“Oh Lord, won’t you buy me…” – with these lyrics, Janis Joplin made history. Taking inspiration from her classic 1971 song, singer/songwriter Estelle along with rapper/producer David Banner and the hotly tipped artist Daley were brought together – by British based international style magazine BLAG – to create a brand new song in honor of the inventor of the automobile.
The track “Benz”, by Grammy award winning producer David Banner, is an upbeat, celebratory track inspired by his Mississippi roots. The three artists composed a brand new melody and lyrics. Their different musical styles flowed together resulting in an impactful and harmonious crossover, recorded at Record Plant, Los Angeles. Thrilled about the idea, Mercedes-Benz supports the project.
BLAG is internationally releasing the new track and video on April 18, 2011 via iTunes along with the debut of its BLAG Deluxe App for iPad and coffee table magazine featuring the making of the Benz video, photos, and interviews with Estelle, David Banner and Daley.
The original Janis Joplin track was created before any of the artists were born, however, according to Sally A. Edwards, who co-owns BLAG with her twin sister Sarah J. Edwards, “The song still resonates with all of us and when we came together on the meaning for the new version, we thought it should be about ambition and triumph. The fact it’s the 125th anniversary of the car is symbolic and the perfect tie-in,” said Sally Edwards, who loves bringing people together and felt Estelle, David Banner and Daley, could pull together something just as meaningful as the original lyrics given their different musical styles and backgrounds.
“We were honored that these creative artists chose to record a song about the Mercedes-Benz brand and after hearing about their project it was an easy decision to work with BLAG magazine to lend our support,” said Christoph Horn, Director Global Communications Mercedes-Benz Cars.