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Pop Rock Nation

Author: Jenny

  • Happy anniversary to me!

    Happy anniversary to me!

    Bill and me today!
    Bill and me today!

    I’m delighted to report that after eleven years of marriage, I still feel like saying “Happy anniversary to me!”

    My husband Bill and I were married on a rainy Saturday at Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, Virginia. The date was November 16th, 2002. It was Bill’s second trip down the aisle and my first. It’s hard to believe all that has transpired since that fateful day eleven years ago. For the most part, time has really flown. I love Bill more today than I ever have. Every day, I find new reasons to be glad we found each other. In the spirit of my celebratory mood, I have decided to write a post about the music that has meant a lot to me in my relationship with Bill.

    The Ceremony

    I will never forget planning our nuptials. It was a stressful time, mainly because for half the time leading up to our wedding, I was finishing graduate school. We were also really broke. Nevertheless, I determined that I would choose music for the wedding that meant a lot to us. Bill and I are both of Celtic descent. I have more Scottish ancestry, while he is very Irish. I wanted our wedding to be kind of Celtic, while it was also military. No one wore a kilt, with the exception of the guy who played the bagpipes during my walk down the aisle. I chose to eschew the usual “Bridal Chorus” in lieu of a beautiful piece called “Highland Cathedral”. “Highland Cathedral” was composed by two Germans in 1985, yet it sounds like it could be an ancient Scottish piece. The first time I heard it, it was 2001 and I was at a kirk’in of the tartans in Columbia, South Carolina. I was moved to tears and determined that I would use that piece in my wedding if I ever got married. Sure enough, I used it to great success.


    This is a video I made after Bill and I visited Scotland for our 10th anniversary. I used Phil Coulter’s version of “Highland Cathedral” followed by Amy Grant’s very different version of “Highland Cathedral”.

    At my wedding, we had an organist and bagpiper play “Highland Cathedral” together and it sounded something like this…

    Other music used in our ceremony were basic hymns. I also had people sing hymns for us, since I am always singing for them!

    Love songs

    There are quite a few love songs that make me think of my relationship with Bill. Our first dance was to “Someone To Watch Over Me”, a classic Gershwin tune.


    Amy Winehouse singing “our song”.

    But there are plenty of other mushy songs that make me go weak in the knees when I hear them. For instance, I gave serious thought to us dancing to this song by Lyle Lovett…


    It captures my sense of humor, but doesn’t really reflect the truth…

    A better song might have been this one by Beth Nielsen Chapman.


    “All I Have” is a gorgeous wedding song, but harder to dance to.


    My version of Beth Nielsen Chapman’s pretty love song.

    Other songs that come to mind are Judy Collins’ version of “In My Life” and Don Henley’s “Taking You Home”, both of which I recorded recently.


    Judy Collins singing in 1966.


    I covered Judy Collins’ cover of the Beatles’ “In My Life”.

    There have been other, less lovey songs that have inspired Bill and me. While we are in love with each other, our marriage is really more like a great friendship. And we do a lot of things that great friends do together, like drink a lot of beer.


    This video includes “King of Beers” by Too Much Joy and “Beer Run” by Todd Snider, as well as photos of Bill enjoying our favorite pastime.

    In any case, I feel pretty sure tomorrow we’ll have a great time. We usually take trips for our anniversary, but this year’s move and my recent dental woes precluded that. I have high hopes for next year, though! Have a great weekend, y’all!

  • Veteran’s Day…

    Veteran’s Day…

    I know yesterday was Veteran’s Day, but I was spending that day with my favorite veteran…

    I come from a long line of veterans. My father, most of my uncles, and quite a few cousins are vets. I think the only service that hasn’t been represented by someone in my family is the Coast Guard. I am married to a soldier who will finally be retiring next year after thirty years of service. The military has its problems and some may think of it as a job no more honorable than any other job. And maybe, when we’re at “peace”, that’s true.

    Anyway, in a few days, my husband Bill and I will celebrate our 11th wedding anniversary. For most of our marriage, the United States has been at war in Iraq and Afghanistan. Bill went to Iraq for six months in 2007. Somehow, he has avoided other deployments, though he has friends who have gone downrange over and over again. They leave behind family members who worry about them all the time. Many times, they survive their deployments just fine. Sometimes, they don’t. I wanted to dedicate a post to all the veterans and their families out there.

    Rhonda Vincent and the Rage is one of my favorite bluegrass bands. They have done a couple of great songs for vets.


    “Till They Came Home”


    “God Bless The Soldier”

    Staff Sergeant Barry Sadler famously sang “The Ballad of the Green Berets”.


    I’ve always thought this song was kind of hyperbolic, but it’s definitely a song for veterans.


    “Dogface Soldier” by Russ Morgan

    This first time I ever heard the song “Dogface Soldier”, I was at a dining out with Bill and some old veteran got up and sang this. The guest of honor happened to be Captain Dale Dye, a highly decorated Marine who went on to consult on military affairs in Hollywood. Dale Dye was a really good sport and gave the veteran the sharpest salute ever!

    In 1990, Hank Williams Jr. famously sang a song for the late Saddam Hussein, who had just invaded Kuwait…


    This song kind of cracks me up now. It’s full of bravado and bullshit.

    Like something a little edgier? Sammy Hagar has you covered.


    “Remember The Heroes” by Sammy Hagar

    Actually, this is the first time I’ve ever heard this song. I give Sammy Hagar props for this. It’s nice to hear a rock star singing something for the troops.

    Want something even edgier than Hagar? Check out “Don’t Tread On Me” by Metallica…


    This’ll get you out of bed for PT…

    A woman I used to work with was in the Army for a spell. She said her daily workout sessions with her unit started with this song…


    I’ve always loved this song, but never thought of it as a military song until my former co-worker pointed it out.

    Veteran’s Day is over now and so is this post. I’m grateful to all the veterans in my life… and the day off my sweet veteran enjoyed yesterday.

  • Discovering Sandy Denny…

    Discovering Sandy Denny…

    I am a little ashamed to admit that 35 years after her death, I am only now discovering Sandy Denny…

    My husband, Bill, has been out of town all week. When he goes out of town, I try to find more things to keep me busy. That keeps me from wallowing too much in self-pity. I hate it when he goes away on business because I end up feeling pretty lonely. This week, I ended up making a number of new recordings and a tentative deal with a fellow music enthusiast who plays guitar. My YouTube friend from Scotland proposed that he play a track for me on guitar, which I would then add vocals to. As we were trying to come up with an appropriate song, he suggested “Who Knows Where The Time Goes”, which was written by British singer and songwriter Sandy Denny.


    Sandy Denny sings “Who Knows Where The Time Goes” with Fairport Convention.

    I knew the song. The person I first heard sing it was not Sandy Denny, though. It was Judy Collins. I own a copy of her greatest hits album, Colors of the Day, which I used to listen to all the time when I was in college twenty years ago. That album includes Judy Collins’ take on Sandy Denny’s beautiful song. For some reason, I never bothered to find out who had penned it, even though I so enjoyed the lyrics and melody.


    Judy Collins’ version of “Who Knows Where The Time Goes”.

    Years later, the late Eva Cassidy covered “Who Knows Where The Time Goes” and my YouTube friend proposed that we should try to do the song in Eva’s style. Honestly, I am not all that familiar with Eva Cassidy’s music, either. Sure, I have heard some of her better-known covers like “Fields of Gold” and “Songbird”, but I haven’t yet sat down with one of her albums and given it a proper listen, even though I think Eva Cassidy’s voice was beautiful.


    Eva Cassidy’s version of “Who Knows Where The Time Goes”.

    As I listen to these three women’s interpretations of the same lyrics, I am struck by how beautiful and ethereal they are in their own way. Sandy Denny’s vocals are simple and pure, while Judy Collins gives the song sort of a luminous quality. Eva Cassidy’s take is more soulful and emotional. All three versions are timeless and would have been as much at home in the 60s as they are in 2013.

    Sandy Denny, like Eva Cassidy, died young. She was just 31 years old and a new mother when, in March 1978, she fell down some stairs and hit her head on concrete. Denny abused drugs and alcohol and in the wake of her accident, she visited a doctor who prescribed Distalgesic, a drug that does not mix with alcohol. On April 17, 1978 Denny collapsed and fell into a coma. She died four days later, officially of a traumatic mid-brain hemorrhage after blunt force trauma.

    Though Sandy Denny had a devoted cult following, she never quite made it to mainstream success. That’s why I’m learning about her now. Oddly enough, I was actually living in England when Sandy Denny died. Granted, I was only five years old at the time, but I was already a music lover.

    Anyway, I did try my hand at this song, though not with help from my YouTube friend, and I think it turned out pretty decently. But I think I need to spend more time discovering Sandy Denny and Fairport Convention.


    My version of “Who Knows Where The Time Goes”.