(John Redgate) I couldn’t make my goddaughter Molly’s 1st Birthday party, but I awoke that morning and this gentle song tumbled out. Your very first birthday and wouldn’t you know You’re not feeling all that well, Tired and cranky, fighting a cold I know you’re not yourself Baby, wouldn’t you like to get into your party clothes? Baby, guests are… Read more →
Author: johnnyonenote
DREAMERS DREAM, WRITERS WRITE (Johnny One Note)
(John Redgate) Begun in California, with inspiration from lyricist Ruth Feeley, this was finished upon my return to Connecticut, in the same bedroom where I learned to play guitar and did a lot of dreaming. Johnny One Note lay in bed A simple tune ran through his head Hey! Come back, young Johnny cried Please don’t run and hide Jumping… Read more →
ANNIE ‘N’ ME
(John Redgate) A Turn of the Century tune. . .1901, that is. I favor Old Age music over New Age, and love a good waltz. I’m lilting! Annie ‘n’ Me, We were always a pair Locked arm in arm, Like a couple of kids at the fair Strolling down on Main Street, She used to laugh When I’d introduce her… Read more →
IN MY LIFE
(Lennon/McCartney) What can I say? I think you know this one. My Beatles pal, Anne Marie, adds such a lovely harmony. Read more →
THE GIRL ON THE FLOOR ABOVE ME
(John Redgate) Pop music! Gotta love the sound of Armand Morgan’s Rickenbacker 12 string. I hear a little Lennon-McCartney, and maybe Marshall Crenshaw here. Not surprising, perhaps, having worked with Marshall in Beatlemania in NYC, all those years ago. It started when I parked In her parking space that night I swear I didn’t know it was hers I had… Read more →
WALKING IN CIRCLES
(John Redgate) Kids seem to like this one. The vocal round was pure serendipity! Walking in circles round and round My head in the clouds And my toes on the ground There’s nowhere I’m bound I’m just walking in circles And I’m talking in circles, Have you heard? I’m shooting the breeze With the bees and the birds Rhyming my… Read more →
HONEY DO
(John Redgate) Rockabilly! A tip of the Strat to Carl Perkins. Smokin’ Steve Combs on fretless electric bass. Honey Do, you know how I love you Honey, do you take a shine to me? Well, I’m tickled pink just to think That you might love me, too There ain’t none as sweet as you, Honey Do In the Orchard long… Read more →
THAT’S THE STORY OF MY LIFE
(John Redgate) Rolling down the Three Chord Highway, picking up speed, shifting gears between truth and fiction, veering a bit near the end, finally wheezing to a halt five and a half minutes later, harmonica humming! An apple a day keeps the doctor away So how come I get the one with the worm? A friend in need is a… Read more →
SUMMERSONGS (Bonus track)
(John Redgate) A musical pitch for an enchanted camp for songwriters, founded near Woodstock, NY by the remarkable Penny Nichols. I hope I captured some of the magic that happens there, in this first performance of the song. Recorded by our dear friend Tom Ryan at SS ’06 in Ashokan, NY. (summersongs.com) Read more →
DIG IT UP!
(John Redgate) Written in LA, early ’80’s. Had to dig up $150 rent each month. Began a long stint on keyboards at The Comedy Store around this time. Low bucks but lotsa yuks! Diamonds will dazzle, silver will shine Genuine gold always glitters But no other treasure you’re likely to find Will sparkle as brightly as love If you have… Read more →