The family of Brian Howe have released a video for Going Home, the first song to br released by the late Bad Company and Ted Nugent singer his passing. Howe died in May at the age of 66, after suffering a fatal cardiac arrest.
Going Home was recorded at Howe's home in Fort Myers, Florida, with producer Brooks Paschal, who tells the Fort Myers News-Press, "We knew that it was going to be the next important song. We always knew it was gonna be a home run."
"This is one of the last songs Brian wrote and recorded and, as it turns out, sadly it was very prophetic," says his manager, Paul Easton.
"The song really touched everybody in the office when they first heard it. And today, as we work on the release, it is still a tough one to listen to."
Paschal and Howe wrote the song a few years ago after Howe’s mother died, and the lyrics imagine Howe’s own death. A tender, poignant ballad, Howe sings:
Will I kiss the face of angels?
Will I leave without a trace?
Will I meet those gone before me?
Soon enough I will know
I’m going home
I’m going home
“There was so much sadness,” says Paschal. “I was thinking about the lyrics and trying to imagine what he was thinking when he wrote it and when he sang it. It was naturally difficult, because I knew those questions had been answered. And I didn’t like that."
Going Home was recorded by Howe and Paschal wrote as part of sessions that resulted in about 15 songs for a new album, as well as new versions of Bad Company's If You Needed Somebody, Holy Water and No Smoke Without Fire.
It's uncertain if the album will see the light of day, although it's likely that at least two of the tracks will be released this year.
"We have to assess what is there, how many songs are finished or close to being done and, of course, are they up to Brian’s exacting standards," Easton says. “He was a very hard critic of his own work, and we have to be sure and maintain those standards."
Going Home is available on streaming platforms now.
