Album Notes

He may make his home in North Carolina these days, but his heart belongs to the Steel City. Pittsburgh native Misha Angrist is a self-described lifelong Penguins fanatic. His loyalty to his hometown team – like Lemieux's – knows no bounds. In tribute to his beloved Penguins, Angrist and his Durham-based band Sea Cow recently recorded Merci Beaucoup (Mario Lemieux), a poignant and witty paean to retired Magnificent One (and current owner) Mario Lemieux.

"After Mario saved the franchise for the third time, I thought that he should be memorialized in song," remembers Angrist. Not only does Merci Beaucoup (Mario Lemieux) trace the hockey great's career on ice; the song also quietly pays homage to Lemieux's devotion and commitment to his team and to the people of Pittsburgh.

Lemieux played 17 seasons for the Pittsburgh Penguins, despite multiple surgeries and a serious bout with Hodgkin's lymphoma. He deferred his salary to help keep the team afloat financially. He bought the team out of bankruptcy and promised to keep the team in Pittsburgh. In 1993, Lemieux created The Mario Lemieux Foundation (http://www.mariolemieux.org/) to “fund promising medical research projects being conducted by talented scientists.” Fans like Angrist were impressed not only by Lemieux's extraordinary athletic prowess, but perhaps just as indelibly by his character and fortitude. Lemieux's loyalty has proved infectious. "I haven't lived in Pittsburgh for many years, but I continue to bleed black and gold," Angrist says. "My daughter's middle name is Lemieux."

Sea Cow will donate all net proceeds from the sale of the single to The Mario Lemieux Foundation.