In 1997 I went on a songwriting binge and it lasted thru 2001. When I discovered a recording studio in Coldwater, Michigan manned by a musical genius, Greg Brayton, I managed to turn out at least one song a month and Greg and I turned out a total of 57 recorded songs. When people asked me what genre my music fell in I said, “Da?”. We turned out folk, comedy, country, blues, spiritual, high drama and stuff we still haven’t found a category to drop into. One of my favorites is a love song I wrote for my wife, Jean. Its title is “If I Loved You Any More You’d Be My Dog.” It wasn’t about her or me but about a cowboy sort of guy trying to express his deep love for a particular girl. Same with “I Never Slept Alone ’til I Got Married.” I’d slept alone a lot, believe me, because at the time I wrote it my wife Ruth had died 5 years earlier. Like with my writing books and articles and such, I gave myself permission to write anything I pleased when writing songs. I penned, “You’re The Most Pathetic Person That I Have Ever Met,” long before I met my wife, Jean. Same with, “Have a Good Life Because I’m Movin’ On.”
Recently I have started talking with audiences about my songs, how I wrote them and then I play the song on a CD. I invited the audience to chime in on some of my blues songs such as “Don’t Wait Too Long.” and “Too Long Partyin’ Blues.” I generally close these sessions with my “I Love You Waltz.” I figure it is time that we all say “I love you” to one another here in America. There is just too much hate going around lately.
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