Jesper Lindell releases his soulful cover of Dan Penn’s “If Love Was Money,” taken from his forthcoming album 3614 Jackson Highway

Swedish singer-songwriter Jesper Lindell releases his soulful cover of Dan Penn’s “If Love Was Money,” taken from his forthcoming album 3614 Jackson Highway

Release date March 6 2026

In 2024, the 30-year-old Lindell set out on a transatlantic pilgrimage with his band, The Brunnsvik Sounds, to trace the roots of the music that shaped him. Their journey led to two hallowed rooms in American music history: Muscle Shoals Sound Studio in Alabama and Royal Studios in Memphis, Tennessee. With just two days booked at each studio, the band recorded an astonishing two albums’ worth of material in only four days. The first to be released is 3614 Jackson Highway, a powerful, life-affirming collection recorded at Muscle Shoals and steeped in reverence for its storied legacy.

Reflecting on the choice to cover Dan Penn, Lindell explains:
“We had a three-day drive from Boston down to Muscle Shoals, still chasing songs to record. The closer we got to Alabama, the more I realized I kept coming back to songs written or co-written by Dan Penn. We started listening to his 1972 solo album, which I hadn’t known before the trip, and I fell in love with it. I could have recorded almost every song on that record, but the last track, ‘If Love Was Money,’ felt 100% like something me and my band could really sink into. And we did, didn’t we?”

​
​The session itself was nearly derailed by flight delays, cutting their Muscle Shoals time down to just a day and a half. Yet once the gear was set and the tape started rolling, everything clicked. Fueled by jet lag, pent-up energy, and the awe of working in a room once inhabited by legends like the Rolling Stones, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Duane Allman, Paul Simon, Bob Seger, the Staples Singers, and many more, the band entered a creative rush that shaped the album’s raw immediacy.

“I know some might think it’s presumptuous to take on immortal songs that already exist in exquisite versions,” Lindell says. “But diving deep into the material actually playing and singing the songs instead of just listening to them was an invaluable experience. We learned a lot from it. I’m grateful I got to do this and proud of the result.”

Born and raised in the small lakeside town of Ludvika, Sweden, Jesper Lindell cut his teeth in the local scene playing soulful rock, roots, and R&B in modest bars and rehearsal spaces. Early on, he developed a deep admiration for classic American songwriting and the warm, analog sound of the ’60s and ’70s. His breakout EP Little Less Blue, recorded with members of First Aid Kit, introduced a strikingly emotive voice and a natural feel for blending retro soul with contemporary Americana. Subsequent releases—including the horn-laced Twilights and the expansive Before the Sun cemented his reputation as a songwriter who transforms personal stories into widescreen, roots-driven soundscapes.

Now a key figure in the Scandinavian soul-rock resurgence, Lindell continues to refine a sound that feels timeless yet immediate echoing influences from Van Morrison to The Band, while remaining unmistakably his own.

​Tracklist:
1. If Love Was Money
2. She Ain’t Gonna Do Right
3. Respect Yourself
4. Rainy Night in Georgia
5. Pretend I Never Happened
6. Rainbow Road
7. Heavy Makes You Happy (feat. Michaela Holmberg)
8. I’ve Got a Thing About You Baby
9. Drift Away (feat. Phil Campbell)

Website:
jesperlindell.com