Maxwell Planes Joins Melanie Faye and Ric Wilson for "Gave My Everything"

Above: “Gave My Everything” Cover Artwork

MAXWELL PLANES
RELEASES NEW SINGLE
“GAVE MY EVERYTHING”
FEAT. MELANIE FAYE AND RIC WILSON

NASHVILLE, TN (December 3, 2021) — Chicago-based R&B/Soul artist Maxwell Planes joined forces with Melanie Faye to release his new smooth and slanky single, “Gave My Everything,” today which also features acclaimed hip-hop artist Ric Wilson. Known for his sonically intriguing style, Planes teamed up with Melanie Faye to lay critical guitar rhythms and licks that structure the song — splitting the duties 50/50. 

Atwood Magazine recently raved, “a smoldering song of personal growth and inner strife, Maxwell Planes’ latest single is an intimate and important immersion in oneself: Dwelling in dark depths, the soul-stirring ‘Gave My Everything’ featuring Melanie Faye and Ric Wilson is a cathartic, moody release of anxiety and pain. It’s the easing up of that grip we can so often hold way too tight; the beginning of a long journey toward catharsis and relief.” 

Penned about mental health, “Gave My Everything” also features Ric Wilson and addresses the push and pull surrounding anxiety and relationships. “Giving your everything is exhausting; mentally and physically,” says Planes. “A lot of ups and downs are involved in those situations, and we wanted the song to portray this through the lyrics and the composition.” 

This message is critical to the song, which was the result of a mental health excursion across the southern United States in search for clarity and musical indulgence. “When I arrived in Atlanta, I linked up with Melanie Faye and we talked about mental health, anxiety, relationships, etcetera,” explains Planes. “We decided that was the mood for the song we should record. We spent a couple days in the studio piecing together guitar rhythms and licks until we had a nice base that we could lay down our vocals on.”

Above (left to right): Melanie Faye and Maxwell Planes in the Atlanta studio where “Gave My Everything” was recorded.

Planes then took the song back to Chicago where he finished the track before sending it over to Ric Wilson. “I sent it over to Ric Wilson with an open verse...as always, his penmanship is unmatched,” says Planes. “I just felt everything. This song is a feeling.” 

These feelings are a result of the sacrifices Planes has overcome throughout his life including growing up CODA (child of deaf adults), which in a twist of fate pointed him directly towards music and freedom to openly explore different genres and styles without parental pressures. “I try my best to be an optimistic person, so when I create I feel like that translates through my guitar licks and sometimes lyrically,” says Planes. “I’m heavily inspired by gospel music, which I feel can have the most optimistic sound in the arrangements and lyrics.” 

Maxwell Planes’ Sacrifices EP will be released in early 2022.

Above: Maxwell Planes