Love,
Jack & Misty
A
little anniversary...
"Tennessee
Birdwalk"
was released 35 years ago right
now.
NEW CD ALERT!!!
Some of our best music was made at the "Beginnings".
Scroll down to see what we're talking about...
December 13, 2005...
Hi, everybody.
Good news from Australia.
Our new CD anthology album "Life & Death (and Almost Everything
Else)"
is getting some early attention.
-
We will be "Feature Album" on PBS-FM for the first week of 2006...
-
We made it into the Top Ten of RRR-FM last week.RRR is the largest non-mainstream
radio station in Australia...
-
Melbourne has two big music magazines.One of them is called "Inpress".
We were #1 in their chart last week.
Thank you all for keeping our music alive.
Sincerely,
Jack & Misty
December 6, 2005...
Hi, everybody.
My sister Val is a well-known Central Florida artist.
She has a cool new web site.
http://www.valeriexarmstrong.com
We'd love to have you visit her,
and, if you have time, sign her guest book.
And tell your friends. :)
Thanks.
Jack (& Misty)
November 27, 2005...
Happy post-Turkey day, folks! Hoping yours was a safe and happy one. Now, the news...
In an effort to make this site just a little more smooth running
than it's been, I've redesigned the Essay section. (YAY!)
Click on the "Jack's Essays" button and prepare yourselves.
Speaking of preparing yourselves, tomorrow is the change of music day on our front page.
(But for those of you who'll miss "I Will",
the current Stardust release, you won't miss it for long. I'm
moving it to this page for another week.) Get set for a blast from
the past. [Think "swingin' dromedary", and you've got it...]
Well, that's all for now. More to come later in the week.
Best wishes, and happy meandering through the essays!
Y.F.N.W., Jerry
November 21, 2005...
Happy advance Turkey day from the biggest turkey on the web, me. (Pass the stuffing...)
Fall is the season for change, so now seems as good a time as any
to announce the
new front page. Hope you all like it.
(Pass the cranberry sauce...)
The current song is Jack and Misty's new Stardust single, "I Will".
I say "current" because the game plan is to put a new track up
there every week. (More stuffing, please...)
Speaking of tracks, in answer to a recent inquiry in the
guestbook, you can find
"Humphrey The Camel" on the Velvet Saw CDs
"A Little Out Of Sync" and "Jack And Misty Are CRAZY!!!".
Hope that helps. (Chocoloate pudding with whipped cream? Don't
mind if I do...)
Oh, there's a new label for "Back From The Dead, Vol. 2". Here it is:
Well, that's all for the moment. We'll have more to come in the
next two days (as I'm off this weekend). Here's hoping you all
have a safe and happy Thanksgiving.
Best wishes, Y.F.N.W.,
Jerry.
November 16, 2005...
We interrupt Golden Oldies Week
for this little poem.
* * *
CHRISTMAS ENOUGH.
‘Twas the night before Christmas and all through the park,
One trailer was leaky, but covered with tarp.
On the wall were two cards, where you taped them up.
By the light of a candle, I poured us a cup.
Our tree on the table, was scrawny and thin…
A foot and three quarters of plastic and tin.
The carolers sang on our clock radio,
It’s the thought, after all, that counts, as you know.
The snow on the window, the smell of the pine,
Were sprayed from a can, but we didn’t mind.
No money, no shopping, no last minute rush.
Christmas with love
is Christmas Enough.
Jack Blanchard
November 15, 2005...
Hi, folks. Y.F.N.W. Jerry again. (Well, whom else?)
It's all about the CDs this week. If you want to know absolutely
more than almost everything about "Life and Death (and almost
everything else)", may we direct your attention to the Omni site:
http://worldwentdown.com/omni/omni102.html
(Even I didn't know this much!)
And let us not forget, that while "Life and Death" may have been
the beginning, there's lots more after that on the wonderful
Velvet Saw and Playback labels!
Click on the 
button to refresh your memories...
or just plain enhance them. They're all worth getting, folks, trust me!
More to come soon, folks.
Take care, Jerry.
November 10, 2005...
Hi there, folks. Y.F.N.W. Jerry here, and before we get to the essay
update, we have some exciting news... Set the table...
We just licensed one of our recordings
for use in a movie "Come Early Morning",
starring Ashley Judd, Stacey Keach, and others.
The song is Down to the End of the Wine.
YAYY!!!!!!!!
Jack and Misty. |
We thought you'd be interested. (grin). Now, the essay updates:
November 5: "A Song Idea From The Funny Papers"
November 6: "One Songwriter's Pet Lines"
November 7: "More Thinkwalking"
November 8: "Luck"
November 10: "The Ferret In The Moon"
And before we forget, it's Veterans Day tomorrow. Take a few moments
to remember why we celebrate it, please.
Enjoy, and have a nice weekend.
YFNW, Jerry.
November 5, 2005...
Hi, folks. Hoping your Halloween was safe and happy. Jerry here with
some slight updates. (Deep breath) Here goes...
The new Australian CD "Life and Death (and almost everything else)
is now available through both
amazon.com and CD Universe!
Be sure to enter "Jack Blanchard" or "Jack Blanchard / Misty Morgan" in the search box.
We have a couple of new entries in the essay section. (I've forgotten
what they are now! Sorry!!) You'll be able to find them
in the November section.
Have a great weekend folks, and on a serious note, Veteran's Day is
coming up next Friday. Take a minute to thank them.
See you soon, Y.F.N.W., Jerry.
October 31, 2005...
IT RUNS IN THE FAMILY.
I just got this email from my sister, Valerie.
************
I am going to wear a costume
to hand out tricks or treats to the neighborhood kids as I usually
do,
however, this year I'm going to have to make do
with half of one costume and half of another,
since money is tight.
I have part of a "Grim Reaper" suit
and half of a duck outfit
so I'm going as.......
" The Grim Duck".
Happy Halloween!
Love,
Val
Heh heh heh... imaginative! Have a Happy Halloween, folks!
Y.F.N.W., Jerry.
October 30, 2005...
BOO!
And all that good stuff there. Happy Halloween from all of us here at Birdwalk.
To get you in the... er... spirit of things, check out the following essay from Jack:
"Old Graves".
And when you're done with that, check out our annual Halloween song,
"The Voice".
We have some exciting news this week. "Life And Death (and almost everything else)"
is up at amazon.com!
Okay, so it doesn't actually ship until Nov. 3, but hey, it's a start!
We'd tell you more, but then they'd have to TP the nest.
Have a scary (but safe) Halloween, every-BOO-dy, and we'll see you in a few.
Y.F.N.W., Jerry.
October 26, 2005...
Hello and all that good stuff from Y.F.N.W. Well, let's get to it...
First, a whole slew of new essays from Jack. Here they are, in the order they were writ:
Oct. 15: "A Journey Home"
Oct. 16: "Thinking Inside The Box"
Oct. 18: "The News"
Oct. 19: "Misty's Radar"
Oct. 22: "The Best Places"
Oct. 23: "How Men And Women Watch TV"
Oct. 24: "The Mysterious Phone Call"
We'll also have a preview of the upcoming November single,
and our annual Halloween song coming up shortly.
(Hopefully, it won't be next Arbor Day before I get it here!)
Oh, before I forget, there's been a slight change in our low-tech
order form: The shipping and handling charge has had to have
been boosted slightly, and credit card orders are now taken only
through PayPal. (At least, I think that's how it goes. Feel free
to check it out for yourself if you like.)
Well, that's about it for now. Have a safe and Happy Halloween, everyone,
and I'll see you soon!
Boo! (In the "spirit" of things...)
Y.F.N.W., Jerry.
October 13, 2005...
Hi, folks, your ever-recovering webmeister here. (Boy, you ram a splinter under your
fingernail, and just see what you miss!)
First, Happy (belated) Anniversary, Misty and Jack!
We have quite a few new stories from Jack, including a recap of
the Anniversary that... well, let him tell you. Here's the
list of new stuff, in the order they appear:
Oct. 6: Our Big Night Out
Oct. 9: Rocky And Farky
Oct. 10: Quotations I Made Up
Oct. 11: Dummies Rule.
Oh, and speaking of new stuff, when you're done with all this,
why not guide your mouse over to
Doug Davis' Country Music Classics? You'll love it, trust me!
Well, that's all for now. See you soon.
Jerry
Sept. 29, 2005...
Hi again, folks. Not a lot of time online, so I'll cut to the chase.
Jack has a reminiscence about New Orleans (and a set of lyrics) in the latest essay,
"Take The Time Machine To New Orleans".
Plus, we have a release date for the new Australian CD, "Life And Death (and nearly
everything else)" on the Omni label. It's scheduled for October 30.
As always, more to come, so stay tuned.
Chirping till the cows come to the house that used to be a home (or something),
Your friendly neighborhood webmeister, Jerry.
Sept. 7, 2005...
Hi, folks. Your weary webmaster Jerry here.
Unless you've been living under a rock or something, you know that
you can't turn around without hearing or seeing something about
Hurricane Katrina.
To say these people need our help is overstating the obvious.
Now, some recent updates from Jack...
This came at 10:01 CDT today 9/02/05
from my contact in downtown New Orleans.
Jack Blanchard
* * *
The City is ON FIRE
Teams Alpha and Bravo finished the medium range recon and there are 3
separate locations on fire. We have pictures coming shortly.
During the recon, I spoke to some Federal Marshalls and NOPD. Morale is
LOW. Very low. They're not seeing the military presence they say they
were promised. I told those guys they can't possibly imagine how much we
(the world) appreciate their dedication. I asked what civil rights the
citizens have and the US Marshalls looked at me like I just fell off the
turnip truck and chuckled. I asked if citizens can have guns for
protection and he said if someone thinks he needs a gun, he should have
already evacuated. He also said they are setting the city on fire.
The NOPD wants to know where "the two active duty brigades" were that he
says they were told were supposed to arrive today. When I asked him what
he would want to tell the world, he said Everyone keeps talking about
the military presence in the city, and then asked me," Do you see any
military around here" in dusgust.
We reconned our roof also, to get a better view of the city and took...
I hesitate to call them "amazing" pictures. My city... it has been
punched in the face and is on the canvas being counted out.
And yes, that's smoke you see out of the windows. The city is under a
haze from the fires. Smoke and ash are floating miles away from the
fires.
This place will never be the same -- and I don't mean in that "can't
step into the same river twice" philosophical sense. I mean in the "We
won't even recognize the place" sense.
This place is completely coming apart. The hopelessness on the street
breaks the heart. The old, the tired, the sick seem resigned to their
presumed fate. Death.
2:00 pm
Here Come the Troops
Just saw 2 CH-53E Super Stallion Helicopters pass by overhead, and now
on cam you can see what
looks like a whole batallion of troops roll toward the Convention
Center.
12:19 pm
Finally!
This convoy coming down the street is loaded with supplies. I see MREs
and water and I assume ice.
Ok, so the troops used to restore order went in first and now the
supplies are coming for orderly
distribution (I hope).
Hope is on the way for the people at the Convention Center. Finally.
It's me again.
Here's one more obvious for you:
You can help by going to http://www.redcross.org/.
You don't have to be a John Grisham and donate $5,000,000.
$5 will do just fine. Or whatever you can spare.
Here in my neck of the woods, our local RiteAid, in partnership
with the Red Cross, is running a relief effort that's simple:
If you feel like helping out, they'll ask you for a dollar.
That's all. A dollar. It ain't much, folks.
But it could mean a lot.
There are other ways to help, of course. That's just one.
Thanks for your attention. Now let's do something better than
you-know-whom -- and help.
Jerry Withers, webmaster.
Before we get started, here's a shameless plug:
When they're not changing the face of country music as we know it,
Jack and Misty operate
Check out this link:
This way to the Music Hospital!
Now for the updates:
Sept. 7, 2005...
Katrina seems to be the dominant topic of conversation (understandable).
Jack has his own thoughts about it in "Americans In Hell".
On a somewhat lighter note, he also took a bit of time to do some
"Thinkwalking", as well as "Swatting Butterflies".
And in the uncovered archives dept., Jack tells us about "Time Snapshots"...
an essay with an unexpected twist, from August 26th.
More to come.
Jerry.
August 24, 2005...
3 more essays added: "I May Never Act My Age", "A Spontaneous Burst of Philosophy",
and "Those Oily Devils".
As always, more to come...
Jerry.
August 18, 2005...
New Jack Column alert! "Being Cool" ... something to which your humble webmeister
can definitely relate to (weatherwise, that is!).
Stay tuned for more... Jerry.
August 16, 2005...
Hi again, folks. As you've probably heard by now, we lost one of the greatest fiddle
virtuosos of all time, Vassar Clements, today.
Jack has a reminiscence about him, "Vassar Clements (It's Hard To Say Goodbye"),
with a link to one of his appearances on a Misty Morgan track.
He's right, though. It is hard to say goodbye. So...
Thanks for all the great music, Vassar. See you 'round.
Jerry.
P.S.: Before I forget, it's been brought to my attention that the "Back" button doesn't
work correctly. Try hitting the "News" button or the "Back" arrow on top of your computer
til we can get the kinks out. (Sorry for the inconvenience, but that's HTML for you.)
Jerry again.
August 11, 2005...
Hello again (again). A couple of new entries in the essay section, "What To Do On A Rainy Day"
and "Song Babies". (Yes, the link has been fixed. As you might have noticed
by now, I've made it easier to detect which entries are the newest ones. I'm excited
about that. Lee's comment is, "Sure took you long enough." I may demote him to sock
sorter. [grin])
Well, that's it for now. See you 'round the nest.
Your eternally harried webmeister,
Jerry.
August 8, 2005...
Hello again from the nest in the west. First, the good news... we now have 13 new
essays up. Now, the bad news: Due to a computer malfunction, the upgraded essay page
didn't load! Let me tell you what the titles are, at least:
Ask Your Doctor, Car Sickness, How You Can Tell When I'm Happy, Know What I'm Sayin?,
Lost In The Crowd, My RealPlayer Hates Me, No Heads Please,
Songs From Space, The Ballad Of Slim Nozzle,
The Little Brown Bottle, When The Blues Come In From The Rain (the essay),
and Who Is Bertram C. Legg? (2005 version).
WHEW!!! That's a lot of HTML to type! I'll have the upgraded essay page (with the
usual commentary) up tomorrow. In the meantime, enjoy!
See you tomorrow, Jerry.
August 4, 2005...
Wow! Has it been that long? Well, you know what they say...
NEW IMPORT CD ALERT!!!
Here's your first look at the new Australian Jack & Misty CD, "Life And Death
(and almost everything else)" on the Omni label (OMNI-102).
It's a collection of the best of the Wayside and Mega years. More details to come shortly...
And while we're at it, we've got a whole lot of essays backed up in the laptop
and waiting for downloading this weekend. See you then.
Your overheated webmeister, Jerry.
June 1, 2005...
And now, an important announcement from the objects of our hero worship :) ...
As of June 1st, 2005,
we can accept credit card orders through PayPal only.
Thank you,
Jack & Misty
And now, back to the regular mayhem...
A little
Celebration...
Our "Tennessee
Bird Walk" was
#1 in Billboard for two weeks,
35 years ago this month.
we're still at it...
and ready for 35 more. :)
Love,
Jack Blanchard & Misty Morgan
Thank
you, DJ's!!!
We're "High on You".
With
love, Jack and Misty
Compilation #54, track #18
Download the MP3...
http://www.soundclick.com/bands/3/jackblanchardandmistymorganmusic.htm
Listen to the
fast loading version...
http://www.kokosuniverse.com/jm/wma/high_on_you.htm
Does anybody know the email address or phone number
of Bill Rice, the songwriter who teamed with Jerry Foster?
Bill is an old friend,
and we heard he lives in Florida, as we do.
We've lost his address.
If you can help, please let us know.
Thanks.
Jack Blanchard & Misty Morgan
We will miss Sammi Smith.
She was a fine artist that the world hardly knew.
Her biggest hit was "Help Me Make it Through the Night",
for which she never got paid.
She was also a unique songwriter.
Our favorite of her originals is "Saunders Ferry Lane".
Here's a picture of all of us in better times.
Sammi Smith is between Misty Morgan and Jim Ed Brown.
I'm on the right.
In case you haven't heard...
The duet.
"TRY"
http://www.kokosuniverse.com/jm/wma/try.htm
Misty's solo.
“Still Comin’ Down from You”
http://www.kokosuniverse.com/jm/wma/still_comin_down.htm
New on Stardust Records #53
Thanks, DJ's!
Jack Blanchard & Misty Morgan
April 17, 2005...
I just found this old record on EBay
and want to share it with my friends.
It was the first recording session of my
life.
(Mid 1950's)
THE DAWN BREAKERS
on Coral Records
(Clockwise from lower left: Buddy Baker,
Jim Warne,
Don Fronczak, and me.)
Just click here to listen:
http://www.kokosuniverse.com/jm/wma/things_i_love.htm
A LITTLE BACKGROUND
There was no tape to record on.
No overdubs, no mixdown.
If we screwed up, the engineer threw the
acetate disc in the trash
put on a new one,
and we kept doing it until we got it right.
The song is an old standard: "The Things
I Love".
I wrote the vocal and instrumental arrangements
and sang one of the harmony parts.
I didn't sing lead in those days.
While we were recording,
I played the backup piano and sang at the
same time.
Tough work for a high school kid.
It's not country, but nobody's perfect.
It's a piece of history, at least to me.
Hope you enjoy it.
Jack Blanchard
(Recorded at Howell's Studio, Buffalo NY)
April 26, 2005...
Our home
on the road
Come
on in!
Welcome
to our motorhome.
Meet
our two friends, Wolf and Camille.
PS:
Thank you, DJ's!!!
Jack
& Misty
Current
Stardust single
"High
on You"
In other news, check out Jack's most recent essay, "Breaking Out", which is pretty self-
expalantory (and revisits a Jack and Misty classic, to boot).
See ya soon... and remember... April showers bring May flowers,
but May brings... ANNIVERSARY MONTH!
Chirp for now,
Jerry.
April 24, 2005...
Well, hey there, hi there, and OOPS! Yer friendly neighborhood webmeister Jerry again,
and boy, is my face RED!
Seems when I made the announcement on the 21st (see below), I
forgot to take into account that Tripod renames ".htm" files
with an ".html" extension. That mistake has now been corrected,
so NOW you should be able to see the new columns page. I've also
uploaded the slimmed down Old News section. Hopefully, it all
works. Again, sorry for the goof.
April 21, 2005...
Well, hey there, hi there, and all that! Yer friendly neighborhood webmeister, Jerry,
with some exciting news. Well, okay, it's passably middling, perhaps...
Recently, our local library, thanks to a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates
Foundation, received a whole new batch of Dell computers (Optiplex GX280, if you must
know). Ordinarily, this would rate a ho-hum in Birdland, but here's the thing: they've
got (as all modern computers have, I guess) CD-rewritable drives (I can see Lee
approaching me with a club with a nail sticking through it, and a "GET ON WITH IT!"
look on his face -- so I will...)
The upside of it is, I've now been able to edit the site away from the library (as it
were) by downloading it to CD-RW and doing it at work, where the one-hour restriction
doesn't apply (ask your mother).
As of yet, there is no downside. Consequently, all of Jack's old essays that have been
stockpiling up in the Old News section since 2003 (!) are now where they belong:
In the Essays Section!!!! (YAY!!!) Go and have a look.
(Oh, I'm currently tackling the Old News page itself, so it'll be a couple more days
before it's slim and trim and ready for battle once more. Thought you'd like to know.
Now if I can just get over this flu...)
That's all for now.
Enjoy the essays the way they were meant to be read, and I'll see you soon.
Yer friendly neighborhood webmeister,
Jerry.
April 10, 2005...
And now, an important message from Jack and Misty...
Hi everybody.
We received the email message below
from Steve Hall/Shotgun Red
concerning the upcoming "The Nashville Show"
with Ralph Emery, Shotgun Red (Steve Hall),
and all the country legends every week.
We miss this show,
and think it's a really good idea,
so we forward it to you.
Check out the web site and see for yourself.
Jack & Misty
Steve writes...
Hey great you guys... 35 years!!! ....
Nifty writing and a neat couple has worked.
"The Nashville Show" is getting closer to its start.
Check it out at http://www.thenashvilleshow.com/
I started this crazy On-line Only Country Show ....
so I would like to be the first to ask "Jack & Misty"
to be guests on the show after we get up and running.
If you go to the show site there's a mailing list form...
tell everyone you know to sign up to the mailing list and we will be sending out
updates every couple of weeks ....
then if you would be nice enough to do the show ...
we will be sending out updates on who will be on each week.
Then Jack & Misty fans can go on line and see the show.
Jack..... You're always coming up with ideas.
We are doing already doing many Mag. ads ...emails...radio...etc.
And they're doing great all around the world...
but if you think of any ways to get the word out about the show let me know.
Bill Anderson dropped a newsletter to his fanclub
and over 100 people signed up the next day...
same thing with Jimmy Dean and so on..... so ideas work.
Just thought I would check in with the "Blanchard Brain" & see what's in there!!!
Thanks for any help.
P.S. The site has changed a little including a radio spot you can listen to....
Keep up the good work and will talk soon.
Steve Hall / Shotgun Red
The Nashville Show
March 14, 2005...
I repeat, where has the time gone? One more day, and your friendly
neighborhood webmeister turns another year older (Modesty and / or
vanity - check one - prevent me from saying just how old...). And
speaking of catching up with lost time and all that, here's some
more thoughts from Chairman Jack to warm the cockles of your heart
[and infuriate the suits in the music business ;) ]. Enjoy.
Oh... some of you may remember the ClassiCountry.com interview
with Jack and Misty conducted back in 2002 by the late Mark
Harris. Well, we finally have it here. (I knew we'd get around
to posting it here eventually.) It's probably the best one ever
done on Jack and Misty. Mark did a good job with it, and we'd
like to dedicate it to his memory.
And speaking of getting around to spring website cleaning and all
that, I finally got around to moving the old news on this page to
where it belongs... namely, the Old News page. (Well, where else?)
Well, that about wraps it up for now. See you all soon.
Slamming pell mell into old age, but still kickin',
Jerry.
IT’S HARDER, BUT STILL POSSIBLE.
The moment you accept the proposition that success is impossible,
it becomes impossible.
Success in creative areas is more difficult to achieve
than it was twenty years ago
but not impossible.
Here, I think, are some of the reasons...
THE MARKET.
As time passes,
the market gains control of more of our lives.
It has always been a factor, but more so now.
.
Misty and I had to find backers to invest in our career,
the rough equivalent of $50,000 of today’s dollars.
We did this by creating something marketable,
and waving it in their faces.
MORE GOOD ARTISTS.
If you have ten people,
one of them may be a genius at something.
If you have a million people,
you jump the creative people up to 100,000.
If you have billions...
well, you get the point.
You also get more idiots,
but that’s another article.
TRAINING.
In school and beyond
today’s young minds are steered away from real creativity.
The artist or inventor is by nature an outsider
and was once admired for his differences.
Today the goal is to be a “team player”...
a corporate person.
BUSINESS.
There was more to Ray Stevens’ great song “Mr. Businessman”
than we realized at the time.
Businessmen don’t get emotionally involved in art
unless it looks like a potential profit.
Music, Literature, and Theater have all suffered.
If you’re reading a book,
you’re not buying anything.
(By “businessmen” I also mean women.
Being politically correct all the time is a pain.
We are all too sensitive lately.
Again, that’s a subject for another day.)
PROPAGANDA.
The guys on top don’t want you to make it.
They spread discouraging propaganda
to make you give up:
“It’s impossible now.
If only you’d been here in the old days.
Blah. Blah.
Go away and stop threatening us.”
I know the music business has been badly screwed up
by Mr. Businessman,
and today’s aspiring artists face a much harder challenge.
But it’s not impossible.
Don’t give up hope.
I admire Boxcar Willie.
He bypassed the entire radio and record industry
and made himself a legend through creative TV ads.
He didn’t need major labels,
or even hit records.
He found a new way.
Willie was a good old-fashioned nonconformist.
Jack Blanchard
jackandmisty.com
© 2005.
March 13, 2005...
THE GOOD OLD DAYS MYTH.
The idea that it was easy
to become a successful recording artist in the 1970's
is a myth.
A lot of potentially great artists were passed by
even back then, in the Stone Age.
When I arrived in Nashville
as a writer and independent producer,
the first words I heard from the "big" people were these"
"You're too late to make it here, Jack.
The business has changed.
If you'd been here a few years ago
you'd have had a shot.
I don't mean to discourage you
but you'd be smart to go home
and try something else."
I heard that in so many words from famous names,
names you would know.
Sure, it knocked some of the wind out of me,
but I always had the feeling
that Misty and I had something unstoppable.
That conceit may be what got us through.
When we started to catch on
and get some records out,
I heard rumors that we were hard to work with.
Translated, that means they couldn't make us do what they wanted.
We always fought for artistic control of our sessions,
and we knew that if we bombed,
there was nobody to blame but us.
We quit Mercury Records
because they insisted on putting a house producer in charge.
Producing our own music from the ground up
was how we achieved the sound we're known for.
A house producer would have changed that.
We would never have had "Somewhere in Virginia in the Rain",
"There Must Be More to Life (than Growin' Old)",
and a hundred others.
We were in trouble for a couple of years
after we left Mercury,
but in the long run, it was worth it.
But back to the legend of how easy it was in the old days.
Not the old days I saw.
I walked the streets around Music Row,
trying to get our career going
for six or seven years
before we caught on.
I rode from Miami to Nashville in freezing weather
in cars with no heaters.
The Interstates weren't complete then,
so it was a trek.
I know the business keeps changing for the worse,
and it is tougher now,
but I just want you to know this:
It was no damn picnic back then.
To young artists
and those who are striving at any age...
Believe in yourself and your music.
There's nobody exactly like you.
Jack Blanchard
jackandmisty.com
© 2005.
March 9, 2005...
MORE ON SONGWRITING.
I've been told that most big hits are love songs,
but like all generalizations,
this is not specific to every case.
And like a lot of rules,
I think they're made for somebody else.
I like to write about other subjects.
For instance, life and death.
Here's an upbeat one
about meeting again in another life...
"WE WALKED THIS ROAD BEFORE."
Look into my eyes
And try to tell me you don't know me.
Think back a hundred years or more.
I don't remember if we laughed or if we cried,
But, I know
We Walked This Road Before.
Five hundred years ago
Did the April grass look greener?
Did we hear the wind outside our door?
Or were we just two passing faces
In dim and distant places?
Oh, I know
We Walked This Road before.
If you should turn and find me staring
In the windows of your mind,
I'm just searching down the dark and dusty corridors of memory
For the worlds we left behind.
A Thousand years ago
Was September just as golden?
Did a seashell hold an ocean's roar?
The breath of life is fleeting,
But, we'll meet again someday,
'cause I know
We Walked This Road Before.
Yeah, I know
We Walked This Road Before.
* * *
This next one is less cheerful,
and a little spooky.
It concerns the guest of honor at his own funeral
calling out to those he's leaving behind.
"CHAPEL HILL."
Don't leave me alone on Chapel Hill
In the silver mist, in the midnight chill.
Oh, the moon is rising and the night is still.
Don't leave me alone on Chapel Hill
They placed the flowers on me, on Chapel Hill.
I'm gonna be so lonely, on Chapel Hill
I wanna live in the sunshine,
and feel the autumn chill.
Don't leave me alone on Chapel Hill
Can't you hear me, mama?
Can't you hear me cry?
Don't walk away, papa
Don't say goodbye.
Don't you know I love you, and I always will?
Don't leave me alone tonight
on Chapel Hill
Oh, I feel so afraid on Chapel Hill,
As the voices fade from Chapel Hill.
And now the service is over, and everything's still.
And I'm all alone on Chapel Hill
Can't you hear me, mama?
Can't you hear me cry?
Don't walk away, papa
Don't say goodbye.
Don't you know I love you, and I always will?
Don't leave me alone tonight on Chapel Hill
* * *
It's stimulating for me as a songwriter
to think outside the industry's box of rules.
They don't all have to be love songs.
Jack Blanchard
jackandmisty.com
© 2005.
March 8, 2005...
CAR SICKNESS.
We love our car.
It's not new, but we own it.
No payments.
It woke up sick a couple of weeks ago.
It was perky and fine the night before,
but now it was hacking and convulsing
as though trying to cough up Linda Blair.
It's running so badly that we can't take it out on the road
and our neighbors are losing the magic
of hauling us to the store and post office.
It's burning a gallon of gas every six yards,
and goes from zero to 10 mph in a half hour.
We have replaced the timing chain, the distributor,
the alternator, the battery and cables, the spark plugs,
the floater ball, and some other things.
Now we have a junk car with a tune up.
It's on and off, mostly off.
It might run OK in the morning
until you hit a bump,
make a sharp turn
or move your mouth a certain way.
Then the "Check Engine" light comes on
and the car has one long seizure the rest of the day.
The computer is trying to blame the MAF sensor
or the EGR valve...Another $150 worth, at least.
We won't know if that will work until we put the new parts in.
It could even be the computer itself, God forbid.
Maybe it needs a Heimlich Maneuver.
We are replacing all the parts in alphabetical order.
We're up to the M's.
It's such a nice car in every way,
if you don't want to go anyplace.
Jack Blanchard
jackandmisty.com
© 2005.
March 4, 2005 (03/04/05)...
Boy, where has the time gone??? Your friendly neighborhood webmeister, Jerry, here,
recovering from a case of the Washington State flu (or whatever the heck this is...)
just long enough to deliver some recent missives from Jack. Enjoy...
A LIITLE BACKGROUND ON "TRY".
"Try" was one of the easy songs to write.
It came to me in about a half hour.
A few of them are like that.
The recording was a low budget session.
We produced "Try" in a little studio in Nashville,
only using three musicians: bass, guitar, and drums.
Misty played the strings,
and the "fiddles" in the instrumental section
and the ending.
The backup vocals were added a few months ago.
They were done in Canada at Randall Cousins' studio.
Randall is very creative artist and producer.
Whenever we work with him
he always adds a subtle touch of something different
to our material..
I sent him the master,
the wonderful girl singers, Manon's Dream, put the backup vocals on it,
and Randall sent it back to us.
Then I did a final mix in our mastering studio.
Some projects just flow from start to finish.
This was one of them.
If you haven't heard it yet,
go to this page:
www.kokosuniverse.com/jm/wma/try.htm
Jack Blanchard
jackandmisty.com
© 2005.
February 17, 2005...
It's a little belated on the webmeister's part, but on behalf of
all of us at the old nest...
Congratulations to LORETTA LYNN for nabbing the Grammy for Best
Country Album 2004!
(I especially like what she said when she won (forgive me if I
misquote her:)
"You know, country radio banned 12 of my singles, and they all went
to Number One. Country Radio wouldn't play this album, either...
(She then held the Grammy aloft. Nuff said.)"
Now we know who Joe Ely meant by "Cool Rockin' Loretta"!
Again, congratulations.
Jerry and everyone at Birdwalk.
Well, hi again from the the Pacific Northwest, where we still can't
seem to make up our minds what kind of weather or Governor
we're having. Your friendly neighborhood slowly recovering Webmeister
here, apologizing once again for the long delay in getting any word
out at all (but as they used to say in the old Tex Avery
cartoons, "Well... I've been sick!").
I finally managed to budget some free time just long enough to update
as much of the news and essays as possible, so I'm going to spend all
weekend doing it if need be. And there's a lot of it to update,
believe me! So, please, be patient (a word I never want to hear
again. Here's another one I never want to hear again: Epididymitus.
Look it up. Then wince.).
Again, thanks for your indulgence and apologies for the inconvenience.
Now, on to the regular insanity.
Best wishes,
Jerry.
January 4, 2005...
Some say it's Rockabilly,
but we thought it was just Rock & Roll.
Jackie Blanchard and the Rockin Impallas
"The King o' Hearts" b/w "Only A Fool"
Mida Records single.
circa 1960.
Old News 2005
