Happy New Year– Are You Ready for St. Paddy’s?

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.

It’s Almost Halloween– Are You Ready for Christmas?

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.

The Greatest Generation

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

Made in America

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!

Everybody’s Irish

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

Singing o’ the green

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.

Musical Programs

Several instruments.  

A ton of songs.

Too much fun       

I am John Duggleby, a performer for all seasons and any audience.  My programs include:  

Sentimental Journey:  Take a “Sentimental Journey” through the music and memories of the World War II era.  From “Chattanooga Choo-Choo” to “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy,” you’ll enjoy favorites from the Hit Parade made famous by legends such as Glenn Miller, Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra and the Andrews Sisters.  Seniors have free reign to sing along as they relive their youth, and I jog their recollections with stories and radio broadcasts from the era.  The show is great any time of year, or it can be tied to appropriate dates such as Pearl Harbor Day in December, V-J Day in September, V-E Day in May or D-Day in June.

 America’s Greatest Hits:   As Yankee Doodle Duggleby, I lead a tuneful tour of the red, white and blues of our nation’s unique musical heritage.  Covered along the way are over two centuries of All-American  classics, ranging from Stephen Foster and George M. Cohan to Bruce Springsteen and  Chuck Berry. Singing along is not only  permitted, but encouraged!  The show is perfect for not only the Independence Day  period, but President’s Day in February, Memorial Day in May, Flag Day and Armed Forces Day in June, Labor Day in September and Veteran’s Day in November.

 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.

Smilin’ St. Paddy’s Party:   Everyone’s Irish around  March 17 including 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.   And you don’t have to limit the fun to March, consider innovative programs celebrating other Celtic holidays such as Robert Burns’ birthday on January 25, St.  Andrews Day in November, or be the only venue  offering Celtic music at Christmas by honoring St. Stephen on December 26.

Circle of Life:   Perfect party music for virtually any occasion, covering the entire life cycle, from “Baby Face” to “Old Friends.”  We salute famous people as well as audience members whose birthday falls on the performance date, and I throw in some gentle humor about aging, including my song about reversing the process.  Just because we grow older doesn’t mean we have to grow up!

Programs can range from 45-75 minutes and beyond, depending on your needs.  Depending on the show, I’m accompanied by electric and acoustic guitars, mandolin and drum.  I charge $100 for any of the programs, plus a mileage fee for round trips of more than 50 miles from my McFarland, Wisconsin home.  For more information, including set lists and references, contact me@johnduggleby.com or phone 608-838-7834.  

party time!                               

Story Painter: The Life of Jacob Lawrence

The paintings of Jacob Lawrence tell stories to us all.  Stories of enslavement and freedom, of human migration and aspiration, of struggle and of triumph.  I bring the vivid paintings of this great artist to life in a fast-paced show based on my family book Story Painter: The Life of Jacob Lawrence.    I punctuate my messages on a conga drum, symbolic of the African-American experience portrayed in much of Lawrence’s work.

With sing-alongs, visual surprises and samples of Lawrence’s paintings, I launch a tuneful tour de force of a creative life that begins with a childhood shaped by the great African-American migration North and the Harlem Renaissance.  Audiences learn how Lawrence helped initially popularize now-legendary black heroes such as Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass, as well as document people and events of his own lifetime.

I stress lessons from Lawrence’s success such as:

                –  Look closely at the world around you.

                –  Be true to yourself.   

                –  Triumph rarely comes without a struggle.

                –  We are more similar than different, and we work better together than apart. 

Each performance is customized as much as possible for specific audiences.

Story Painter, my sixth of eight children’s books, was honored by the National Council for Social Studies as best elementary school book of the year.  It follows my award-winning Artist in Overalls: The Life of Grant Wood (Chronicle 1996). I also perform shows based on my books on John Lennon, Ray Charles and Grant Wood.

To bring this creative, mutli-cultural and truly American program to your organization, contact:

John Duggleby, 5322 Norma Road, McFarland, WI 53558,

(608) 838-7834, me@johnduggleby.com

American Gothic in Your Face: Grant Wood Up Close

Uh-Huh! The Genius of Ray Charles

There was nobody, but nobody, like “Brother Ray” Charles.  We can’t replace the “Genius” the world lost in 2004, but you can celebrate his remarkable music and spirit in my program based on my book for young people, Uh Huh!  The Story of Ray Charles.  The show demonstrates hands-on how he overcame poverty and blindness with enormous talent and determination to become one of the world’s most beloved entertainers for fifty years.

It’s near-impossible to sit still during Ray’s music, and audiences won’t have to as they’ll help me, my keyboard and electric guitar through renditions of songs such as “Route 66,” “Wha’d I Say?,” “Busted,” “Georgia On My Mind,” and “America the Beautiful.”  A few lucky listeners will get to join me for a some numbers in retro wigs as my “Raelets.”  The show can be customized for audience and age-appropriateness.

Uh Huh!, my seventh of eight children’s books, was published in 2005.  I also perform shows based on my books on John Lennon, Grant Wood and Jacob Lawrence.  To bring this creative, mutli-cultural and truly American program to your organization, contact:

John Duggleby, 5322 Norma Road, McFarland, WI 53558,

(608) 838-7834, me@johnduggleby.com