First comes If I Ruled The World (SHAWN RAE "WE" VERSION)
Originally introduced in 1963, this song has been recorded more than seventy times by artists across generations and genres. Its longevity is not accidental. The melody, structure, and sentiment have proven timeless, resonating with listeners decade after decade. A song does not endure this long unless it carries something essential.
This new recording honors that legacy fully. It does not replace earlier interpretations. It continues them.
The key difference lies in intention. While many historic versions leaned toward reflective and slower interpretations, this rendition introduces a brighter tempo and a sense of lift. The shift from “I” to “We” transforms the song from a solitary wish into a shared vision. It becomes less about imagining alone and more about imagining together.
Arranged by legendary producer and arranger Charles Calello, the recording features a full orchestra and a renewed sense of joy. A subtle addition at the song’s close, a final invitation of “come,” turns the piece into an open door rather than a distant dream.
The result is hopeful, uplifting, and timeless without being nostalgic.
If I Ruled The World (SHAWN RAE "WE" VERSION) presents the destination. A world guided by dignity, empathy, and freedom. A world where joy is not rare and where every voice matters.
But visions do not become real without inner change. That is where Breakin’ Out enters the conversation.
Breakin’ Out is not about anger or rebellion. It is about awakening. It speaks to the moment when someone realizes they can no longer live confined by fear, silence, or inherited limitations. It is the internal work required before external harmony can exist.
The song reflects a simple truth. If the world is to become more compassionate, individuals must first free themselves from what keeps them small, silent, or disconnected. One person at a time, that inner liberation becomes collective transformation.
Both songs were created with purpose beyond music.
All net proceeds from If I Ruled The World (SHAWN RAE "WE" VERSION) and Breakin’ Out will be donated at one hundred percent to vetted organizations fighting modern human slavery and trafficking, both in the United States and internationally. This commitment extends further, with ten percent of profits from all Oneness-related work, including perfumes, music, merchandise, and future projects, also directed toward restoring freedom and dignity.
Slavery stands as the direct opposite of Oneness. Where Oneness affirms dignity and equality, slavery denies humanity itself. Addressing it is not optional. It is essential.
Science, culture, and lived experience all point to the same truth. Humanity is one family. Differences of language, appearance, or geography do not divide our shared identity.
Oneness means living as if that truth matters.
Together, these two songs express that belief clearly. One offers the vision of a healed world. The other reminds us that such a world begins within each of us.
In today’s unprecedented planetary challenges, access to energy is essential to economic and social development of all nations and peoples across the globe, according to World Energy Forum.
(PRWEB) September 19, 2014 — World Energy Forum has appointed speaker, humanitarian, and international recording artist, Shawn Rae, as its global “Goodwill Ambassador.” Mr. Rae’s duties will include helping to promote the mission and vision goals of World Energy Forum, working with sponsors, and expanding partnerships with other energy-related entities.
The international recording artist known worldwide as Shawn Rae has released the American debut of his full-length Christmas album, A World Christmas: Love Knows No Borders. The album contains 11 tracks for 40 minutes of delightful listening time. A grand collection of traditional seasonal classics, this LP is a gorgeous showcase for Rae’s rich and soulful singing voice. Yet the album is still notable for its cultural, spiritual and humanitarian principles, which are unlike any Christmas album ever released.
“The message in the album,” writes Rae himself, “is about love knowing no borders.”
It is the first Christmas album from the Muslim world made with respect for Christianity, and which utilized the services of Christians, Jews, Muslims and those of other faiths to complete it.
A fine example of this collaborative work is Rae’s rendition of Feliz Navidad. Rae sings this classic in Spanish and English as has been done since the song was written in 1970. As his somewhat more tender version continues, he is joined by a chorus of singers singing in an array of languages from around the world, including Hebrew, Arabic, French, Greek, Iraqi, Urdu, Italian, Chinese, and still more.
Also of special note is the inclusion of Baby It’s Cold Outside, an award-winning song penned in 1944, famously singled out by Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood leader Sayid Qutb in ’51 as an example of American lasciviousness and immorality. Rae, who is from a Muslim background, sings this beautiful duet with none other than singer, actress Deana Martin, daughter of iconic Dean Martin.
Deana’s previous duet was recorded with the great, world-famous American singer, Andy Williams.
The song is therefore an international reconciliation of great religious, cultural and historical significance worldwide.
Perhaps the most heartfelt and poignant track on A World Christmas is My Grown-Up Christmas List. Rae’s singing is profoundly and strikingly personal in this track, particularly when he suggests a peaceful resolution to the world’s conflicts: “No more lives torn apart, wars that never start — right would always win, and love would never end.”
Naturally, as longtime fans of Rae will intuit, A World Christmas: Love Knows No Borders is a musically elegant record. Fans merely listening for the pleasure of appreciating a great work of musical art are certain to be delighted. With arrangements by the renowned composer Charles Calello, and performances by Rae that highlight his exceptional standards, A World Christmas is a Christmas album that indeed sounds heavenly, but it is also a true miracle on earth, and that is what Christmas is about.
A World Christmas: Love Knows No Borders is readily available online around the world.
Hopeful hearts everywhere paused in awe near the winter solstice in 2007 when the Pope welcomed the King of Saudi Arabia to the Vatican.
Had two mountains moved, just to show a weary world they could?
The portent of that promising summit spurred Shawn Rae toward a musical gesture of gratitude
A holiday album from the Muslim world may seem an unlikely overture. Born near the Himalayas, with Jewish, Muslim, Christian, Hindu, Sikh and Chinese forebears, Shawn Rae chose to live in America in the 1970s.
Gathering a cross-cultural team of musicians, writers, technicians, vocalists, and celebrated music arranger Charles Calello, Shawn aimed for a musical treasure for listeners of any faith.
His engaging baritone conjures the sunny-snowy-starry moods of Yule settings everywhere: cherished families, lovers and friends, giddy romance, heady dreams, longing, anticipation, joy and hope.
Calello’s genius shines in lush strings, whimsical flutes, bold horns, playful bells and tinkling chimes. Swinging ballads and nostalgic rhythms prance their way into the happy mix. My Grown-Up Christmas List conveys a hopeful ideal dear to Shawn: “No more lives torn apart … wars that never start … right would always win … and love would never end.”
He sings light-hearted Feliz Navidad in English and Spanish, as background voices echo the merry message in Hebrew, Arabic, French, Greek, Iraqi, Urdu, Italian, and Chinese.
Listen to A World Christmas (www.ShawnRae.com), and you just might hear yourself.
Stephanie Murphy has over two decades of experience as a columnist, reporter and editor with major newspapers and magazines. She has interviewed numerous entertainers, actors, authors, comedians, business leaders and politicians. Some of her interview subjects include: Sophia Loren, Henry Mancini, Bill Gates, Donna Summer, Jack Nicklaus, Dr. Joyce Brothers, Dr. Benjamin Spock, William F. Buckley Jr., Art Buchwald, F. Lee Bailey, President Gerald Ford, Richard Nixon, Dr. Jean Houston (psychologist; author of Life-Force: The Psycho-Historical Recovery of Self), and Arthur Laffer, the infamous “Laffer Curve” supply-side economist.
Shawn Rae Judging for Walt Disney Records and Radio Disney Radio Stations, a two-hour Christmas Contest showcasing winning performances by children 14 and under.
The Jewish Arab Dialogue Committee Award • A declaration of service to the cause of peace in the Middle East, honoring dedication to fostering understanding and unity.
With Bishop John Elya and Michael and Carmen Printup, Co-Honorary Chairpersons of the “Heavenly Ball”, at a Luau celebrating humanitarian work and connection.
CD Review in Magazine A World of Romance thrills all listeners seeking love, in love, or beyond it. This masterful blend of orchestration, emotion, and lyric uplifts the spirit. Shawn’s exciting, sensual journey helps us feel oneness with him, ascending joyfully through sound.
SHAWN RAE - A WORLD OF ROMANCE
CD Review
By
Dr. Linda Howard
There are three kinds of people who will thrill to the sounds of “A World Of Romance”; those who are looking for love, those who are in love, and yes, even those who have regretfully decided love isn’t worth the trouble.
It’s not just Shawn’s breathtaking voice that thrills the heart of the listener, but his choice of songs that recreate the most universal, yet personal and uplifting spirit of love at its very pinnacle. How refreshing that nowhere in this masterful synthesis of orchestration, emotion, lyric and voice is there ever a hint of cynicism or expression of love’s agony. The entire work is at once uplifting, exciting, and deeply sensual. Shawn is no less than equal to some of the world’s most famous crooners in both style and voice quality. The musical arrangements are unique and original, and integrate, in some songs, a hint of the delicious flavors of other cultures. We find ourselves visiting far off lands with Shawn, waiting with great anticipation to see where he and his orchestra will transport us next. We are willing travelers on the journey from one lyrical experience to another, and as our joy and faith in the power of love grows, Shawn gently lets us become aware of what might otherwise seem pedantic -- that the greatest love of all happens within ourselves. We as listeners feel a familiarity with the choice of words, emotions and humanity. We feel a oneness with him, as we effortlessly ascend to a higher level of consciousness. We are joyful on this journey. We feel what he feels.
If being in love has a beat, Shawn captures it, especially in “The Power of Love”. By the eighth song, a “Woman’s Touch”, Shawn has got you. That’s right, YOU! Whatever your age, your take on love or your situation, when Shawn’s glorious, seductive voice asks, “Woman, love me tonight,” you’ll say “Yes”.
At the 38th Annual Golden Harvest Queen Of Hearts Benefit. The Event, representing a two million dollar commitment, benefits the Miami Children’s Hospital, ranked consecutively as one of the top pediatric hospitals in the United States by U.S. News & World Report
The event represented a two million dollar commitment to benefit Miami Children's Hospital, which has been ranked consecutively as one of the top pediatric hospitals in the United States by U.S. News & World Report. Founded in 1950, the hospital is South Florida's only licensed specialty hospital exclusively for children, with approximately 800 attending physicians and more than 500 pediatric subspecialists. The facility operates the only Level 1 pediatric trauma center in the region and has earned the prestigious American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) Magnet designation, ensuring that critically ill children throughout South Florida receive world-class care without having to leave their community.
A Magazine Article written by Shawn Rae about witnessing human rights neglect, and how Shawn, as a child, learned a heart wrenching lesson in homelessness, hunger, disease, and despair. The article reveals how these experiences shaped a lifelong commitment to humanity.
A WITNESS TO HUMAN RIGHTS NEGLECT
A Lesson in Homelessness, Hunger, Disease and Despair
By Shawn Rae
As a child of 6 years of age, in the Himalayan regions of the sub-continent of India where I was born and raised till the age of 18, I was taken along with other children to a refugee camp in the desert. The purpose of the trip was to teach us a lesson in compassion for those in need.
What I personally witnessed when our convoy arrived at our destination is forever etched vividly in my mind. There were throngs of barefooted people in filthy tattered clothes. There were old men, wearing thin wrappings about their lower bodies, their skin, dirty, leathered, dried out and wrinkled from the severe effects of the sun. There were those unrecognizable as women, with clothes all bedraggled and torn. There were no accessories to adorn them, no finery or polish, just thin coverings for their heads to shield them from the searing heat of the scorching sun. Some of them, those appearing younger, were holding fast to their ragamuffins – those little unkempt children who looked old far beyond their years. Many of them, adults and children alike, were crying, grabbing, clutching and clawing at the things being tossed from the lorries that were part of our convoy.
Suddenly, one of the objects being thrown at the crowd went astray and landed directly at my feet. I stooped to pick it up, to help, to be a part of what was being given. To my disgust what I assumed to be food was in fact, an old stale piece of bread with furry greenish mold on its edges. Just then, coming towards me, I saw a small, frail boy dragging his physically challenged body sideways on the ground. As he reached me, his pained face forced a smile in hope of receiving the piece of bread in my hand. I quickly placed it in his outstretched tiny arm. He eagerly clutched it and hastily struggled back towards the wretched crowd. My eyes continued to watch him as he handed the piece of bread to a woman holding a sickly baby cradled in one arm, while a weeping little girl clung to the other. To this day, I can still remember the look of extreme pain and suffering on the face of the unfortunate woman, as she stoically struggled to shield her innocent children from the turmoil and tragedy that had befallen on them.
That evening at dinner I did not feel hungry. The harsh inequities of life that I had witnessed in the events of the day had shattered the innocence by which I viewed my comparative sheltered existence. I knew then unequivocally that I had to somehow, someday, be a part of something that would work to alleviate such misery amongst my fellow men.
Over 4 decades later, still a student of life, my understanding to date is derived, apart from the influence of Christian, Hindu, Sikh, Muslim, Jewish, Tibetan and Chinese ancestry inherited from my forebears, from a compilation of writings, conversations and observations learned from many cultures, traditions, religions, and from both Eastern and Western philosophies. I have found that the common denominator in what I have learned is that only collectively in Oneness can we alleviate the ills that exist around us. After all, hunger, disease, homelessness and despair know no bounds and thus affect all races, all colors, all castes, and all creeds. In essence, we are each a part of the cause, and therefore too, a part of the solution.
Our challenge then is to awaken to our true potential for goodness and greatness, and to realize that change first begins with us. In so doing, we will find that the great heights of love and compassion engendered will infuse in us a deeper sense of caring and commitment and ultimately lead us all to a higher purpose and a grander vision – one that better serves the needs of all – in our one small world.
Shawn will be appearing at the Broward County Convention Center in Fort Lauderdale, on Sunday, January 16th, 2005 at 2 P.M.
Natural Awakenings Magazine, January 2005