A Hymn For The Holiday And The New Year

Posted on December 22, 2013 by sixstrstories

In 1993, I became the guitarist for The Amity Singers, a contemporary Christian vocal group at First Parish Church Congregational in Dover, New Hampshire.

After I’d been with the group for a few months, I presented them with an arrangement I’d done of one of my songs “There Are (Songs To Be Sung).” It soon became one of the group’s favorite performance pieces and I invited them to join me on the choruses when I recorded “There Are (Songs To Be Sung)” for my 1995 CD of the same name.

(You can find a link to that recording in my August 14, 2010 post called “Many Thanks, Again.”)

In the Fall of 1994, I tried writing a new song specifically for The Amity Singers. “Sing to the Lord” however, quickly became “Sing To The World.” Any song I was going to write had to be inclusive. But, according to my songwriting journal from that time, my good intentions soon got distracted by other ideas and I didn’t really devote myself to finishing the song until the Fall of 1995. Finally, with inspiration from a variety of sources that included Rev. David Slater (First Parish Church’s minister back then), Lech Walesa, Sir Isaac Watts and Woody Guthrie, and after seven pages of drafts, edits and minuscule refinements I finished the four verses of this decidedly hymn-like song on April 2, 1996.

I never did write a four-part, choral arrangement of “Sing To The World,” so The Amity Singers – disbanded for quite some time now – never sang the song. It did become a satisfying, set-opening staple of my solo performance repertoire for many years after. A few days ago, “Sing To The World” again served in that role for this year’s edition of the annual holiday-themed concert that I give at the school where I teach.

The song starts:

“Sing to the world a new song, sing with a joyful heart,

Sing to the world a song that welcomes all with open arms,

Sing to the world with countless voices joined in harmony,

Sing to the world a new song that all the world can sing.”

Here is a brand new, home-studio recording of “Sing To The World” for your holiday (or any day) listening pleasure.

“Sing To The World” – Words, Music, Guitar & Vocals by Eric Sinclair

This Christmas and throughout the New Year to come, may a song of peace indeed ring, loud and long through every land.

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A Thanksgiving Song

Posted on November 28, 2013 by sixstrstories

I know what you’re going to say.

“‘Over The River And Through The Woods’ is a Christmas song.”

Well…

Here’s the story.

The words to “Over The River And Through The Woods” were taken from a poem.

The poem was called “The New-England Boy’s Song About Thanksgiving Day” and it was written by Lydia Maria Child. The original 12 verse poem was included in Ms. Child’s book, Flowers for Children, Vol. 2 and was published in 1844. 

Lydia Maria Child was born on February 11, 1802 in Medford, Massachusetts. She was a prolific author, a journalist and an active antislavery and women’s rights activist. Her first novel, Hobomok: A Tale of Early Times, was published in 1824. Her last publication,  Aspirations of the World, came out in 1878.

Lydia Maria Child passed away on October 20, 1880 in Wayland, Massachusetts. She was 78 years old.

No one seems to know who set the poem to music or when. One source suggests 1870 and another cites a published version of the song dated 1897. One source believes the melody to be “an old French Folk tune.” The song is generally listed as being “traditional,” or authored by “Anonymous.”

I’ve long enjoyed this song, both the words and its jaunty, infectious melody. We have home videos of past Thanksgivings with me merrily whistling the tune in the background, a soundtrack for the family craziness.

For your Thanksgiving listening pleasure, I have arranged and recorded a brand new, fingerstyle, acoustic guitar arrangement of this timeless song.

To listen, click on the blue link below… wait for it!

“Over The River And Through The Woods” – Arranged and Performed by Eric Sinclair

On behalf of everyone here at sixstr stories, I hope you have a most happy and festive Thanksgiving Day.

PS – Here’s a holiday music quiz! Can you name the other well-loved holiday song written by a songwriter who lived in Medford, MA? While you’re at it, can you name the songwriter? Click on “leave a comment” to send your answer.

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T-Bone Strikes Again

Posted on November 26, 2013 by sixstrstories

The latest issue of Acoustic Guitar magazine – January 2014, Issue 253, Vol. 24, No. 7 – arrived in today’s mail. The monthly collection of song transcriptions in this issue – “6 Songs To Play” – is an especially good one. It includes “Dublin Blues” by Guy Clark, “Luka” by Suzanne Vega and – I was excited to see – “T-Bone Shuffle” by T-Bone Walker.

“T-Bone Shuffle” is a favorite of mine. Long time readers of this blog will know that. I’ve written about the piece twice: on April 21, 2010 in a post titled On This Day In Music History – “T-Bone Shuffle” and on May 15, 2011, Revisiting The “T-Bone Shuffle.” 

So, after lunch, as I set about doing advance preparations for Thanksgiving day dinner, I put my favorite T-Bone Walker CD on the stereo – Low Down Blues – and clicked on the speakers in the kitchen.

Low Down Blues is a 1986 Charly Records compilation of 22 recordings made by T-Bone Walker between late 1946 and early 1948 in Los Angeles, California for the Black & White label. Starting off with “Don’t Leave Me Baby,” the album goes on to offer up such delights as “It’s A Low Down Dirty Deal,” “T-Bone Jumps Again” and “Call It Stormy Monday.” This is music that Alan Balfour accurately describes in the liner notes as: “easy listening of the best sort, all delivered with stylish aplomb and musical brilliance.”

As the afternoon pleasantly progressed, one track really caught my ears: “Too Much Trouble Blues.” The song starts, as many of his songs do, with an introduction featuring one of T-Bone Walker’s brilliant guitar solos. This one in particular is quintessential T-Bone, the kind of electric Blues guitar playing that strongly influenced such equally-influential players as B.B. King and Chuck Berry.

Whatever you’re doing this afternoon or this evening, take a few minutes and check it out for yourself: “Too Much Trouble Blues” by the legendary singer and electric Blues guitarist, Mr. T-Bone Walker.

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Wrestling With The Angel, Chapter 7

Posted on November 15, 2013 by sixstrstories

“Dublin Blues” is the title of an album and a song by songwriter, singer, guitarist & luthier, Guy Clark.

The album, Dublin Blues, was released in 1995 and was Guy’s 8th album. (His first, Old No. 1, came out in 1975.) It was recorded at EMI Studios in Nashville, Tennessee and produced by Miles Wilkinson and Guy. The 10 songs on the album were written either by Guy Clark alone or with one (or two) of six co-writers: Susanna Clark, Keith Sykes, Rodney Crowell, Jim Janosky, Jimmie Fadden and Verlon Thompson.

The song, “Dublin Blues,” is the first song on the album and was written entirely by Guy.

Musically, the song is in the key of E major and I’m pretty sure that Guy plays it with his guitar partial-capoed at the second fret (the sixth string is left open to provide its low E bass note) and fingered in the key of D. Harmonically, the chord progression of the song uses only three chords. (That is, after all, all you need for a Country song.)

Accompanying Guy’s guitar and lead vocals on the recording are: Verlon Thompson, acoustic guitar; Kenny Malone, drums & Irish drum; Travis Clark (Guy’s son), acoustic bass; Darrell Scott, acoustic guitar and penny whistle; Jonathan Yudkin, violin; Sam Bush, mandolin; and Nanci Griffith, harmony vocals.

Structurally, the song has three verses and a chorus with the chorus sung after each verse. (Nanci Griffith adds her lovely harmonies starting with the second statement of the chorus.) The instrumental introduction of the recording features Guy picking out a version of the melody from the verse of the song. He uses a bass-string guitar style that owes as much to Duane Eddy as to Maybelle Carter. The coda, or ending of the song reprises the first half of the first verse.

The lyrics of those three verses and the chorus of “Dublin Blues” are among the best that Guy Clark has ever written.

If you know anything of Guy Clark and his stature in the world of contemporary songwriting, that’s saying something.

But you should decide for yourself.

Listen.

Guy Clark was born on November 6, 1941 in Monihans, Texas.

He released his fifteenth album, My Favorite Picture Of You, in July, 2013.

If you’re a new visitor to this blog, the purpose of my Wrestling With The Angel series (or category) is to highlight and share individual songs that are on a list of mine entitled: Devastatingly Great Songs. The title phrase, “Wrestling With The Angel,” is my paraphrase of a line from a poem by Herman Melville called “Art.” You can read the complete poem in my archived post of November 4, 2011: “The Source.”

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This Historic Day… My Son

Posted on November 7, 2013 by sixstrstories

For my birthday this year, my son took me to a concert. We went to see the Allman Brothers Band with Grace Potter & The Nocturnals at the Comcast Center in Mansfield, MA on September 6.

My most cherished memory from that fabulous, memory-filled Friday evening (and afternoon) came during The Allman Brothers Band’s  performance of their 1972 classic “Blue Sky.”  

As the song’s instantly-recognizable, harmonized opening guitar lick soared from the dazzling fingers of Warren Haynes and Derek Trucks, we rose together, cheering, with the thousands around us. We danced, my son and I, joyously. And then, as the band lifted the song off into the chorus, we looked at each other, smiled, and sang together at the top of our lungs: “You’re my blue sky, you’re my sunny day. Lord, you know it makes me high when you turn your love my way, turn your love my way, yeah.”

Happy 26th Birthday, my Son.

Here’s to many more years of cherished memories.

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Here We Are

Posted on October 27, 2013 by sixstrstories

On April 6, 1998, I put the finishing touches on a new song.

“Hold On (Tight)” was my reaction to a time in my life, my family’s life, that was indeed filled with “dark, demanding days.” I wrote the song as a chronicle of how we – my wife and I – were coping, trying to do the right thing. I also wanted to point out the good stuff, the blessings we enjoyed and the hope I held out for the future, once the hard times went away: “I swear that up ahead I can see the light.”

So, here we are, 15 and 1/2 years later, living in that future. 

We survived.

The tears did indeed disappear and were replaced many, many times over by “laughter’s long embraces.”

Time is still a precious and elusive treasure.

We still “pillow talk and take our walks.”

We still “stand our ground with arms around each other.”

We’re still “pretty good at putting up a fight.” 

We’re still holding on.

Tight.

“Hold On (Tight)” – Words, Music, Guitar & Vocals by Eric Sinclair

Click on the blue link above – wait for it! – to hear my song.

I hope you enjoy it.

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To A Mom, With Thanks

Posted on October 18, 2013 by sixstrstories

I don’t recall that any of the small handful of Rock bands that I played with in high school ever practiced in a garage. Living rooms, dining rooms, basements, a room over a garage, but never in the garage. (I did, after all, grow up in New Hampshire.)

Though I’m sure we took it for granted at the time, my young bandmates and I were very fortunate to have each had a Mom and Dad who were willing on a regular basis to allow us to turn their home, for an evening or a long Saturday afternoon, into our personal band rehearsal space. They also usually provided drinks and snacks.

One of those Moms was Mrs. Blanche Savage.

Blanche Savage and her husband Daniel lived in a small ranch-style house on Stoney Brook Lane in Exeter, NH. Their son and only child, Daniel Jr., was my friend and classmate at Exeter High School. Danny Savage was also the best electric guitar player I knew.

Danny and I, along with our other musical friends Jim and Alan and, for a while, Joe, had a band. At one point, when we were a quintet, we named ourselves The Back Street Window. 

Mr. & Mrs. Savage would let us practice in their basement. I particularly remember one afternoon when it was just Danny and me. I had my full drum set and Danny had his new, huge, solid state Magnatone guitar amplifier (containing two, heavy-duty, 12-inch speakers). I’m pretty sure I would have also brought the band PA – microphone, mic stand, two tall “column” speakers and a 100-watt power amp – to amplify my vocals. (Danny didn’t sing.) Danny and I jammed (though I don’t think we called it that back then) at full volume for several hours. We played every song we knew, some we thought we knew and quite a bit of “music” that we just made up as we went along. I remember being rather stunned and drained when we were done and Mrs. Savage smiling as I packed my equipment in my parent’s station wagon to go home.

I hadn’t thought about Mrs. Savage for many years, until I saw her obituary in the paper yesterday. Reading the short article, I learned much about my friend’s Mom.

Blanche V. Savage was born in Exeter on October 22, 1925. She was the daughter of George and Melina Nichols. She had several brothers and sisters. As an adult, still living in Exeter, she worked at two different shoe factories, Exeter Shoe and Rockingham Shoe. About 15 years ago, she moved to Barrington, NH and spent her last days at the Dover Center for Health and Rehabilitation, in Dover, NH.

Mrs. Savage passed away at Wentworth-Douglas Hospital, also in Dover, on October 15, 2013. She was 88 years old. She was predeceased by both her husband (in 1991) and her son.

For Mrs. Blanche Savage and all of my bandmates’ Moms – Mrs. Girard, Mrs. DeFreitas,  Mrs. Gorski and, of course, my own Mom – and the Dads! – who supported and encouraged and paid for the musical interests and activities and development of their children and in turn, their children’s bandmates, I am forever deeply grateful.

I hope that, way back then, I said “thank you” often enough. Since you are all now gone, I can only wish that I could say it to each of you, in person, one more time again.

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This Historic Day In Music: John Lennon

Posted on October 9, 2013 by sixstrstories

George Martin, the Beatles’ record producer, is quoted many times in the magnificent and massive volume called The Beatles Anthology. (“Here for the first time in print, is the history of The Beatles – by The Beatles.”)

Here’s one, from page 210.

George Martin said: “John Lennon never liked his voice. I don’t know why, because he had the greatest of voices. He was always wanting to distort his vocal, asking me to do things to it: double-track it, or artificially double-track it, or whatever. He always wanted something different.”

According to the Glossary in the back of Mark Lewisohn’s book, The Beatles: Recording Sessions, “double-tracking” is: “The act of recording the same thing again on a separate track thus re-inforcing the sound when the two are added together. Relies on the fact that two performances are slightly different.”

Here’s a song from the 1964 album, Beatles For Sale. John Lennon is the lead singer. His vocal has been double-tracked.

Listen.

In later years, John Lennon experimented often in the recording studio. He would try having the recording engineers speed up (or slow down) the tape recorder during a vocal recording and then see how his voice sounded when the tape was played back at the normal speed. One time John actually tried singing while lying on the studio floor and having the microphone suspended above him.

Here’s a song from the 1966 album, Revolver. John is the lead singer. His vocal and several of the instrumental parts were subject to being recorded and played back at different speeds.

Listen.

I don’t know if John Lennon ever learned to like his voice or not. I do hope so.

As I listened again to John’s performances on those timeless and indescribably gorgeous recordings, my recurring thought was: “What’s not to like?”

But on this day, October 9, 2013, on what would have been John’s 73rd birthday, I will turn again to the words of George Martin to express my feelings for the singing of John Lennon.

George Martin said: “I love John’s voice anyway, and it was a great privilege listening to it.”

It still is.

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Finding Covers – “Faith”

Posted on October 6, 2013 by sixstrstories

In The Penguin Encyclopedia of Popular Music (Second Edition, 1989, edited by Donald Clarke), “cover” is described as “a recording of a song already a hit by another artist; now more especially of a song already recorded by its composer.”

The entry goes on to explain how: “In the mid-50’s ‘cover’ took on a special meaning as white artists covered R&B material, often with watered down lyrics (to say nothing of style).”

Then: “In the ’60’s United Kingdom pop stars covered Chuck Berry and other black artists out of acknowledged admiration.”

Also: “A cover often revived a good song and made more money for the composer.” For example, “In the late ’70’s-early ’80’s Willie Nelson could make a friend a lot of money by covering a song on an album.”

The Encyclopedia’s entry concludes: “There are signs in the ’90’s that people are more willing to sing each other’s songs as new pop and rock groups seek an exclusively young audience, while more discriminating artists and fans are more interested in good songs.”

After many hours of intense observation and detailed analysis (especially over this past summer), I have come to the following conclusion in regard to the use of covers in 21st century popular music.

These days, many performing musicians – no matter how extensive and revered their personal catalogues of original material – are actively keeping alive the songs that they grew up with and/or were inspired by.

And they’re having a great time doing so.

For instance…

On Friday, August 30, at the Prescott Park Arts Festival in Portsmouth, NH: during the encores of the long and luminous concert by Steve Earl & The Dukes (and Duchesses), Steve signaled the ensemble’s segue into a rousing version of The Band’s 1969 hit “Rag, Mama Rag” by shouting out “For Levon!” (the late Levon Helm was the dearly loved drummer and frequent lead vocalist for The Band.)

On Friday, September 6, at The Comcast Center in Mansfield, MA: midway through Grace Potter & The Nocturnals’ hard-rocking opening set, the entire band gleefully gathered around Grace at center stage for semi-acoustic renditions of Junior Parker’s 1953 R&B song “Mystery Train” and the 1970 Grateful Dead classic “Friend Of The Devil.” (“Mystery Train” is probably best known for the cover version that Elvis Presley recorded in 1955.)

Of these and all of the excellent covers that I had the pleasure and privilege of hearing over the summer, one of my favorites presented itself early in July.

On Wednesday, July 3, at The Prescott Park Arts Festival: Lake Street Dive presented their dazzling interpretation of “Faith,” the 1987 George Michael mega-hit and top selling song of 1988.

Check it out for yourself! (This is a live video of Lake Street Dive from July, 2012.)

Lake Street Dive (not Drive) is a quartet – Rachael Price: lead vocals & guitar; Mike Olson: trumpet, guitar & bass vocals; Bridget Kearney: upright bass & vocals; Mike Calabrese: drums & vocals – that formed in 2006 when its members were all students at the New England Conservatory in Boston, MA.

The studio recording of the group’s cover of “Faith” is available on the band’s 2012, 6-song CD called Fun Machine. This highly recommended CD also contains outstanding covers of “I Want You Back” – the 1969 debut single from The Jackson Five – and “Rich Girl” – the 1977 hit by Hall & Oates.

I found many other wonderful covers this past summer that I will be sharing with you in the months to come. Let me know what you think of them and please feel free to share any discoveries of your own!

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This Historic Day… My Daughter’s Wedding

Posted on September 29, 2013 by sixstrstories

The music for my daughter’s wedding was as thoughtfully considered, carefully selected and perfectly realized as every other facet of that unforgettable and dazzling day-long event was.

First there were the Beatles’ songs – exceptionally rendered on electric piano by my good friend Andy Inzenga – that served as the prelude, processional and recessional of the late afternoon, outdoor wedding ceremony. Then there were the countless Rhythm & Blues, Soul, Funk, Motown and Rock & Roll classics – served up by the truly outstanding (and highly recommended) Cambridge, Massachusettes-based, seven-piece band -“The Chicken Slacks” – that made the evening’s wedding reception the most joyous and exuberant  dance party of the year. 

For the father/daughter dance, Kristin and I made a rather unusual (no big surprise) choice: “Swinging On A Star.”

This song was high on the hit parade in the Sinclair household during my children’s formative years. So when the idea to use this Johnny Burke & James Van Heusen song for our dance came to me, and I suggested it to Kristin, she instantly agreed.

In honor and celebration of the 1st anniversary of Kristin & Andy’s wedding – and wishing that on this September 29 I could again have a dance with my daughter – I present to you Mr. Bing Crosby singing “Swinging On A Star.”

P.S.: If you’d like to hear the song that I wrote for and sang to the bride and groom at the wedding reception, go into the blog archives for October 2012, find the post “Song For My Daughter’s Wedding” and click on the blue link to “The Embrace of Love.” (Wait for it!)

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