October 20 is Tom Petty’s birthday. We lost him much too early on October 2, 2017, but he left behind quite a musical legacy for us. To pay our respects, Ben Robert Eastman, Gary Schoolcraft, John Bacon, and I put together this collaboration of one of Petty’s great songs, “Learning to Fly.” Ben gets special props for his outstanding audio/video production on this one. Happy birthday, Tom. We hope you like our take on this.

I’m not sure why this old song popped into my head last week. Could it be because of the “season” we’re in here in the U.S.? Hmmm. Anyway, Tim Hardin wrote and recorded it back in 1965 and it was later covered by Glen Campbell, The Carpenters, and Rod Stewart, among many others. Short and bitter, here’s “Reason to Believe.” As always, I truly appreciate you taking time to listen and comment when you get the chance!

Well, I hit 68 on September 4 (years, not MPH) and I’ve also been thinking a lot about Jimmy Buffett this week since September 1 was the first anniversary of his passing. This little ditty from JB sprang to mind and seemed to describe my situation the best, so here it is: “Growing Older but Not Up.” By the way, I did the math and it looks like Jimmy was at the ripe old age of 34 when he penned this ode to ungracious aging. I’m sure he felt ancient at the time.

On a recent RV trip across country I had the chance to drop in on my friend John Bacon in Missouri. He had a recording studio set up in his own RV and was gracious enough to allow me to play his beautiful 6-string Collings guitar for this video. John did a terrific job on all the production work for this classic tune. (And, yes, that’s me and my wife Tina pulling out of his driveway in the opening shot.)

“Take Me Home, Country Roads”, also known simply as “Country Roads”, is a song written by Bill Danoff, Taffy Nivert and John Denver. It was released as a single performed by Denver on April 12, 1971, peaking at number two on Billboard’s US Hot 100 singles for the week ending August 28, 1971.

I’m currently on a road trip with my wife, Tina, and we recently had the opportunity to drop in on my friend John Bacon and his lovely wife, Sharon. I’ve participated in numerous online collaborations with John, but our trip through Missouri presented the perfect chance to meet him in person and make some music while we were in the same room. This is our rendition of the great song “Lodi” by John Fogerty and Creedence Clearwater Revival. Hope you enjoy listening to it as much as we did making it!

“The Sand and the Foam” is from Dan Fogelberg’s great 1981 album, The Innocent Age. This beautiful little piece talks about the fleeting nature of childhood innocence and wonder, things we adults could sure use more of. Dan was a great guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter and we lost him much too young. I hope you enjoy this song as much as I do.
I AM FOREVER walking upon these shores,
Betwixt the sand and the foam,
The high tide will erase my foot-prints,
And the wind will blow away the foam.
But the sea and the shore will remain
Forever.
Kahlil Gibran

“Red Red Wine” was written and recorded by Neil Diamond in 1968. Interestingly, the Jamaican-born singer Tony Tribe recorded a reggae version of it in 1969 and then UB40 covered it as a reggae song in 1983. (And, no, Bob Marley never covered it.) I’m taking it back to its original form (sort of) today.

Jerry Reed’s song “Amos Moses” was one of his breakthrough hits back in 1970. I knew I needed some help with this one, but it was tough finding guys who would work for free. I finally got all these guys in the same room–had to put them in different hats so I knew who to yell at when they screwed up. Grab your push pole and pirogue and travel with me to a little place “about 45 minutes southeast of Thibodaux, Louisiana.” (Drum track from Karaoke Version backing tracks–all other noise made by the band of misfits pictured below.)

“Grandma’s Feather Bed” was written by Jim Connor and covered by John Denver on his 1974 album Back Home Again. It’s a good campfire song and usually gets a request from my wife at family gatherings when the guitar comes out. Hope you like it!

“Brandy (You’re a Fine Girl)” by Elliot Lurie is an all-time favorite of mine and is “possibly Earth’s finest composition,” according to no less an authority than the demigod Ego in Guardians of the Galaxy 2. Although I’ve loved this song (who doesn’t?) since Looking Glass released it in 1972, I had never learned it until now. If you know it, please sing along. I need help on the “doo doop” sections, so let ‘er rip.