Daily Discovery: Jordan Gonzalez, “Don’t Know What I Would Do”

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Videos by American Songwriter

ARTIST: Jordan Gonzalez

SONG: “Don’t Know What I Would Do”

HOMETOWN: Atlanta, Georgia
CURRENT LOCATION: New Orleans, Louisiana
AMBITIONS: I hope to continue to get better a producing, writing, and arranging music. While monetary success and a degree of notoriety are things every artist hopes to attain, these goals are secondary to the pursuit of creating something that inspires and empowers listeners.
TURN-OFFS: Negativity
TURN-ONS: Positivity
DREAM GIG: SNL
FAVORITE LYRIC: “But I would not be convicted by jury of my peers, still crazy after all these years” – Paul Simon
SONG I WISH I WROTE: “Yesterday” – Paul McCartney
5 PEOPLE I’D MOST LIKE TO HAVE DINNER WITH: Jack White, Barack Obama, Beyonce, Elon Musk, Ralph Waldo Emerson
FAVORITE CONCERT EXPERIENCE: I got to see Michael Kiwanuka play a solo set in New Orleans a couple of years ago. There were about 20-30 people in the audience, and he played a new batch of songs. In contrast to larger productions (which I also enjoy), it was fun to see someone get it done with just an acoustic guitar and microphone.
I WROTE THIS SONG BECAUSE: I have had this song for quite a while, when sitting in with bands, it’s always good to have a simple tune that musicians can pick up on the fly. This song has served that purpose well, and always seems to come together. As far as the writing, I wrote it several years ago, and I have recorded it multiple times. This is the most recent version, and I was going through a George Benson stage when we recorded it (which you can tell from the guitar solo). Thanks for checking it out!

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