Tag: acoustic artist

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acoustic guitar Arts & Entertainment dreams Folk Guitar folk music inspiration memories motivation songwriting

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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Acoustic Guitar Performances artist profiles Arts & Entertainment Folk Guitar folk music folk rock Music Song Facts songwriting

‘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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Acoustic Guitar Performances Arts & Entertainment motivation Music songwriting

The Evolution Of A Hit Song In Brief

It started out as a poem. Then it turned into a song. Then it became a background song for the movie “Beaches.” After various song covers at home and abroad, in 1988, Bette Midler made “Wind Beneath My Wings” a #1 hit in the USA. A year later, the song won Grammy Awards for both Record of the Year and Song of the Year.

Vocal and Guitar Solo

With Background Instrumentation

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Acoustic Guitar Performances artist profiles Arts & Entertainment life

Love’s Joys and Sorrows Explored In Jackson Browne’s “Sky Blue And Black”

“Sky Blue and Black” is an emotional roller coaster, looking back on the joys and sorrows of love and its lasting impact. Jackson Browne wrote the song over a four-year period and released it on his album “I’m Alive” in 1992. The source material comes from Jackson’s relationship with a famous actress. However, Browne never wants his songs to be identified with his specific life events, so he rarely speaks about his real-life relationships, especially in the context of his music.

“It’s a drag to even imagine that people are thinking about [the] relationship instead of their own lives,” Jackson told the Los Angeles Times. “I think if a song is any good, eventually it’ll turn out to be about the life of the listener and not about the life of the writer. Anyway, that’s my hope.”

Enjoy my reconstituted version of “Sky Blue and Black” and the original cover.

With Instrumental Background

Solo Version