Jingling For Democracy
Feeling so grateful that Chicago harmonica legend and overall musical icon Corky Siegel excerpted my song “Delicate Arch” as the first song on his new Jingles For Democracy Facebook and YouTube pages. His premise for Jingles For Democracy– which is aligned with the nationwide Common Cause movement– is to bring joy to the socio/political discourse […]
What the world needs now: Protest Song Therapy
I don’t do massages or counseling. BUT, I’m offering “Protest Song Therapy”, a musical march combining songs of resistance I’ve written with classics you likely know by Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan, Pete Seeger, etc. To recreate that coffeehouse vibe that spawned the Golden Era of protest music, I’m accompanied on acoustic six string, as well […]
Show Some Love for MAMA!
GOOD NEWS! This will be the last time this year I’ll ask you to donate to a charity– and it’s only $5. The Madison Area Music Assn. has opened voting for its annual MAMA Awards, our biggest fundraiser of the year. Voting costs only $5, and ALL the money raised goes toward providing instruments and […]
My Favorite Things: Trump Edition
NEW SONG! I always say, don’t just fight it– write it! I borrowed the Rogers & Hammerstein classic “My Favorite Things”, and swapped out Julie Andrews for Donald Trump. Talk about your worst nightmare! See what you think; lyrics follow. My Favorite Things: Trump Edition, Lyrics by John Duggleby, music by Rogers & Hammerstein Throwing […]
The Musical Fruit
Bush’s Beans ran a competition with a $15,000 prize for a video jingle with a more kindly treatment of the old rhyme “Beans, beans, the musical fruit, the more you eat, the more you toot!” I wrote this and recorded it with my friend and sometimes musical collaborator Codrut Birsan, and my wife Jude Thomas […]
New Song: “Roadrunner”
Inspired by a 2023 month in Tucson and a childhood of Warner Brothers cartoons, “Roadrunner” is an anthropomorphic flight (actually, dash) of covetous fantasy. It is also the last song I recorded with longtime friend, duo partner and producer/recording engineer Dave Hopper, who sadly left us before we could add a final lead guitar part. […]
Happy May Day!
Here’s a song about a favorite tree in my neighborhood that I wrote during a less joyful time, when we were in the early throes of Covid. Excuse the crappy iPhone video until I get around to recording a proper version.
Wildfire Smoke– the song!
When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. And when life gives you polluted skies, I say write a song about it. Submitted for your approval: “Wildfire Smoke”. I don’t need to explain the inspiration for this original ditty, but I’d especially like to thank friend and fellow musician Jim McSherry for suggesting I write a […]
Help Take Me to My MAMA!
I’m a finalist for a 2023 Madison Area Music Association (MAMA) Award for Classical/World/Unique Performer (whew!). It seems that they’ve mashed a few categories together. I guess at my age I’m a classic, my songbook includes a world of variety, and anyone who sometimes performs in a chicken costume can sure be considered unique. So […]