Artists Unite For Tribute Album To Support Jesse Malin

The world of rock’n’roll has come together to produce a tribute album for Jesse Malin following the rare spinal stroke that left Jesse paralysed in May 2023.

It’s a whole collection of Jesse’s songs which will help to raise money for Jesse’s ongoing treatment. The track listing for the album which will be released in September has now been confirmed and the next song to emerge is Billie Joe Armstrong’s rousing cover of Black Haired Girl.

Stream Black Haired Girl HERE

Jesse Malin has long been at the very core of the New York rock’n’roll scene going right back to his early teenage years when his hardcore band Heart Attack were crashing the stage at Max’s Kansas City in the early 1980’s in order to tread the same boards as one of his heroes Johnny Thunders. He then formed the hard-hitting glam punk band D-Generation who received wide critical acclaim and even made it onto the stage of Madison Square Gardens as support for Kiss. But then in 2003 Jesse made the decision to do something more personal and reflective and, with the support of Ryan Adams, he launched his solo career with his album The Fine Art Of Self Destruction.

Then, aside from continuing to be an integral part of the heartbeat of the New York scene, Jesse took his art far and wide around the world, releasing numerous solo albums and touring extensively, with the UK being a very frequent port of call. But Jesse has never forgotten his roots and those who both supported and influenced him in his early days, and he has always been a passionate supporter of other people’s causes right up until a fateful day in May 2023 when he suffered a rare spinal stroke condition which left Jesse paralysed from the waist down. This was just a matter of weeks after Louder Than War caught Jesse’s blistering set at YES in Manchester, reviewed here. And it was at this moment when the world of rock’n’roll turned on its heels and recognised it was now Jesse who needed their support, especially with the huge medical costs that were to follow in Jesse’s long battle to achieve any form of physical recovery, not to mention the mental health challenges that would run alongside this. For the artist who so passionately advocated the cause for Positive Mental Attitude in our lives, this was now being tested to its absolute limit.

Aside from establishing a Jesse Malin Artist Fund as part of the Sweet Relief Musicians Fund, which had been established to raise funds to support artists in difficult situations such as this, this is when a gathering of artists started coming together to record some of Jesse’s songs from over the years all of which have now come together as a 27 song album under the banner of Silver Patron Saints – The Songs Of Jesse Malin to raise vital money for this Fund. The latest song to emerge from this album in advance of its release via Glassnote Records on 20 September is Billie Joe Armstrong’s version of Black Haired Girl, a song taken from Jesse’s 2007 solo record Glitter In The Gutter.

Jesse and Billie had first met when D-Generation opened for Social Distortion in the ‘90s, while Jesse has opened for Green Day in both Europe and the US. They had also formed the band Rodeo Queens in 2009 and Billie co-wrote and featured on the song Strangers And Thieves that was included on Jesse’s 2019 album ‘Sunset Kids’. And Jesse clearly appreciated Billie’s contribution to this project as he commented, “When I heard Billie Joe was doing ‘Black Haired Girl’ I was so blown away. He took it to another level, a lot of attitude, a lot of power, a lot of style, like everything that he does.” One listen to this version will confirm what a powerful take it is.

Billie reciprocated as follows, “Jesse is a dear friend to me. I love his songwriting. He is all heart, and his passion is endless. We send each other YouTube videos (mostly old Ramones clips and New York Dolls). Every time I’m in New York he goes out of his way to make me, my friends and my family feel at home. He’s always down for a laugh or a shoulder to cry on. Jesse, we love you and we’d do anything for you.” And clearly he is not alone bearing in mind the list of stellar artists who have also supported this project including Bruce Springsteen, Lucinda Williams and Elvis Costello, The Hold Steady, Tommy Stinson, Alison Mosshart (with the late Wayne Kramer), Tom Morello, Counting Crows, Dinosaur Jr., The Wallflowers, Spoon, Susanna Hoffs, Frank Turner, Rancid and many more.

The hugely impressive track list for the album has also now been confirmed as follows:
01 Prisoners of Paradise (feat. Bleachers)
02 Oh Sheena (feat. Counting Crows)
03 She Don’t Love Me Now (feat. Bruce Springsteen)
04 Black Haired Girl (feat. Billie Joe Armstrong)
05 Brooklyn (feat. Dinosaur Jr.)
06 About You (feat. Frank Turner)
07 Turn Up the Mains (feat. Alison Mosshart, Wayne Kramer, Tom Morello, Steven Van Zandt, Mike Watt & Joey C.)
08 Room 13 (feat. Lucinda Williams and Elvis Costello)
09 Don’t Let Them Take You Down (Beautiful Day) (feat. The Wallflowers)
10 The Way We Used to Roll (feat. Spoon)
11 Shane (feat. Rocky O’Riordan)
12 In the Modern World (feat. Butch Walker)
13 High Lonesome (feat. Susanna Hoffs)
14 Greener Pastures (feat. Graham Parker)
15 Meet Me At The End of the World (feat. Alejandro Escovedo)
16 Death Star (feat. The Hold Steady)
17 Riding on the Subway (feat. Tommy Stinson and Ruby Stinson)
18 St. Mark’s Sunset (feat. The Walker Roaders)
19 Dead On (feat. Ian Hunter)
20 Almost Grown (feat. Danny Clinch and Christopher Thorn with Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country)
21 Shining Down (feat. Aaron Lee Tasjan)
22 When You’re Young (feat. Low Cut Connie)
23 All The Way From Moscow (feat. Willie Nile)
24 No Way Out (feat. Rancid)
25 You Know It’s Dark When Atheists Start to Pray (feat. Gogol Bordello)
26 God Is Dead (feat. Agnostic Front)
27 Frankie (feat. Murphy’s Law)

As for Jesse’s current state in terms of his recovery, well there is still a long, painful and expensive road ahead but the great news is that he is making progress. Jesse is now undergoing a strict daily regimen with physical therapy and stem-cell treatments. As Jesse comments, “I am getting some strength back in my legs, but it moves a lot slower than I would like. I don’t want to portray it like I’m ready to do the James Brown splits onstage. I definitely have a long way to go, but I’m blessed and so grateful for the amazing fans and friends that I have.”

The really big news to emerge more recently is that Jesse Malin will return to the stage at the Beacon Theatre in New York City at the beginning of December for the biggest hometown shows of his career. A previously announced date on 1st December has already sold out, but an additional one on 2nd is on sale HERE with premium packages available via Sweet Relief. All proceeds from the shows will benefit Jesse’s Sweet Relief Artist Fund. Jesse will perform a full set with his band, followed by special guests at each show that include Lucinda Williams, Jakob Dylan, Butch Walker, J Mascis, Adam and David Immy of Counting Crows, The Hold Steady and Alejandro Escovedo, with more yet to be announced. Aside from the important funds to be raised for such a worthy cause, these are going to be two truly amazing shows.

You can donate to Jesse Malin’s Sweet Relief Artist Fund here.

You can pre-order the Silver Patron Saints album here.

You can stream Black Haired Girl featuring Billie Joe Armstrong here.

You can find Jesse Malin on Facebook, X (Twitter), Instagram and his website.

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All words by Ian Corbridge. You can find more of his writing at his author profile here.