Posted by John on Jan 4, 2010 in
Calendar,
Music,
Programs It’s January, temps are hovering around zero, the snow is turning to cement– if you’re an event planner, time to think green! After all, it’s less than three months until St. Patrick’s Day. Time to shake off the winter doldrums and plan some mid-March madness. And I have just the solution: a Smilin’ St. Paddy’s Party featuring yours truly, who performs as Paddy O’Chair in a Celtic revue peppered with both familiar and lesser-known ballads and toe-tappers, as well as a golden pot of Irish jokes. As one of my songs notes, everbody’s Irish on St. Paddy’s Day, and a tuneful party is a fun way to ride out winter’s last blast and charge into spring.
My calendar is filling quicker than a leprechaun’s heartbeat, but I still have some good slots open. I hope my good luck will include a St. Paddy’s performance for your audience this year.
Posted by John on Oct 26, 2009 in
Calendar,
Music,
Programs If you’re an Activity Planner, before you know it, it will be time to dust off the ornaments and don the Santa suit; the end of the year is just over two months away. Are you ready with holiday party entertainment? If not, I still have some good dates available for my Holiday Sing-Along, an end-of-year celebration featuring many songs people know and can sing, plus a few surprises. I can make lyric sheets available for reproduction for participants. And since many of our most familiar holiday standards were popularized in the past 70 years, I challenge audiences to guess who first recorded them. The holidays hold deep meaning for many people, and my show is designed to evoke fond memories. Will I be able to entertain your audience this year? Write Santa at me@johnduggleby.com to bring the party to your venue.
Posted by John on May 20, 2009 in
Calendar,
Music,
Programs As we approach the Memorial Day holiday, I have two performances in the coming week of my musical program, “Sentimental Journey.” Through song and radio clips, the show revisits the World War II era when men and women, pushed to the brink of economic ruin during the Great Depression, were slammed headlong into a fight for physical survival. Their willingness to sacrifice and work together to get the job done– no excuses– is a stark contrast to the hedonistic greed that led to our current economic stew. I like to tell people at senior centers, far out of the pop mainstream, that they’re becoming suddenly hip. As a rebellious Baby Boomer who largely discounted them in my youth, I’ve belatedly come to realize that my elders are the reason that my progeny and I can regard a land of plenty as the norm.
Following is a tribute I recently penned for them, which I’m introducing into my show. Imagine if you will, a Glenn Miller-type mild swing accompanying the lyrics, and stretch your cognition even further to picture me trying to nurse it like one of those buttery40s crooners. As they say, it’s the thought that counts.
I’m looking forward to traveling to Iowa this weekend to visit my favorite war-era bobby soxers, my parents. My mom was a jitterbug champion and my dad still plays Gene Krupa drum solos on his stomach; it doesn’t get any better than that. Have a safe and happy Memorial Day, and if you see anyone from the Greatest Generation, give them a big hug and heartfelt thanks– from you and me.
The Greatest Generation
By John Duggleby ©4/2009
You’re the Greatest Generation, you stepped up and saved our nation
From depression, from aggression and war
Jeepers Creepers, how’d you do it? Can’t believe you pulled us through it
Downing Zeros, launching heroes galore.
On the front or back at home, hovered over the radio
Up with the sun, you got it done, Rosie the Riveter and GI Joe
You’re the Greatest Generation, can’t hide my admiration,
With adulation, here’s an ovation for you
You’re the Greatest Generation, you learned to sacrifice and ration
Through each setback, you could get back in gear
No excuses, no complaining, when the dark clouds kept on raining
You were a model, not to wobble in fear
Honest work for honest pay, separating right from wrong,
Clung to joy and boy-oh-boy, did you ever leave us with some songs
You’re the Greatest Generation, please accept my demonstration
Of jubilation, a celebration of you
No calculation can total what we owe you
Posted by John on Apr 4, 2009 in
Calendar,
Music,
Programs One of my one-man musical programs is “Americas Greatest Hits,” a stroll through our nation ’s history through the voice of some of its songs. I wanted something that updated the state of our Union to our not-so-rosy present, so I wrote one. The auto industry debacle with its burning question of whether we should lose a fundamental industry prompted me to ask one of my own: Exactly what is made entirely in the U.S.A. these days? The short answer: precious little.
Instead of ranting about “American” goods that quietly source their production across the globe, I took the high road with a tribute to some of the firms that still make their products on our shores. It wasn’t easy finding name brands that can honestly attach a “Made in the USA” label across their lines. If I’ve missed any of your favorites, let me know– while you still can!
Made in America
By john Duggleby © 2009
Worker welds injection jets on a Chevrolet Corvette
He cannot afford one yet, but it’s made in America
In the heart of Tennessee, Jack Daniel’s distillery
Whiskey from a dry county that’s made in America
Chorus
Made in America, and not some foreign shore
Made in America, who hears that any more?
Now that things are getting tough, don’t you think we’ve had enough?
Time to celebrate the stuff that’s made in America
Chill a beverage, cook a fish, nuke your soup or wash a dish
Whirlpool’s very kitchen-ish, and it’s made in America
Out in Sturgis bikers throng, Harleys half a million strong
Throttled engines roar a song that’s made in America
Chorus
This guitar with me today, came from cal-i-for-ni-ay
Taylor made for me to play, it’s made in America
Singing so my wife will hear, she’s the one I hold most dear
And when she smiles, it’s crystal clear she’s made in America
Chorus
(to the tune of Billy Joel’s “We Didn’t Start the Fire”)
Gibson Guitars, Beer Nuts, Pyrex Jars,
Lennox China, Franklin Clocks, Spam and Texas Jeans
U.S. Playing Cards, Snapper Mowers for the yard
Moon Pies, Tabasco sauce, Jelly Belly beans
Sees Suckers at the mall, Titleist golf and Whiffle balls
Nautilus fishing reels and Knex building sets
Cushy Fox River Socks, Pawneys Island Hammocks
Briggs and Stratton Engines, Lear and Boeing Jets
Shop Vac, Speed Queen, Sub-Zero, Viking
All Clad kitchenware and Old Town Canoes
Oreck Vacuums, Lane Chests, gone are almost all the rest
Bring ‘em, back, whaddya say, make ‘em in the USA!
Posted by John on Mar 17, 2009 in
Calendar,
Music,
Programs
The Windy City, where I called home for several years, has to be one of the best places west of Dublin to spend St. Patrick’s Day. The parade jigs through the Loop for a few hours, the Chicago River is dyed the shade of a lime popsicle, and merrymakers of all nationalities hoist green beer and bellow blarney. Everybody’s ”Irish,” and all are friends.
I won’t be in the Windy City this year, but I’ll be having just as much fun performing as Paddy O’Chair at not one, but two Wisconsin senior centers today. Among other things, I’ll be singing a song I wrote recently recalling March 17 Madness, Chicago style, and how nice it would be if such a diverse group could get along so well every day. I can dream, can’t I? Following are the lyrics, along with my sincere Irish invocation that as you slide down that grand banister of life, all the splinters will be pointing the right direction.
Everybody’s Irish
By John Duggleby © 2009
When the snow melts away in old Chicago
Comes a day the likes you’ve never seen
Black, yellow, white and brown, all colors head downtown
And gather where the river’s flowin’ green
Once a year, it don’t matter where you come from
The parade is stepping off, it’s time to play
The rainbow that our faces hold is shining like a pot of gold
‘Cause everybody’s Irish on Saint Paddy’s Day
Chorus
Pour a dram of Celtic whiskey for Mitzi
For Chang and Juan a frothy Guinness head
Some cabbage and corned beef for every native chief
Here come Bukuru and Ahmet, it’s time to slice the soda bread
Midori wants some four leaf clover honey
Some mussels from the bay for Desiree’
Let every race and nation smile, we’re sailing to the Emerald Isle
‘Cause everybody’s Irish on Saint Paddy’s Day
Lucky day, once a year in old Chicago
In every neighborhood you’ll find a friend
To gobble Irish stew, hoist green beer with you
And wonder why the party has to end
Saints alive, how we thrive when we’re together
Begorrah, end the war, it’s not the way
It’s lots more fun to get along, so raise your glass and join the song
‘Cause everbody’s Irish on St. Paddy’s Day
Chorus
Posted by John on Feb 10, 2009 in
Calendar,
Music,
Programs When the groundhog spied his shadow on February 2 , many were dismayed at the prospect of six more weeks of winter. In the chilly cheeseland I call home, kick-starting spring by March 16 is a forecast I’d relish. For one thing, it means that the ground will match the mood on St. Patrick’s one day later.
So, why not think green and schedule my Smilin’ St. Paddy’s Party into your festivities? I’ve booked a couple of dates but several, including the blessed day itself, are still available. My Celtic combination of well-known favorites and lesser-known gems is peppered with jokes and not one, but several Irish blessings. Make it a lucky day for both of us and contact my alter ego, Paddy O’Chair, at me@johnduggleby.com.
Posted by John on Feb 2, 2009 in
Calendar,
Music Want to feel warm in a hurry? If you’re near a computer on Thursday evening, February 5, tune in to a live webcast from the Green Parrot in Key West, Florida, where I’ll be kicking some percussive butt with the venerable bluegrass ensemble Piper Road Spring Band. I hope to be working up a sweat that even my northern brethren will feel through their monitors. The gig is from 10 pm-2 am Eastern time (yawn), so you in other zones– including Twilight– can figure it out from there. The webcam can be found at www.greenparrot.com . It’s probably on right now, but I’m not there– yet. My three-date Florida schedule is carved in silicon on my Calendar. The band (without me) played some dates last week that have wound up on YouTube, so you can search there using their name as well. Just don’t expect me to be in anything dated earlier than February 5… except in spirit. See you in Cyberspace!
Tags: Add new tag
Posted by John on Jan 12, 2009 in
Calendar,
Music What’s the perfect antidote to a wicked Wisconsin winter? How about playing bluegrass in the Florida Keys with some of my best musical buddies? I’m joining Piper Road Spring Band for part of their annual Keys tour on February 5-7. If you can’t join the merrymaking in person (awww…), at least one of the evenings will be live on webcam. Check out my calendar for more on the gigs, and my music page to learn about this eclectic band, which plows musical turf from Bill Monroe to the Grateful Dead.