When my daughter was in 8th grade, she had an assignment where she asked a parent for advice to be passed down to them. I recall expressing to her how I made every effort to instill the importance of being able to stand independently strong, work hard, and not expect to be handed things in life. If I could have added a song to sum up that advice, it would have been “Remember Your Name” by Manitoba Country Music Female Artist of the Year 2024 awardee, Desiree Dorion.
Written by Desiree Dorion, Douglas Romanow, and Chrystal Grainger, and produced by Joel Schwartz, “Remember Your Name” is the empowering title track from Desiree’s seventh studio album. Dorion shares, “Remember Your Name is a reminder to find that inner strength that you’ve always had inside. No matter how difficult things get, you have the strength and endurance from your past, and the generations that came before you.”
What I love most about this anthem of a single, especially as a single parent to a daughter, is that it is a great reminder to not only look inward for strength but to see how other strong women in your family embraced challenges and developed resilience. Desiree, a mother herself, expresses exactly those sentiments in this inspiring piece – one written during a time of great sadness for Dorion, and she penned the song to reflect her journey of rediscovering her past self and embracing who she is now.
She was also inspired by the journeys of her grandmother, mother, and herself when collaborating with her co-writers. Simply stated yet profoundly delivered, the chorus motivates, “Remember your name / Remember where you came from / Touch your skin touch your face / Raise your head take your place…”
The album was released this past October as Desiree continues working on new chapters of her music career in shifting from her more traditional country sound into the world of Roots/Americana. With her velvety smooth voice and lyrics as strong as ever, Desiree Dorion is one artist we can rely on to continuously deliver fantastic music across the airwaves.
Photo Credit: Artist Website
Jess has always enjoyed a wide range of music genres and eras. Connecting deeply with classical music, she played cello from grade school through high school, and although no longer actively playing, her affinity for finding an emotional connection to music is still strong. Residing in central PA, she is new to the Canadian music scene and enjoys listening to new artists as a way to break away from “the usual.” Jess is an avid yogi who often finds a sliver of peace while on the yoga mat with good music playing in the background.
