

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New Christmas Release Oh Holy Night


There was a snowfall out of the blue in the middle of the night on the night I arrived in Seattle, WA. This video was shot on an iPhone 12. “Oh Holy Night” was released the day after Thanksgiving and is available on all platforms Oh Holy Night on Apple Music https://music.apple.com/us/album/oh-h… Oh Holy Night on Spotify https://open.spotify.com/album/0MOPpK… #OHolyNight #ohholynightmusic #snowfall #Petehopkins #christmas #christian #PamelaManning #seasonsgreetings O Holy Night! The stars are brightly shining It is the night of the dear Savior’s birth! Long lay the world in sin and error pining Till he appear’d and the soul felt its worth. A thrill of hope the weary soul rejoices For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn! Fall on your knees Oh hear the angel voices Oh night divine Oh night when Christ was born Oh night divine Oh night divine Truly He taught us to love one another His law is love and His gospel is peace Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother And in His name all oppression shall cease Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we, Let all within us praise His holy name Christ is the lord let ever ever we praise we His power and glory evermore evermore proclaim Oh night divine Oh night Oh night divine

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New Release out Boogie Till Yah Dead


“Just Gonna Boogie”…”Boogie”…. “Boogie Till I’m Dead”  “Boogie Till Dead” “Boogie Till Yah Dead

Five different spellings and wordings and also as many versions of this song before finally settling on the pseudo-disco, dance floor, funky, fun banger version complete with soaring falsetto “bee geesesque” vocal hook “Boogie Till Yah Dead”

This tune originally was born of a collaboration between myself and Kristian Borresen, a keyboardist, producer friend I made from Norway who I had met while participating in an event called 50/90 which is an undertaking to write and record 50 songs in 90 days.  Kristian liked my voice and sent me a little snippet of music and I wrote some words pretty quickly just kinda on the fly… I am normally a fairly introspective writer who takes great care in crafting the words of his works. But this song… just made me wanna dance… or… boogie.  So that was it!

But wait… the story doesn’t end there.  I was.. around the same time.. working on productions with another friend of mine Chris Andrews originally from Georgia and who happened to be my neighbor just two doors down in my LA top floor apartment building and who would become my best friend until me and my ex split and she moved in with him (platonic and not how it sounds.. in short… he’s gay) and it severed our friendship quite a bit… but that’s another story altogether.  So anyways…. I digress… Chris liked my lyric and melody but thought that the music and my vocal production (or lack thereof) was not up to snuff and requested I let him work with me on it to make it even cooler.  And he sure did.  We sure did…. we made what I believe to be one of the most innovative productions to come out in a long time.  I had become enamored with dubstep and he comes from a background of dance music and electronica.  I strapped on my Stratocaster and threw in a healthy dose of funky pickin’ and wokka chickin’ and then tore up a solo over a very dub-steppe vibed out bridge that I had written. We both spent a good long while patting each other on the back for the good, good work we had created together.  Alas, Kristian Borresen’s original 8 bars of music did not make the cut and to be honest I cannot remember how it even went.  He was very understanding about how it went and we’re still friends so that’s a good thing.
I’d like to check in with Chris and Kris and see what they are up to these days…

Okay so as I said there are five versions of this song that led up to the final release that I’m now celebrating FINALLY releasing for my adoring fans and the general populace. But here are some more rather truncated highlights of things that happened along the way.  When i started this song I was a self taught music producer about two years later I was awarded a scholarship to Cre8 Music Academy (Westlake Audio, Michael Jackson, Thriller, Adele, The Weeknd, Imagine Dragons etc where i learned to make records from the pros and so I opened up my Boogie logic session with my new sets of skills and proceeded to level it up in every way possible.

Enter Deakon Lekross and my project known as “Get Back VAL”  Get Back VAL www.getbackval.com  was my attempt at trying to have a band after many years of going solo because bands are hard and inevitably just never work out.  I met this amazing guitar player whilst jamming at The Namm Show with Roni Lee and I was so taken by his ability when we finished I said “I don’t know what we can do together but no matter what I know it would be amazing”  We exchanged info and kept in touch and a friendship was born.
I knew exactly who I wanted to play drums in Get Back Val… my buddy and amazing drummer Edo Tancredi who I had met several years before at my other friend Kamasi Washington’s performance at The Piano Bar when he was a part of the West Coast Get Down. WCG was a group I used to perform with from time to time and who spawned many excellent funkateers such as Thundercat and Miles Mosley to name a couple. So anyways…  I finally talked Edo (hired gun for life) into recording songs for Get back Val. SO there I was with a band!  Get Back Val – Pete Hopkins Lead singer, Guitarist and 100% songwriter and producer. Deakon Lekross lead guitar and Edoardo Tancredo drums…  we never did wrangle a bassist… and Get Back VAL as of now is Pete Hopkins and… umm… whoever else I choose to involve. call me Trent Reznor. 🙂 Long story longer here is what happened… in a nutshell I had written some songs that were totally poppy and dance in nature and I got the idea that it might sound rad if they had a hard rock shell around them.  And I was right! I think Get Back Val is truly an awesome sounding project and I have high hopes that some of that stuff still get’s a real shot. “Love Me” is an epic tune and represents I believe the best of what that project has sounded like to date… Sooo… long story even longer… Deakon rocked the shit out of “Boogie Till I’m Dead” and it was pretty bad ass… but some part of me was feeling like maybe it had now gone too far away from it’s funky roots and dance disco vibe… I had some conflict bout how to handle that because he was now a part of the song and I’ve always been one to be very sensitive to the feelings of other musicians and creatives.  It was eventually made simpler because Deakon decided to go solo and quit the band and Edo never really wanted to be in a band to begin with so i was then free to do whatever I pleased with it all.. which let’s be real… that is exactly how i like to do things. So I stripped all of Deakon’s guitar work out but I left Edo’s live drums and worked my electronica drum programming into it and layers and layers and layered… till it was satisfied.  It was almost there… ALMOST!
I had everything about where it was meant to be except I had started to feel like it needed a hook to tie it all together.  So in the chorus that was largely instrumental in nature… I stuck some vocals in the only register that was left (which was somewhere up in disco falsetto land) and sang the words with
funky flare and gusto “Boogie…. Till Ya Dead”

Despite having been developing this song fo years…I  still feel like I am rushing the hell out of the release of the video and the song… and it’s all because of two main things that I’m now officially releasing BTYD into the wild….
One is my amazing photographer and videographer and partner in crime Miss Pamela Manning. The other is my mom’s boyfriend Jeff Rice who happened to have a black light for us in the guest bedroom in Seattle where we are currently staying for one more night before heading back to LA. Pamela and I have a knack for not sleeping and letting the creative juices go wild… Thus the video was born and is being edited as i write this.

The song is now available via pre release as of today.. Here’s the link. https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/petehopkins/boogie-till-yah-dead    Boogie will be officially released just before Halloween… So get ready.. Cause it’s time to  “Boogie Till Yah Dead”  -Pete Hopkins

 

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The story behind “Time Won’t Wait”


Song link in Bio: My tribute to a great man, a great drummer, and a great friend. I will miss you Alan White. Alan is playing impeccably as was always the case.
I originally wrote this song to cope with the loss of a dear friend of mine,

Billy Baker

.
I had the privilege of having the legendary Alan White *YES, John Lennon,

George Harrison) record the drums.
Alan White is a man i now also call a friend and now mourn the loss of deeply as he passed on about two weeks ago.
I am releasing this song on what would have been Alan’s 73rd birthday.
My heart goes out to the family and loved ones of our dearly departed.
I present to you “Time Wont Wait


Play it so loud it reaches into the heavens and may it give you comfort in your life when you are facing loss, be that today or some time down the road. We all regrettably and inevitably lose so much as time goes by and there will never be enough time. So live today, because tomorrow is not promised. Time Wont Wait. -PH In loving memory for my friends
Alan White and Billy Baker

Alan White
“I met Pete Hopkins, a young musical artist, in 2009 when we performed for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation benefit concert in North Carolina.
Pete has gone on to write and record lots of great music and today he’s releasing a Christmas song using a backing track we recorded a few years ago. I hope you will listen to it and be inspired by its heartfelt message of love and hope.”
—Alan

 

 

Pamela Manning

This song means a lot to me, I knew Billy and  to hear this song brings back fond memories. It is a comfort to me to have this remembrance in such a beautiful fashion.  Thank you Pete Hopkins for this song.”
—Pamela Manning

 

 

 

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