Award-winning songwriter and video artist Don Arbor became a music lover before he was born, hearing his mother’s gorgeous soprano as he rocked peacefully in the amniotic fluid. Not long after, Don started singing himself, and he has never stopped. Growing up with the songs of Dylan, the Beatles, Stones and Motown, Don soon picked up a guitar and charted his own musical path—writing songs, performing in clubs in the northeast, and spending a couple of eventful years in Paris, where Don became an accompanist to Gordon Heath, an acclaimed Black expatriate folk singer and Shakespearean actor. Their collaboration culminated in a Bicentennial concert at the American Cathedral in Paris.
Don returned from Paris to attend law school, where he simultaneously continued his musical pursuits, entertaining crowds at school assemblies with his original tune, “Old White Men,” written about the lack of women and minorities on the law school faculty. In Don’s view, it’s better to be “woke” than asleep. Over the course of Don’s legal career, he has successfully represented women exposed to a radioactive iron experiment without their knowledge or consent; victims of toxic railway spills; and individuals who were sickened by defective pharmaceuticals.
For the last 8 years, Don has been working on the national Opioid litigation, to obtain compensation for public entities left with the enormous costs of the opioid epidemic.
Despite his intense legal career, Don has never given up on his musical path, continuing to write and record great songs, and the new CD, “Hope Is Hard to Kill,” displays the same musicality and passion for social justice that have inspired Don, from the first time he heard Dylan sing “Blowin’ in the Wind” to the present day. The title track is an infectious rock tune with a message of strength and resilience in hard times, and it became a music video shown at numerous film festivals. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOoFTvTrIYw
"Everyone Comes from Somewhere,” also featured on the new CD, is a welcome song for present-day Dreamers and the immigrants of the past, including Don's own ancestors. The song was hailed as “a perfect antidote to the current administration’s xenophobia” by the East Bay Express. "Everyone Comes from Somewhere" received Dual Gold Awards for Best Music Video and Original Song, from the International Independent Film Festival, and it has garnered many thousands of views on YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7AAAHX5w7S0
Don’s songs also have their humorous side, and some are as far as possible from the controversies of the day. “Losing You Gets Harder Every Time” is a classic country tune about a relationship that couldn’t decide when it was over, as the couple kept falling in and out of love. “Christmas on Mars” is an amusing take on imagining a get-away from the over-commercialization of our most popular holiday. “Lost” is a relatable song about forgetting where you left your keys, or your hat, or what you were supposed to do, and it’s also a love song, as in “I’d be lost without you.”
The “Hope Is Hard to Kill” CD features an extraordinary group of gifted musicians, including Stef Burns, long-time lead guitarist for Huey Lewis and the News; Curtis Ohlson, who played bass with Ray Charles and Branford Marsalis; Kevin Hayes, drummer with Robert Cray; and the amazing violinist, Mads Tolling, who tours with Bob Weir and performs his own classical works with symphony orchestras.
"Don Arbor's offering, Everyone Comes From Somewhere, is a clarion call to rekindle our nation’s commitment to welcoming diversity, not shunning it.” – LA Progressive
"Everyone Comes From Somewhere is a striking message to counter anti‑immigrant sentiment. Arbor’s voice is mellow and inflected with folk stylings, but the power is in the message.” –Melina Paris, Music Columnist
In an in‑depth interview, Leah Brungardt highlights that Don Arbor’s music has been compared with the styles of George Harrison, Steely Dan, and Jason Mraz. His singles such as “It Should Have Been Me” and “County D”—the latter telling a deeply emotional story about leaving home—are noted for their thoughtful storytelling.