So, a cool thing happened for me this week. Tim Anderson, a guy I know through a Facebook guitar group, messaged me to let me know he’d be coming from Virginia to the Phoenix area to visit his sister. Turns out his sister lives only about five miles from me, so we got together for a couple of hours of guitar time and cooked up a little “Jambalaya” for you!

“Hurricane” was written by Thom Schuyler, Keith Stegall, and Stewart Harris. It was first recorded by Levon Helm in 1980 and then by Leon Everette. The Band of Heathens released a great version of it in 2018. Depending on your perspective, this song could be a testament to gritty perseverance against the elements or a story of stubborn pride. Maybe a little of both? You decide. Anyway, with the wet weather we’ve had all over the USA this winter, many of you may find yourselves identifying with “the old man.”

“The Highwayman” by Jimmy Webb has been recorded by numerous people but probably the best-known version of the song was done by The Highwaymen country supergroup of Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, Waylon Jennings, and Johnny Cash (they took the name of their group from the song).

Webb told the story of waking up in a sweat in a hotel in England after dreaming about a highwayman being chased by lawmen on horses. He thought, “That was so real it was almost like it was a past life.” He immediately sat down at his piano and had the song written within a couple of hours.

The collaboration: I love these guys. Seems like we have as much fun in our “production” meetings as we do with the music. Our concept for the collab was to have just the four of us on guitars and do it like we might do it onstage. (Okay, I may have added a little extra on the video production.) Thanks, Ben Robert Eastman, Gary Schoolcraft, and John Bacon for your terrific musicianship and dedication to the project (even down to a couple of them having to go out and buy the matching shirt). 

“Lucille” seems to be a very popular name for song subjects. If you were listening to the radio circa 1977, you couldn’t escape this one by Hal Bynum and Roger Bowling. It was Kenny Rogers’ first major hit after leaving The First Edition and became the first of 21 #1 country hits for him and really launched his solo career. It’s a sad song, but was always a crowd pleaser and usually prompted a sing-along in any bar or party.

Mardi Gras season has just wrapped up and I was looking for something to mark the occasion. “New Orleans Ladies” was penned by Hoyt Garrick and Leon Medica and recorded by Louisiana’s LeRoux in 1978. It became a regional hit for them and made it onto the Billboard Hot 100. Anybody out there remember this one? While it’s technically not a “Mardi Gras song,” it conveys some of the spirit of New Orleans. So grab a cup of dark roast coffee and a hot beignet with a thick dusting of powdered sugar and let’s take a stroll through the French Quarter.

After being away from it for a while, I’ve decided to take a dive back into multitrack recording using a DAW (specifically Studio One 6). To get my feet wet, I wanted to do a project that would be relatively easy but still challenging. I settled on this original song of mine, “Lost in Your Love.” I was thrilled when Gary Schoolcraft agreed to play drums and Steve Urbi consented to add a lead track. I also recruited a couple of other guys I usually keep locked in the attic.

About the song: This is a song about desperation. The singer is in a long-term relationship that he knows he should end, but the controlling love of his partner makes it hard for him to get out of it. (And, no, it isn’t autobiographical ). Hope you enjoy this little production. Lyrics are below the video if you’re interested.

Lost in your love, it’s a feeling I know each time

I look in your eyes—here it comes, that old feeling growing

Lost in the lies of a thousand yesterdays

And the web that you weave tangles me and there’s no escaping

How many times have I told you I’m leaving you?

I look in your eyes and I know I’m deceiving you

I’m lost in your love on a hopeless carousel

And I can’t stop the ride because I can’t bring myself to tell you

Searching my heart, it’s a feeling I can’t explain

I know I should leave, but you take me in your arms again

I’m lost in your love, like a child against a storm

I know I’ve nowhere to go, I don’t know what I’m running from

Lost in the lies of a thousand yesterdays

And the web that you weave tangles me and there’s no escaping

Lost in your love on a hopeless carousel

And I can’t stop the ride because I can’t bring myself to tell you

Lost in your love…

Here’s one for all you relationship long-haulers. Alan Jackson wrote and recorded this country hit, and I was so glad when my friend Marsha McConchie MacMartin suggested that I take a crack at it. I was even more thrilled when she agreed to add her sublime harmonies! “Livin’ on Love” is an unabashed country feel-good song and we hope you have as much fun listening as we had recording it! Here’s a toast to all of you out there who are livin’ on love.

This Shel Silverstein song was first recorded by Tompall Glaser, then Waylon Jennings and a host of others. The humor is a bit sophisticated for my style, but I thought I’d give it a go. Here’s “Put Another Log on the Fire.”

Here’s an original song of mine called “Dry Your Eyes.” I wrote the first version of this one in my early 20’s, when break-ups seem to have been my main source of inspiration–not an unusual thing for young songwriters.

I lived in Galveston, TX, for eight years and never learned this song for some reason. I finally decided to rectify that situation.

The careers of Jimmy Webb and Glen Campbell were intertwined as Webb wrote many of the songs that lifted Campbell to stardom. Glen did this top 10 hit originally as an upbeat, march tempo piece that showed off his lead guitar playing skills. When Webb and Campbell got together for their “In Session” TV special in 1988, Jimmy commented that his original vision for the song was a slow ballad and they performed a quiet, beautiful version.

The slow ballad take on this really makes more sense to me given the subject matter. Although this song was written during the Vietnam War era, it could portray any soldier in any lonely outpost of the world, scared and longing for home.