Category: folk music

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Living Your Passion: Acoustic Guitar & Vocal Performance

Vince Gill wrote “Jenny Dreamed of Trains.” He performs it beautifully, but John Denver’s version caught my attention. The song reminds us what we can create when we hold fast to a dream and work to make it happen. Dreams call to us, despite the many distractions that come between the songs in our hearts. The ordinary necessities of life kept me from pursuing my dreams until I cleared the distractions and focused fully on bringing forth what was always in my heart. In the song, Jenny’s dream seemed impossible, but with faith and the force of her will fueled by passion, a teenage girl changed the world around her.

Nothing is impossible if we listen to and accept the dreams in our hearts. I have written and published 15 novels and created a YouTube channel with guitar and vocal song covers that has reached more than one million subscribers. You can do it, too. Have the courage to live your dreams.

The beauty and message of “Jenny Dreamed of Trains” have made me cry at times. Does the song take you back to your Childhood dreams? Where are they now? Please enjoy my cover.

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“Silver Skies Blue” Inspired by Judy Collins and Ari Hest

I recently changed my music source from Sirius XM to Pandora. As an avid fan of Folk and Country Music, it turned out to be a wise decision. Now, I can listen to my favorite recording artists singing songs from the 60s through the 90s. And lately, several of those songs are appearing on this blog.

Like the previous song I posted here, “Silver Skies Blue” captured my attention almost immediately. I had never heard it before because, prior to Pandora, I had never listened to Judy Collins’ music the way I do now. In addition to Silver Skies Blue, I’ve posted several of Judy’s cover and original songs, including: When I Was a Girl in Colorado, Suzanne, and Hey, That’s No Way to Say Goodbye.

The album “Silver Skies Blue” features songs by Collins and Ari Hest, who also performs with his polished guitar playing and powerful, deep voice that complements Judy’s higher one perfectly. Released in 2016, the album earned Collins her first Grammy nomination in 40 years.

Solo Version

Enhanced Version

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‘Eternal Flame’: The Story Behind The Bangles’ Iconic Song

“Eternal Flame” is another song that came into my head from out of nowhere. It just started playing in my mind on its own. I remembered the song, but I had never heard of (or don’t remember) an all-girl band called The Bangles. The group was popular in the 1980s. Susanna Hoff, their lead singer, wrote Eternal Flame with songwriters Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly. The idea came from a Cyndi Lauper song Hoff admired, and from the eternal flame shrine near the Elvis Presley tomb in Graceland, where The Bangles saw it.

“Eternal Flame” became one of The Bangles’ biggest hits, reaching #1 in nine countries, including the USA in 1989.

I still don’t know why “Eternal Flame” barged unannounced into my head, but I’m glad it did. The song is BEAUTIFUL! Here’s my cover.

Enhanced Version

Original Version

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Honoring Love: A Tribute to ‘I’ll Never Find Another You’

The Seekers are an Australian band formed in 1962. The Folk and Gospel group achieved the zenith of their popularity in the mid ’60’s with several hit songs. Their most memorable chart-topper is a song titled “I’ll Never Find Another You.” It reached #1 on the UK charts in 1965, making the Seekers the only Australian band with a #1 hit song outside of Australia. The song reached #97 in the United States, quite a feat in itself. The group has continued to perform to standing ovations around the world into the 1990’s.

I am dedicating this song to my wife of 37 years, Bonnie Erens-Gittlin. Without exaggeration, every word in the lyrics applies. I am grateful to have spent my adult life with this woman and the beautiful daughter we have raised. Here’s my cover.

Listening to the Heart Brings Peace and Harmony into a Life

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Exploring Life’s Meaning in Cat Stevens’ Lyrics

Far from old age, Cat Stevens wrote “Oh Very Young” when he was twenty-five. The wisdom in the song surpasses Stevens’ chronology with lines like, “You’re only dancin’ on this Earth for a short while.” Stevens contracted tuberculosis when he was nineteen, and it almost killed him. After that experience, Stevens kept an eye on the Big Picture.

Always the explorer, Stevens sought the meaning and purpose of life, as illustrated in his songs like “On the Road to Find Out.” He eventually converted to Islam in 1977. Around the same time, he permanently left the world stage as a singer and songwriter. In his relatively short career, Cat Stevens left us with a body of music that is still relevant today and, to millions around the world, extremely enjoyable.

Originally, I played this song using a picking method, and then I switched to strumming. I watched a video of Stevens performing the song with a strumming method. I thought, I’ll never be able to play it that fast. To my amazement, I wound up playing the song as fast as Stevens when I strummed it. Interesting. Here’s my cover.

In case you’re interested, here’s the finger-picked version.

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An Insight Into Jackson Brown’s Unique Music

Jackson Browne’s guitar techniques, lyrics, and melodies stand apart from the crowd. What he says through his music is sometimes searing, sad, and occasionally, happy. However, all of Browne’s songs have something in common: an incredible sensitivity and beauty.

Browne wrote “These Days” when he was only sixteen years old. Despite his youth, Browne demonstrated a keen sense of heartbreak. I’m not sure how a sixteen-year-old could feel the depth of emotion and remorse expressed in this song. If we assume Jackson experienced and gave voice to the words and tone of “These Days,” then he was wise beyond his years and deeply rooted in himself from early on.

The song had its first release when a protégé of Andy Warhol named Nico picked it up on her “Chelsea Girl” album. Brown played acoustic guitar in the background. “These Days” gained wider recognition when several artists subsequently covered it.

Brown eventually released his version of the song in 1973 on the album “For Everyman.” He rewrote “These Days” to make it more optimistic. In his own words, Jackson remembers, “Over the rest of my teenage years and into my 20s, I developed a kind of optimism, a kind of resoluteness, so I changed [one verse] to: ‘I’ll keep on moving, keep improving.’ That’s more to me what life is made of, the idea that I’ll get through this, I’ll continue looking.”

I’ve always wanted to play this song the way Jackson Browne does. Thanks to my friend Jerry Lambert, I can now do it. Here’s my cover.

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Discovering the Beauty of Kate Wolf’s ‘Cornflower Blue’

I first heard “Cornflower Blue” as the opening song on Kate Wolf’s 1983 double album “Give Yourself to Love.” As I listened to the album many times over, “Cornflower Blue” grew on me (no pun intended). I began to appreciate the exquisite beauty in the lyrics and in Kate’s lovely singing voice.

Oftentimes, songs like this one will find their way into my heart and I feel compelled to play them myself. With this song, I had my doubts. The chances were good that I might not pull it off. Learning how to play “Cornflower Blue” like Kate does was like learning how to walk again. The style is completely counterintuitive to what I’m used to, but I’m glad I made the effort. I hope my cover of the song conveys some of the mystery and beauty of the original.

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Tom Paxton: An Emergent Folk Music Icon

Tom Paxton released “The Last Thing On My Mind” in 1964 on his album, Ramblin’ Boy.” The inspiration for the song came from Dave Van Ronk and Bob Dylan’s versions of “He Was A Friend of Mine.” This lost love ballad became one of Paxton’s biggest hits. He is also known for his protest songs against the Vietnam War and other social injustices. (What Did You Learn In School Today?)

“The Last Thing On My Mind” was one of the first songs I learned some forty years ago when I started playing the guitar. This is the first time I’ve released my cover publicly. The themes of the song include friendship, loss, and the passage of time.

Here’s my cover.

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The Incredible String Band: Cover of “Painting Box”

The Incredible String Band burst onto the folk music scene in 1966 with the release of their first album, aptly named “The Incredible String Band.” As an avid lover and consumer of folk, I had never heard anything like their songs. The band started out as a trio composed of Clive Palmer, Robin Williamson, and Mike Heron. Williamson and Heron composed most of ISB’s music. Palmer eventually dropped out, replaced by other musicians and the girlfriends of Williamson and Heron.

Signed by Electra Records, the group produced seven albums for the label, most notably their first four, which included “The Five Hundred Spirits or the Layers of the Onion” and “The Hangman’s Beautiful Daughter.”

Through intermittent tours and appearances at prestigious venues like the Albert Hall, The Incredible String Band gained worldwide fans and international recognition from their humble beginnings in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Listen to Mike Heron’s lilting, whimsical “Painting Box” to get a sense of The Incredible String Band’s multifaceted musical range. Here’s my cover.

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All The Best

This John Prine song has been lauded as, “One of the best breakup songs ever written.” Here’s my cover of Prine’s “All The Best.”