OH TO BE YOUNG AGAIN

 

JACK BLANCHARD'S COLUMN at Music Charts Magazine®

 

I was riding on a bus early one hangover morning,
going into Buffalo from Tonawanda to look for a job.
I saw a peaceful little chapel in a graveyard across the road.
I asked the driver to stop
and I went across and into the unlocked chapel.
There were just three or four pews on each side of the aisle.
The colored light rays coming through the stained glass windows
gave it the mood I needed at that point in my life, serenity.
I got a job at the cemetery just so I could eat lunch in the chapel.

Misty Morgan and I were never Nashville insiders,
and we never got paid for most of our efforts,
but for some reason we still love our work,
and will never retire.
We’re waiting for some excitement… a tour…
the Big Break.

HOW WE GOT TOGETHER…
Misty and I were aware of each other
because we both played piano in Hollywood FL
and our pictures were often in the paper.
I went to a club where she had her band, and checked her out.
I made a date with her, and she stood me up
because her friends had told her I was a gangster, which wasn’t true.
I just worked for them.

A few months later we were both playing piano bars
in downtown Hollywood, on US #1, about a block apart.
I dropped in on my club on my night off
to see how they were doing, and Misty was talking to my boss,
trying to get my job.
We began seeing a lot of each other.

The boss told Misty that he was happy with me on piano,
but he invited her to stay and have dinner.
It was a first class Italian restaurant called The Copa.
Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Jimmy Durante all dropped in when in town.
I met Joe DiMaggio there and had dinner with him.
Misty and I tried working together
and wound up homeless on the street for a while.
Then we lived happily ever after.

I was playing at a piano bar in Hollywood.
On a break, a woman at a table alone, called me over.
She motioned to me to lean down
so she could whisper something to me.
She said softly “You think you’re so hot playing up there
being the center of attention.
Well, I think your music stinks and I don’t like your hair.”
I jumped back and shouted “FIFTY DOLLARS?!”
Then SHE was the center of attention.

IN ONE YEAR AND OUT THE OTHER.
I’m blessed… to have Misty as a life partner.
I’m hopeful… that we make our music together for many more years.
I’m lucky…to have so many helpful friends,
many of whom I’ve never met face to face.
This may or may not be the best year of my life,
but I’m glad to be in it.

Jack Blanchard.

 

Copyright © Jack Blanchard 2005 to 2016

Jack Blanchard & Misty Morgan… Grammy & CMA Award Finalists. Billboard Duet of the Year. Home Page: www.jackandmisty.net Mastering & restoration studio: 407 330 1611

Jack Blanchard & Misty Morgan…
Grammy & CMA Award Finalists.
Billboard Duet of the Year.
Home Page: www.jackandmisty.net
Mastering & restoration studio: ( 352 ) 530 – 2068