Michael McDonald & Willie Nelson With David Hidalgo Share ‘Dreams Of The San Joaquin’ Cover Benefiting RAICES & UFW
By Nate Todd May 7, 2021 • 12:13 pm PDT
Michael McDonald, Willie Nelson and David Hidalgo of Los Lobos teamed up for a cover of “Dreams Of The San Joaquin.” The single is available via Bandcamp for Bandcamp Friday and will benefit the Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services (RAICES) as well as the Cesar Chavez co-founded United Farm Workers of America (UFW).
Randy Sharp and Jack Wesley Routh originally penned “Dreams Of The San Joaquin” with Kenny Rogers and Linda Ronstadt both recording renditions of the song. The tune tells a tale of a worker in one of America’s breadbaskets, California’s San Joaquin Valley, during the Great Depression and Dust Bowl of the 1930s and ’40s.
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Michael McDonald spoke about the plight and importance of migrant workers in a statement:
The migrant farm worker is as responsible if not more for maintaining our country’s position as one of the largest agricultural economies in the world. The labor that falls squarely on their shoulders allows farmers to bring produce to our stores and food to our tables as reasonably priced as possible. COVID has ravaged this quadrant of the American workforce disproportionately. RAICES and United Farm Workers Union are working hard to bring vaccine awareness and financial help to provide distribution to this demographic so hard hit by COVID-19.
“This heartfelt rendition of ‘Dreams of the San Joaquin’ is a beautiful reminder of all that the migrant community of over eight million people sacrifices to give their families a better life,” Vice President of Advocacy at RAICES Ana Maria Rea-Ventre said. “May we all be moved by this song to fight with our migrant brothers and sisters, to whom our country owes so much.”
“This was a collaboration of love and a prayer for understanding,” Willie Nelson added. “It sends a message of hope that we all need to hear. I’ve always loved Mike’s voice and enjoyed making this with him and my son Micah.”
Micah Nelson also directed a forthcoming video set to accompany the single. As Bandcamp Friday sees the platform waiving its revenue shares. 100 percent of the proceeds garnered from the single today will aid RAICES and UFW.
Click on the link below to listen to Michael McDonald, Willie Nelson and David Hidalgo’s “Dreams Of The San Joaquin” and support RAICES and UFW by purchasing the track:
