• A direct link to Zachary Scot Johnson's hit YouTube channel, thesongadayproject is http://www.youtube.com/user/thesongadayproject

  • What is thesongadayproject?



  • Pretty much exactly what it sounds like! In September of 2012, Zach sat down and pressed "record" on his Iphone and performed his beloved cover of Donovan's "Catch The Wind". He set out with a goal to record a song a day, every day, for as long as he could. And he has. Over five full years (more than 1850 consecutive days and counting) and 38+ million views later, the channel is going stronger than ever.

    For the first four months of the channel, Zach put up quality videos of many of his most often requested originals and favorite covers. The videos averaged several hundred views each, and he'd built up a nice community of people who made watching his song a day part of their daily routine. Then on day 128, everything changed. Zach performed a cover of Elliott Smith's "Waltz #2", a song Zach deeply loves but rarely, if ever, performs live. Before long, the video had over 50, 000 views. Since then, there's been no turning back. Videos have ranged from a few thousand to over half a million views apiece.



    The videos stick to their original format to this day. They are recorded live with no overdubs, hiccups and all; the videos are presented as they are recorded. It's like being at one of Zach's concerts (with the added bonus of having his dogs occasionally wander through the shot--somewhat less likely to happen at one of his concerts).



    After the first full year of videos had gone up, Zach decided to start asking his favorite musicians who happen to be performing or living in whatever cities Zach is in to stop by for guest collaborations. For these videos, Zach joins in, but gives the lead to the guest. An extraordinary list of over 250 artists have joined Zach at this point, including:

    Donovan (who flew Zach to Ireland to record together),

    Shawn Colvin,

    Jeff Daniels ("Dumb and Dumber", "The Newsroom", etc.),

    Rosanne Cash,

    Marc Cohn,

    Creed Bratton ("The Office", The Grass Roots, etc.),

    Peter Yarrow (from Peter, Paul and Mary),

    Noel Paul Stookey (Paul from Peter, Paul and Mary),

    Kris Allen (winner of season 8 of "American Idol"),

    Paula Cole,

    Lisa Loeb,

    Annie Golden ("Orange Is The New Black", "Hair", etc.),

    Jeremy Messersmith,

    J.D. Souther,

    Richie Furay ("Buffalo Springfield" & Poco),

    Mary Black,

    David Wilcox,

    Mary Gauthier,

    Melissa Manchester,

    Gretchen Peters and Barry Walsh,

    The Lynnes (Lynn Miles and Lynne Hansen),

    Nellie McKay,

    Tom Paxton,

    Ruthie Foster,

    Madisen Ward and The Mama Bear,

    John Gorka,

    Jonatha Brooke,

    Cheryl Wheeler,

    Over The Rhine,

    Collective Soul,

    Sister Hazel,

    Rob Ickes and Trey Hensley,

    Stephen Kellogg,

    Catie Curtis,

    Lucy Wainwright Roche,

    Anders Osborne,

    Ana Egge,

    Chris Pureka,

    Lily and Madeleine,

    Jon McLaughlin,

    Joshua Davis ("The Voice"),

    Danny Schmidt,

    Carrie Elkin,

    Ellis Paul,

    Willy Porter and Carmen Nickerson (Porter & Nickerson),

    Peter Mulvey,

    Glen Phillips,

    Natalia Zukerman,

    Erin McKeown,

    Robby Hecht,

    Laurie Berkner,

    Mark Erelli,

    Connie Kaldor,

    Ian Moore,

    Dan Navarro,

    Griffin House,

    Jonathan Byrd,

    Fred Eaglesmith,

    Chris Koza,

    Slaid Cleaves,

    Michael McDermott,

    The Band of Heathens,

    Antje Duvekot,

    Connor Garvey,

    Storyhill,

    Alice Peacock,

    James Maddock,

    Rod Picott,

    Nora Jane Struthers,

    David Francey,

    Liz Longley,

    Caleb Hawley,

    Ann Reed,

    Rachel Ries (Her Crooked Heart),

    Rebecca Loebe,

    Josh Harty,

    Anne Hills,

    Rachael Kilgour,

    Anna Vogelzang,

    Jen Bluhm is Waltzing on Waves,

    Katie Dahl,

    Emily Barker,

    The Sea The Sea,

    Peter Mayer,

    Lynn O'Brien,

    Run Boy Run,

    Ben Nichols (from Lucero),

    Al Stewart,

    Sam Baker,

    Ellis,

    The Hillbenders,

    The New Standards,

    Kenny White,

    Willie Nile,

    Edie Carey,

    Caroline Cotter,

    James Lee Stanley,

    Kuinka,

    The Accidentals,

    Erin Bode,

    Curtis McMurtry,

    Joolz Leitch and Anto Thistlethwaite,

    Jessie Kennedy and Justin Grounds,

    Mick Flannery,

    Jason Wilber,

    Anne McCue,

    Julian Taylor,

    Brooke Annibale,

    The Ericksons,

    Jackie Venson,

    Frances Luke Accord,

    Humbird,

    Katy Vernon,

    Roisin O,

    Sarah Morris,

    Vicky Emerson,

    Will Kimbrough,

    Wes Kirkpatrick,

    Brigitte DeMeyer,

    The Ben Daniels Band,

    Trace Bundy,

    Danni Nicholls,

    Dan Israel,

    Allie Chipkin,

    Adam Svec,

    Caleigh Cardinal,

    Anna Laube,

    Warren and Joannie Williams,

    Jake Armerding,

    Anima,

    Doug Collins,

    The Andes,

    Wild Ponies,

    The Kennedys,

    A.J. Croce,

    SaulPaul,

    Cary Morin,

    Jenny Allen,

    Josh Damigo,

    The Black Lillies,

    The Okee Dokee Brothers,

    The Grahams,

    Rachael Sage and Ward Williams,

    Jeff and Carrie Dayton,

    Robin Bullock,

    Miss Clementine,

    Wyatt Easterling,

    Bill and Kate Isles,

    Sarah McQuaid,

    Brianna Lane,

    Nicholas Penn,

    James Rone,

    Colleen Sommerville Leeman and Scot Moore,

    Alisa Jordheim,

    Jourdan Myers,

    Mark Paffrath,

    Jeff Ward,

    Marv Dykhuis,

    Mark Harrod and Jordan Woiteshek,

    Reynaldo Jenkins,

    Megan Flod Johnson,

    Tennessee Jedd,

    Briana Rose Lipor,

    Christopher Yarrow,

    John Louis,

    Courtney Jones,

    Caritas (Kate Potter-Barrow, Greg and Kathy Berg),

    Cubanisms,

    Dennis Warner,

    The Chorale Arts Society (60+ piece choir)

    and more