This Friday Song is likely one you already know: the Roger Waters’ penned Pink Floyd classic from 1975 – “Wish You Were Here.”
Ripton-based Americana musician, Sarah King, recorded the English rock band’s iconic hit last summer in Wisconsin, using studio time she’d won in a songwriter competition at the Great River Folk Festival in 2023.
“I was supposed to use that time in 2024,” King said. But that year, King said she was diagnosed with thyroid cancer.
“It kind of threw everything for a loop, and I really haven’t done a whole lot musically since then,” King said.
After surgeries, set-backs, recovery and vocal rehabilitation, King booked a mini tour last summer beginning at Town Hall Theater in Middlebury. Then her dad died unexpectedly.
The theater offered to postpone, but King pressed on.
“My dad was a huge live music fan and I know that he would have personally crawled back from the grave, waving his crutches in anger if I had even considered canceling a show on his behalf,” she said.
King played that show at Town Hall Theater, then headed west to use the studio time.
“I was in no condition to learn anything new and I knew who to reach out to: my longtime friend and occasional musical collaborator, John Galgano,” King said.
They’d met in college and had once played the classic rock song on the fly, joking that they should strive to record it someday.
King said the timing felt right to record it when John’s dad also passed away.
“It gave our grief purpose and we decided to release the song for Father’s Day this year in honor of all of our fathers that we love and miss dearly.”
King’s music is available on streaming platforms like Bandcamp and Spotify and on her YouTube channel.