Gaelheart
Big Bahookie
© 2007 John Blue (634479495250)
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Celtic/Pop with clever and funny lyrics
tracks
- 1 The Clearances
- 2 The Ghost of Shane MacGown
- 3 The Horizon
- 4 The Man from Glencoe/Memories of Lynn Walker
- 5 Wild Girls(Tali Girls)
- 6 Andy Thompson
- 7 Some Days You Get Runover
- 8 Big Bahookie
- 9 Douglas the Sailor
- 10 A Sailor's Dream/Miss Kate Rusby
- 11 Changes in the Town where I was Born
- 12 Gaelheart
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notes
Johnny Blue – GAELHEART
**#12 on paddyrock.com best of 2007**
Johnny Blue’s 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 “the pictures” 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 Jolson—soot-blackened face, black blazer and borrowed white communion gloves—would regale the ladies with “Sonny Boy”, “Toot-Toot-Tootsie”, and various other renditions of Mr. Jolson’s 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 “Whoop-a-dee”, 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, Johnny’s 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,
It’s 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 I’ll 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 week’s holiday for their rendition of Johnny’s, “Dream Maker”. Typically for the 60’s, the songwriter received no remuneration.
Johnny’s 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 “Scottish song” would invariably pop up and be filed under the “who-can-I-send-this-to?” file. The answer to the Scottish song dilemma was solved in the summer of ’05. 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.
GAELHEART’s music comprises an eclectic blend of Celtic-pop fusion, story-telling and cheeky repartee.
reviews
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Gaelheart
author: Ian KennedyThoroughly engulfed by this album. First track I heard was track 11 when I walked into The Scottish Company on Leslie St. Had to buy it and have shed a few tears every time I play it. Excellent Mr. Blue and your freens
- author: Betty & Bobby from Markham via Scotland
Enjoyed the Gaelheart CD love the Celtic mixture of pop and rock. You can relate to all of the tunes. Looking forward to the follow up.
Clever, witty, full of twists of phrases and imagery that anyone, of a Celtic ba
author: Suzana Grozavescu (University of Toronto Mississauga)A selection of Clever and Witty songs ranging from ballads to charged up tempo (Celtic music meets Pop/ Rock meets Folk), full of twists of phrases and imagery, that anyone, of a Celtic background or not, can enjoy; wonderful instrumentation also. Anyone can find something that they can relate to on this CD. There is a wonderful balance between lyrics, harmony, melody, instruments, and vocals. Highly entertaining!