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Recently Found — Lost to the Archives! 🎶
The Story Behind My Heart Cries Out for You
Some songs seem to have a life of their own.
My Heart Cries Out for You began back in the 1970s, when I originally wrote it as “Hear O Lord.” It was written for voice and piano, and like many songs from that period, eventually found its way into the archives.
Years later, while I was teaching music, I arranged the song for elementary school concert band just for fun.
They loved it!
But the song still had more life left in it.
In 2016, I pulled “Hear O Lord” from the archives and began revisiting it with my friend and musical collaborator John D’Elia. As we worked on it, the song evolved into “My Heart Cries.” John brought his remarkable guitar playing and production talents to the project, and together we began creating something entirely new from the old song.
The project eventually went on the shelf as COVID changed so much for all of us.
Fortunately, the recordings and individual tracks remained in the archives.
In 2025, the song resurfaced once again. The tracks that had been saved over the years were finally brought together and compiled, preserving John’s guitar work and the musical foundation we had created together.
And that brings us to today.
I recently pulled the original recording out of the archives once again and wondered what it might sound like with a fresh interpretation. Using Suno, I created an AI-assisted reimagining of the song, with new vocals and a different arrangement while staying true to the original music, lyrics, chord structure, and the character of the recording John and I created together.
What surprised me was how closely the new interpretation captured the musical character of the original. The harmonic and chord structure remains remarkably similar to John’s instrumental arrangement, while the backing track, phrasing, and vocals have been given a fresh treatment.
And then there’s the guitar solo.
Listen for it at 2:07.
John’s original guitar solo is still mostly intact. Suno added some minor embellishment, but the heart of the solo—John’s creativity, phrasing, and playing—remains his.
What you’re hearing is therefore much closer to John’s original performance than a newly generated guitar part. I wanted to preserve that piece of the original recording because it is unmistakably John.
And, thankfully, Suno replaced my original vocals too!
Inspired by Psalm 27, My Heart Cries Out for You is upbeat, fun, and carries a nostalgic nod to the sounds of the ’70s and ’80s—which is one reason John and I called ourselves The Throwbacks.
What started as “Hear O Lord” in the 1970s has now traveled through decades, several arrangements, archived recordings, a collaboration with John, a pandemic, and yet another creative reimagining.
Nearly fifty years later, the song is still finding its way back into the light.
Some songs are worth bringing back.
Some stories are worth remembering.
And some music simply refuses to stay in the archives.
My Heart Cries Out for You
Reimagined with a little help from AI.
The Throwbacks — Original Recording
Bill Hutzel — vocals & keyboards
John D’Elia — electric guitars & everything else
Original arrangement, production & recording: John D’Elia
Such Clay Productions
AI-assisted reimagining created with Suno
Additional audio editing with Audacity
© 2019 D’Elia & Hutzel
