May 10, 2024 — For his first single of 2024, mandolin master Danny Robertsfollows last autumn’s hit instrumental, “West Virginia Red,” with “Jesus Satisfies,”a self-penned gospel song that flows from a simple observation.
“When I wrote this song,” says Roberts, “I was thinking about how it seems like no one is ever really satisfied with their situation or what they have or don’t have. A working man with a family wants to be rich; a rich man wants a family and life like a working man; common people want to be famous; famous people want to be common; and on and on. The only real satisfaction that can be found is in Jesus. He is what we are all searching for and without Him there is no satisfaction.The world and all its treasures only give temporary gratification, but Jesus satisfies eternally.”
With a fast pace and a brooding, modal tonality that expresses the agitation and unhappiness of dissatisfaction embodied in the first verse’s final line— “It seems everybody wants to live in somebody else’s house” — “Jesus Satisfies”’s verses offer brief yet vivid depictions of envious mirror images that give way to the chorus’s heartfelt reassurance:
Don’t be jealous of your brother, it will only bring you pain
Like the story in the Bible of Abel and Cain
The Lord made you a promise, your needs He will supply
So cast your cares upon Him, only Jesus satisfies
Banjo and guitar man Tony Wray and long-time friend Jimmy Mattingly (Garth Brooks, Dolly Parton) bracket Roberts’ sturdy vocal delivery with briskly virtuosic solos — the central one by Roberts himself — while strong harmonies give an added lift to the chorus, where the song’s essential message resides.
“I love singing gospel music,” Roberts offers, “and having my wife, Andrea, and daughter, Jaelee, singing with me definitely makes this recording very special to me. I hope that it will be a blessing to everyone.”
Listen to “Jesus Satisfies” HERE.
About Danny Roberts
For over 30 years, mandolinist Danny Roberts has been a steady presence in the heart of the bluegrass mainstream. Born and raised in Leitchfield, Kentucky, he was a founding member of New Tradition, a prominent bluegrass gospel group that toured widely throughout the 1990s, released eight well-received albums (including two for Mountain Home Music Company) and served as a “school of bluegrass” for musicians who went on to work with artists such as the Lonesome River Band, Rhonda Vincent & The Rage and the Special Consensus. At the beginning of the century, Danny began working for Gibson Musical Instruments, eventually becoming head of its Mandolin Division and Nashville Plant and Repair Supervisor before starting his own repair service, Just Off The Bench. While still at Gibson, he helped to found The Grascals, the award-winning bluegrass sextet that quickly rose to the music’s top ranks when they earned the International Bluegrass Music Association’s Song and Emerging Artist of the Year awards in 2005 and its top Entertainer of the Year honors in 2006 and 2007; he continues to serve as the group’s mandolin player and senior member. Danny released his first solo album in 2004, and made his Mountain Home Music Company debut as a solo artist with 2014’s Nighthawk.