The story behind the song: I visited Rio De Jeneiro in 2018 while the olympics were on. While there I also visited Recife and performed two different shows with a local band that I was introduced to and who had played with my late father, drummer Tony Hopkins.
It came time to leave Brasil and fly back the US to Los Angeles where I was living. My bags were packed and I was ready to go. I went up to the check in counter and they said they couldn’t check me in. Perplexed and a little nervous, I asked why. They said the visa card I had for the states was showing an expired date. You can imagine my surprise!
Thankfully, I did have a valid visa, but not on me. Luckily my lawyer had a copy he could send. So back I went to the hotel and arranged for fedex to send my papers. The whole process took about a week. I can think of worse places to be stuck for a week.
Someone suggested I write a song about it, so I did. It’s called Alone in Rio. I recorded the vocals in Los Angeles at the studio of Dori Amarillio. Dori is also playing guitar on the track. I added my backing vocals, a base and percussion.
At the time of this writing, I’ll be heading to the studio soon, here in Virginia and recording the song with a full band. I hope you enjoy the song. It’s very laid back.