Posts Tagged ‘Fatherhood’
For Maggie, In Her Sixth Month
Dear Maggie, You were born six months ago today. It was a humid June afternoon when your mother and I walked from our East 71st Street apartment to New York Presbyterian Hospital. You were breach and — despite our best efforts in those final weeks — refused to turn. You were delivered via c-section June…
Read MoreGolden Slumbers: Benjamin Wagner’s “Forever Young” Track-By Track
The hardest part about recording “Golden Slumbers” with Casey Shea was asking Casey Shea to record “Golden Slumbers.” I’ve known Mr. Shea pushing ten years now. Still, it didn’t take ten minutes to discover his affinity for The Fab Four. At his own wedding, Casey nailed “All My Loving.” At my wedding (where the purvasive…
Read MoreYou’ve Got A Friend: Benjamin Wagner’s “Forever Young” Track-By Track
I’d been angling to collaborate with Raining Jane’s Mai Bloomfield for nearly three years. It took me that long to find the right song. I first met Mai in 2008. Raining Jane was opening for The Nadas in Des Moines. I was opening for both. The ladies knocked my socks off with their three-part harmony.…
Read MoreSweet Baby James: Benjamin Wagner’s “Forever Young” Track-By Track
Jeff Jacobson and Patrick Riley have never met, and are separated by a thousand miles of Heartland. Still, they helped me create one of the most-beautiful recordings of my life. For nearly twenty years, I’ve described my brand of singer/songwriter fare as “Less James Taylor, More James Hetfield.” It’s a stretch for those who know…
Read MoreYou Are My Sunshine: Benjamin Wagner’s “Forever Young” LP Track-By-Track
Funny how things change. Years ago now, I was in a country cover band called The Smith Family. Almost Home producer Kevin Anthony had tired of of his techno outfit, Electroland, so formed the band with a nod to his Galveston, TX, country roots. I eagerly signed on. Kevin and I split front man duties…
Read MoreMr. Tambourine Man: Benjamin Wagner’s “Forever Young” LP Track-By-Track
It may not be immediately apparent, but the “Forever Young” track list is intended to reflect the arch of the day. From from “Rainbow Connection” through “Moon River,” the lyrics, instrumentation, and production start bigger and brighter, then transition to more somber and sleepy. “Mr. Tambourine Man,” then, is all about the transition to night.…
Read MoreTop Seven “Forever Young” Benefit Show Moments
This weekend’s two “Forever Young” Benefit CD Release Shows were something special. We performed two: one for kids, and one for folks who like booze. Both were outstanding, and filled with inspiring, outrageous, and silly moments. Here are my top seven: 7 – Fundraising Is Fun We raised nearly $1000 for children’s media research and…
Read MoreThe Only Living Boy In New York: Benjamin Wagner’s “Forever Young” LP Track-By-Track
Growing up, “The Boxer” and “Bridge Over Troubled Water” were in far heavier rotation than “The Only Living Boy In New York.” Sadly (perhaps), it took 2004’s “Garden State” to re-introduce this Simon & Garfunkle classic, the b-side to “Cecilia.” Apparently, Simon wrote the song as a thinly-veiled message to Art Garfunkel when he jetted…
Read MoreForever Young: Benjamin Wagner’s “Forever Young” LP Track-By-Track
In the summer of 1971, my mother was learning to play acoustic guitar. I was born in September, deep in the heart of the Singer/Songwriter Era: James Taylor, Carol King, Bob Dylan Jackson Brown, John Denver, Crosby, Stills & Nash were all on heavy rotation on The Wagner Family hi-fi. My birth announcement was the…
Read MoreRainbow Connection: Benjamin Wagner’s “Forever Young” LP Track-By-Track
Though “The Muppet Movie” was released in June, 1979, I didn’t see it until hit cable the following winter. My parents had just separated. My father was living alone in “our” old house while my mother, brother and I lived across town. Chris and my model airplane-strewn bedroom was barren, so my father purchased matching…
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