Celtic/Pop with clever and funny lyrics

12 MP3 Songs
WORLD: Celtic, POP: Folky Pop



Details:
Johnny Blue â GAELHEART

Johnny Blueâs first memories of singing are as a 4 year old amid the laundry on the washing lines behind the Scottish tenement where he lived. His mother, Isa, would take him to âthe picturesâ where they would watch the same film two or three times over. This was how Johnny learned the songs of Al Jolson. As Isa and the neighbours hung the sheets to dry, the pre-school Jolsonâsoot-blackened face, black blazer and borrowed white communion glovesâwould regale the ladies with âSonny Boyâ, âToot-Toot-Tootsieâ, and various other renditions of Mr. Jolsonâs repertoire.

The singing continued, and at the age of 9 the songwriting muse descended on young Johnny Blue. He feigned sickness that day, and penned his first song âWhoop-a-deeâ, in his mind, the next big hit for Freddie and the Dreamers. Mr. Garrity and his Dreamers would never see the used brown envelope that the song was written on. However, Mr. Watson, Johnnyâs teacher, would. Presenting his note explaining his absence, written of course, on a piece of used brown envelope, Mr. Watson read aloud to the class,
Every time I see you, I go whoop-a-dee,
Itâs a funny feeling that makes me sing whoop-a-dee.
It runs through my veins, and the feeling is very strange,
So please walk by again and Iâll sing whoop-a-dee.

Not the absent note his mother had written him, but the first public performance of an original Johnny Blue song.

The second public performance of a Johnny original was performed by his sister and her friends at Buttlins Holiday Camp in Ayr, where the trio won a weekâs holiday for their rendition of Johnnyâs, âDream Makerâ. Typically for the 60âs, the songwriter received no remuneration.

Johnnyâs been writing and performing since then. From the Renfrewshire folk scene through stints with pop-rock bands in Scotland and Canada, he has written songs in most musical genres. (The lyrics on the new jazz album by Jasmine Bailey were penned by Mr. Blue.)

Over the years, no matter what project he was working on, a âScottish songâ would invariably pop up and be filed under the âwho-can-I-send-this-to?â file. The answer to the Scottish song dilemma was solved in the summer of â05. While co-producing the John Allan Cameron Tribute show, Johnny was struck by the obvious idea that he should record the Scottish songs himself. He contacted various musical friends working in the Celtic genre to accompany him on the recordings. This musical ensemble he would call GAELHEART.

GAELHEARTâs music comprises an eclectic blend of Celtic-pop fusion, story-telling and cheeky repartee.