I began writing music when I was thirteen although I had been playing guitar since I was eight years old, inspired by the many bands and other musical varied & rich influences of the mid-sixties. The first two albums I owned were Simon & Garfunkel's Parsley, Sage,Rosemary & Thyme and Bookends. I didn't actually own them, they were my sister's. I merely appropriated them and then, I played the grooves out of them!

It's hard to believe most of Simon's compositions on those albums were only a little over two minutes each- there were layers and layers of meaning to be culled from each and every one. And, of course, I felt they were speaking directly to me.

I could never hope to write as well as Paul Simon but I know his melodies and lyrics, along with Garfunkel's harmonies played a big role in music becoming such a big part of my life.

JACK'S LYRICS:

(click on a category)

love songs

rock songs

Sea Chanties/other

country

activist songs

Christian/spiritual

Now you can BUY Jack's music on CDbaby!! just click !

And...now I'm on itunestoo!

The magical lyrics & harmonies of Simon & Garfunkel were just part of the musical and creative diaspora that was the Sixties. With the Beatles at the helm and under the influence of jazz, folk, blues and other musical styles, music in the Sixties charted new directions and reflected a creative openess that gave us so much wonderful music and that influences my composing and that of many others to this day.

Play That Funky Music

Another big influence was the music I danced to and listened to in high school and beyond during the Seventies (and, yes, there was more than disco in the 70's).

It was the time of Inner Visions, Dark Side of the Moon, all of Elton John's early albums, Randy California's Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus and other concept albums where every song seemed to tie to the others.

It was also the time of the singer/songwriter, when some of the best music ever written hit the airwaves. Performers such as Jim Croce, Harry Chapin, Janis Ian and others set songwriting standards that musicians have aspired to ever since.

In particular, artists in the Sixties & Seventies who influenced me were : Gordon Lightfoot/ the Moody Blues/ John Denver/ Dewey Bunnell (America)/ the late Dan Fogelberg/ Michael Murphy/ James Taylor and others.

On a More Personal Note:

Great as they were/are, those guys were just an inspiration in the large sense of the word. On a more personal note, my songs come from many sources: my own love life and heartache, conversations I had with people, a rainy day in Tijuana, a friend's good luck on the dance floor, a photograph.

I'm first & foremost a songwriter, not a performer and I've written songs in a variety of genres, including: Country; Christian;rock and others.

The songs that are closest to my own voice though are the love ballads and somehow, all the songs end up being autobiographical to some extent. My musical style has evolved a lot also and, with Denis' assistance, I maintain a pretty current sound.

I Write the Songs

Who knows where songs, the good songs- really come from? Like many songwriters, I believe they come flying out of a collective unconscious and pretty much write themselves. As Bob Dylan said of his tremendous earlier works- they just seemed to come out of the air. Then, the song takes on a life of its own. Kind of like your child who didn't grow up exactly like you had planned but who still turned into a great person- their own person.

Strong melodies and harmonies are important to me as are strong lyrics. In my opinion, there is a lot of mediocre stuff being produced these days, music that has about a six month shelf-life before people will start asking Who was that again? I try to write songs that will have a bit more universal appeal and will sound as good in twenty years as they do today.

Why Do I have Other People Perform My Music?

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