CAN'T FIND MY WAY HOME

In 1969, Eric Clapton, Steve Winwood, Ginger Baker and Roc Grech got together and formed the band Blind Faith.  During this time I was a young Marine serving in Vietnam.  Somehow I received a tape of their first and only album.  Whenever I had the opportunity, I would play the tape over and over and over again. 

My favorite track was a song written by Steve Winwood.  I quickly came to the conclusion that just like Steve, I Can't Find My Way Home.  

  

Song Title: CAN'T FIND MY WAY HOME
Track Number: 2
Album Title: COLLAGE
Artist: Old Blue
Record Label: Namesake Music
Produced by: RB Smith
 
http://NamesakeMusic.info/
http://OldBlue.info/

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CLOSE TO THE EDGE

In 1972 I was working with a band.  During one of our rehearsals my drummer walked up to me with a record album in his hand and said, “Take this home and listen to it.”  I curiously took the album.  It was CLOSE TO THE EDGE by the group YES.

Later, in the quite of the evening, I slipped on my headphones, placed the needle on the record and sat down to listen.  I was soon swept up in a whirl-wind of sounds.  I became both exhilarated and depressed at the same time.  I was exhilarated because of the song structure, the time changes and those incredible performances and sounds.  I was simultaneously depressed because as a musician I said to myself, “Why bother – I will never be this good.”

52 years later, while recording Old Blue 11, I decided to "try" to record CLOSE TO THE EDGE.  Three months after I laid down the first track for the song, I completed recording the last track for the song.
When it came time to create the video, I simply re-created the images that were displayed in my head while I was recording.

This is my version of CLOSE TO THE EDGE composed by Jon Anderson and Steve Howe of the group Yes.

Song Title:  CLOSE TO THE EDGE
Track Number: 11
Album Title: Old Blue 11
Arist: Old Blue
Record Label: Namesake Music
Released 01 June 2024
Produced by: RB Smith

http://NamesakeMusic.info/ 

http://OldBlue.info/

All rights reserved

ALONE AGAIN NATURALLY

You know when you sometimes hear a song and it just climbs up inside you and doesn't let go?  Well that’s how I felt years ago when I first heard this song.  It touched something deep inside me and for years I kept saying I wanted to record it.  Well in 2023 I finally did. 

This song is part of a collection of songs I recorded as instrumentals.  For me, this project wasn't about the lyrics or the voice, it was about discovering the magic in the song structure and trying to uncover all those BEAUTIFUL CHORDS.

Song Title: ALONE AGAIN NATURALLY
Track Number: 9
Album Title: BEAUTIFUL CHORDS
Artist: Old Blue
Record Label: Namesake Music
Released 10 March 2023
Produced by: RB Smith

http://NamesakeMusic.info/ 

http://OldBlue.info/

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RUBIO'S RADIO

When I first started creating this project, I used the working title THEM because its’ about people who are not like us.  People less capable - people with special needs that should be removed from society and institutionalized.

 
But they have gifts too.  We just can’t recognize those gifts because they operate at a different frequency – a different plane.
 
Rubio shows us his knowledge and how he does something extraordinary with the limited tools around him.
 
He reminds us all, that when you think you know everything – its’ probable you understand nothing.

 

Album Title: RUBIO'S RADIO

Artist: Old Blue

Record Label: Namesake Music

Released 18 June 2022

Composed and Produced by: RB Smith

Copyright (c) Namesake Music, BMI

http://NamesakeMusic.info/

http://OldBlue.info/

All rights reserved

DON'T WORRY BABY

It's simple - I just flat out love this song and it was a pleasure for me to record it.  Written by Brian Wilson along with Roger Christian and released by the Beach Boys in 1964, it has always been an example of the beautiful songwriting and harmonies of the Beach Boys.

When I decided to record an album of cover songs, it was easy to determine that this song was going to make the cut.  You can find Don't Worry Baby on my album UNDER THE COVERS.

  

Listen to:

DON'T WORRY BABY

 

Song Title: DON'T WORRY BABY

Track Number: 6

Album Title: UNDER THE COVERS

Artist: Old Blue

Record Label: Namesake Music

Released 01 July 2021

Composed By: Brian Wilson and Roger Christian

Produced By: RB Smith

 

http://NamesakeMusic.info/

http://OldBlue.info/

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CALIFORNIA DREAMIN'

When I decided to record an album of cover songs, I gathered up a bunch of songs that were important to me in the early years.  Some of these songs I performed for many years.  California Dreamin’ was one such song.

When it came time to create the video, I relied on my dreams as a working musician and later my career at Elektra/Asylum Records and Silver Lining Entertainment.  This video is a testament to the fact that dreams can come true. 

Song Title: CALIFORNIA DREAMIN'
Track Number: 1
Album Title: UNDER THE COVERS
Artist: Old Blue
Record Label: Namesake Music
Released 01 July 2021
Produced By: RB Smith

 

http://NamesakeMusic.info/

http://OldBlue.info/

All rights reserved

IT DOESN'T MATTER MUCH TO ME

Some events in life just stick with you.  It doesn’t matter how much time goes by or what has happened since, it becomes part of your DNA.  This experienced was during my formative years.  During the Age of Aquarius and Woodstock.  It was a time of contrast and confusion and I kept telling myself IT DOESN'T MATTER MUCH TO ME.            

Song Title: IT DOESN'T MATTER MUCH TO ME
Track Number: 10
Album Title: THE OTHER SIDE OF TIME
Artist: Old Blue
Record Label: Namesake Music
UPC/EAN Code:  887516 144509
Released 01 January 2013
Composed and Produced by: RB Smith
Copyright (c) Namesake Music, BMI

http://NamesakeMusic.info/
http://OldBlue.info/

All rights reserved

YOU WON'T SEE ME - NOT A SECOND TIME

This is the first track of the first album of cover songs I ever recorded.  I can’t think of a better selection of songs to choose from than Beatle songs.  This has been so much fun to record.  These guys chanced the world.  They changed me.  Listening to them has taught me so much.  In fact, I often say that it was John Lennon who taught me how to play the guitar.

For this video, I mashed up two different Beatle songs - just for the fun of it.

Song Title:  YOU WON'T SEE ME - NOT A SECOND TIME
Track Numbers: 7 & 9
Artist: RB Smith
Record Label: Namesake Music
Released 20 October 2015
Produced by: RB Smith

  
http://NamesakeMusic.info/

http://RBSmith.info/

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MENAGERIE

When I was a child, my parents didn’t own a piano but for some reason I was fascinated by the instrument.  I would go to my elementary school early and stay late just to sit at the piano in the kindergarten room.   I would pick and paw at those keys for hours making up little tunes.  One of those tunes became my song MENAGERIE and it’s one of the first songs I ever wrote.  Who could have imagined that I would record the song almost 60 years later?  When I listen to it now, it’s so simple as if my inner child is still playing it.

One of my other passions is photography and I’m lucky to be in possession of many old family photos.  Many of these photos date back well over 100 years.  I thought how wonderful it would be if I could experiment and try to bring these photos to life.     

So may I share with you some very old family photographs and one of my earliest compositions?   

This is my MENAGERIE.

Song Title: MENAGERIE

Track Number: 7
Album Title: Old Blue 6
Artist: Old Blue
Record Label: Namesake Music
Released 10 October 2017
Composed and Produced by: RB Smith
Copyright (c) Namesake Music, BMI

http://NamesakeMusic.info/

http://OldBlue.info/

All rights reserved 

GERONIMO

One of the things I enjoy doing the most is to take my guitar, camera and camper and wonder the American Southwest.

On one of these journeys, the chords to a new song started to expose themselves to me and there was definitely magic in those chords.  By the time I got home, it became perfectly clear that the song was about the land I had just traveled and the last of the great Chiricahua Apache warriors who once lived there.  Geronimo.

Geronimo lived his life defending his land and people from foreign invaders.  He was 79 years old at the time of his death and although he was caged as a "prisoner of war", in his mind he was always free.

When it came time to make this video, I wanted to incorporate the photographs of Edward S. Curtis (1868 - 1952) because I liked them so much and because he took over 40,000 photographs of 80 tribes - including Geronimo.

I am a killer.  I’m a medicine man.  I'm Geronimo.

Song Title: GERONIMO
Track Number: 10
Album Title: THE OLD MAN IN THE CORNER
Artist: Old Blue
Record Label: Namesake Music
UPC/EAN Code: 884502 574098
Released 01 June 2010
Composed and Produced by: RB Smith
Copyright (c) Namesake Music, BMI

http://NamesakeMusic.info/

http://OldBlue.info/

All rights reserved 

JOHN PAUL GEORGE and RB

There is nothing I can say about The Beatles that hasn't been said a million times before. After all, they changed the entire world. But for me personally as a musician and songwriter, no one has influenced me more than John, Paul, George and Ringo.

This is why after releasing 5 original albums as Old Blue, I decided to attempt to pay tribute to these wonderful songwriters. However, I didn't want to just record another album of Beatle covers. My goal was to dig deep into these songs in an attempt to uncover the magic buried within them and capture and record my own sensibilities.

So give it a listen. I know you love the songs and maybe - just maybe - you'll like my interpretations.

Listen to:
JOHN PAUL GEORGE and RB 

Album Title: JOHN PAUL GEORGE and RB
Number Of Tracks: 11
Artist: RB Smith
Record Label: Namesake Music
Released 20 October 2015
Produced by: RB Smith

http://NamesakeMusic.info/
http://RBSmith.info/

All rights reserved

HOW WOULD I FEEL?

When I ask the question "How Would I Feel?"  I'm not asking how I would feel about something.  I mean it literally.  How could I possibly feel anything if I'm not moved or touched by something?

There are just some things that let me know that I'm very much alive, such as the moon in the sky or the gaze in her eyes or a song that emerges from my heart.

These are the things that tell me HOW WOULD I FEEL? 

Song Title: HOW WOULD I FEEL?
Track Number: 8
Album Title: SEE ME THROUGH
Artist: Old Blue
Record Label: Namesake Music
UPC/EAN Code: 884502 436365
Released 01 June 2007
Composed and Produced by: RB Smith
Copyright (c) Namesake Music, BMI

http://NamesakeMusic.info/
http://OldBlue.info/

All rights reserved

LAUGHING BLUE

This song may be hard to explain.

Imagine yourself in the moment, writing about unknown events and circumstances which will take place deep into the future.  I think that is the best way to describe the origin of this song.

With the release of my video IT DOESN'T MATTER MUCH TO ME, it got me thinking about another song I wrote during my tour in Vietnam.  I was writing about the trust and friendship which had developed among the men around me who shared this unbelievable experience.  I was wondering what would become of us and what kind of people would we ultimately become.   And even though we shared many good times along with the bad, I wondered if we would ever be able to laugh again without a dark cloud hanging over our lives.

Would we be - LAUGHING BLUE

Listen to:
LAUGHING BLUE

Song Title: LAUGHING BLUE
Track Number: 6
Album Title: TRUE BLUE
Artist: Old Blue
Record Label: Namesake Music
UPC/EAN Code: 884502 473612
Released 01 June 2009
Composed and Produced by: RB Smith
Copyright (c) Namesake Music, BMI

http://NamesakeMusic.info/

http://OldBlue.info/

All rights reserved

THE MAN CAN DANCE

Several years ago, a dear family member was stricken with the terrible ALS or Lou Gehrig's Disease.

He was coming upon his 64th birthday so the family prepared a huge surprise birthday party for him.  By now, the disease had already taken a toll on his body, but the way in which he handled his situation, with grace and dignity, was inspiring to us all.

When I returned home from the celebration, I picked up my guitar and his song was waiting for me.

 

This was to be his last birthday.

Listen to:

THE MAN CAN DANCE

Song Title: THE MAN CAN DANCE
Track Number: 9
Album Title: OUT OF THE BLUE
Artist: Old Blue
Record Label: Namesake Music
UPC/EAN Code: 884502 466836
Released 01 June 2008
Composed and Produced by: RB Smith
Copyright (c) Namesake Music, BMI

http://NamesakeMusic.info/

http://OldBlue.info/

All rights reserved

IMMERSE YOURSELF

Two years ago, I was fortunate enough to go on safari in South Africa.  While there I shot hours of film capturing the abundance of wildlife both large and small.  It was amazing for me to be able to roam freely among the animals in "their" environment without borders or fences.

When I returned home, I started work on THE OTHER SIDE OF TIME.  I knew that there would be a song which would immerge from my African experience but to my surprise, what immerged was less of a structured song and more of a series of rhythms and sounds which best captured my feelings.  This recording along with some of the footage I shot has became the first video from THE OTHER SIDE OF TIME.

For me, when it comes to the intensity of nature's wonders, it's easy to IMMERSE YOURSELF.

Song Title: IMMERSE YOURSELF

Track Number: 7
Album Title: THE OTHER SIDE OF TIME
Artist: Old Blue
Record Label: Namesake Music
UPC/EAN Code: 887516 144509
Released 01 January 2013
Composed and Produced by: RB Smith
Copyright (c) Namesake Music, BMI

http://NamesakeMusic.info/
http://OldBlue.info/

All rights reserved

TOO COOL

Music has many different meanings to many different people.  For some, it’s about rhythm and dance.  To others it’s about lyrics and poetry.  And still to others it’s about melodies, progressions and hooks.

You see, music stirs the emotions in many different ways.  A song can trigger a memory or a mood.  Or you can be inspired and left in awe by a performance which demonstrates the mastery of an instrument.  The possibilities are as endless as the people who listen.

As a musician, sometimes it just plain feels good to physically play a certain song.  That is my experience when I play TOO COOL.

Listen to:

TOO COOL

Song Title: TOO COOL
Track Number: 2
Album Title: THE OTHER SIDE OF TIME
Artist: Old Blue
Record Label: Namesake Music
UPC/EAN Code:  887516 144509
Released 01 January 2013
Composed and Produced by: RB Smith
Copyright (c) Namesake Music, BMI

http://NamesakeMusic.info/
http://OldBlue.info/

All rights reserved

ESPLANADE

Some songs just write themselves.

There was this summer a few years back when I would eat my lunch on a street named Esplanade. It overlooked the beach and this area was also the birthplace of the Beach Boys. I would sit up there and enjoy my lunch as I watched the world go by.

As I said, some songs just write themselves.

 

 

Listen to:

ESPLANADE

Song Title: ESPLANADE

Track Number: 1
Album Title: OUT OF THE BLUE
Artist: Old Blue
Record Label: Namesake Music
UPC/EAN Code: 884502 466836
Released 01 June 2008
Composed and Produced by: RB Smith
Copyright (c) Namesake Music, BMI

http://NamesakeMusic.info/
http://OldBlue.info/

All rights reserved

CARE FREE DAYS

If I don’t live it, feel it, dream it, or eat it … I don’t write about it.

I don’t (and probably can’t) just sit down and write a song.  It doesn’t work that way for me.  My songs come to me from my life’s experiences.  Now having said all that, it doesn’t mean I don’t bend my reality just a bit for the sake of a song.

For example, there was a period in my life when I was taking lots of road trips.  My buddies and I would pile into a car and drive down to New Orleans, or I would visit a friend’s family in Georgia, or I would worship the sun in the Florida Keys.  These and many other trips were all separate excursions but when these experiences started to show up in my music, I decided to squeeze them all together into one song.

This represents a period when I was as free as a bird and without a care in this world.  These were my CARE FREE DAYS.

Listen to:

CARE FREE DAYS

Song Title: CARE FREE DAYS

Track Number: 1

Album Title: THE OLD MAN IN THE CORNER

Artist: Old Blue
Record Label: Namesake Music
UPC/EAN Code: 884502 574098
Released 01 June 2010
Composed and Produced by: RB Smith
Copyright (c) Namesake Music, BMI

http://NamesakeMusic.info/
http://OldBlue.info/

All rights reserved

MYSTIFIED

I was early for my appointment, so while I was waiting in his 93rd floor Manhattan office, I stared out at the magnificent view.  The sun was streaming down and I was lost in the beauty of the moment when suddenly I heard a voice behind me say, “Can I help you?”  As I turned around I was stunned.  There before me stood an angel.  As the light poured in and washed over her, her beauty literally took my breath away.  THAT WAS A MAGIC MOMENT.

Years later, I was waiting for a young lady for our lunch date.  As she poked her head around the corner to greet me, I was stopped dead in my tracks by the sight of her.   I was blinded by her beauty and captured by her spell.  We were soon married.

With guitar in hand, when I reflect upon these magic moments, the song MYSTIFIED emerges.

Listen to:

MYSTIFIED

Song Title: MYSTIFIED
Track Number: 5
Album Title: OUT OF THE BLUE
Artist: Old Blue
Record Label: Namesake Music
UPC/EAN Code: 884502 466836
Released 01 June 2008
Composed and Produced by: RB Smith
Copyright (c) Namesake Music, BMI

http://NamesakeMusic.info/
http://OldBlue.info/

All rights reserved

JODY SWEET JODY and LIVE TODAY

In this post, I'm going to talk about two songs.  Even though they were written a couple of years apart, they both share many things in common.  For example, they both exemplify my writing style at the time, they both appear on my album TRUE BLUE, and most importantly, they both deal with the subjects of life and death - but not in the way that you may think.

The first song was written while I was a young Marine serving in Vietnam.  Even though death was all around me, this song was written about life.  You see, one of my best friends in the platoon had just learned that his wife was pregnant with their first child. 

Personally, I couldn't imagine being a father at our young age and how terrible it was that he had to be away from her at a time like this.  I wrote the song as I imagined how I would feel to be in his shoes (or boots as it may be).  And now, many decades later, JODY SWEET JODY still lives on in song.

Listen to:
JODY SWEET JODY


The next song I wrote while attending university just a year or so later.  I had befriended a girl who was perhaps the most beautiful person I had ever met.  We were very close but when it came time for our springs breaks, we took off in separate directions.  I went south to chase the sun while she went west to seek adventure.  When I returned, I was eager to share our stories and experiences with one another but I soon learned - that she would never return.  The bus that she had been traveling in had lost control while in the Rocky Mountains and went off the side of the road. 

I was devastated.  I thought I was done with death and destruction.  She was so young … so pure … why?  I wandered around campus aimlessly daze and confessed and in disbelief until I found myself sitting in front of a piano in the Student Union.  As my tears soaked the piano keys, I wrote LIVE TODAY.

Listen to:
LIVE TODAY

Song Title: JODY SWEET JODY
Track Number: 5

Song Title: LIVE TODAY
Track Number: 7

Album Title: TRUE BLUE
Artist: Old Blue
Record Label: Namesake Music
UPC/EAN Code: 884502 473612
Released 01 June 2009
Composed and Produced by: RB Smith
Copyright (c) Namesake Music, BMI

http://NamesakeMusic.info/
http://OldBlue.info/

All rights reserved

RAINDROPS

There was a time when I called New York City my home. As with many other New Yorkers, I would spend a good portion of my Sundays relaxing and reflecting in Central Park.  It’s a wonderful sanctuary.

On this one particular Sunday, my usual routine was interrupted by the weather as it became dark, cold and rainy.  I found myself confined to my apartment where I attempted to befriend a good book.  But even this was not to be because while the rain kept hitting my window, I found myself growing more restless, uneasy and alone.

So as often the case, I picked up my guitar to deal with the problem - and those pesky RAINDROPS.



Song Title: RAINDROPS

Track Number: 7
Album Title: SEE ME THROUGH
Artist: Old Blue
Record Label: Namesake Music
UPC/EAN Code: 884502 436365
Released 01 June 2007
Composed and Produced by: RB Smith
Copyright (c) Namesake Music, BMI

http://NamesakeMusic.info/
http://OldBlue.info/

All rights reserved

IT'S ABOUT TIME

When I think about the origins of songs, sometimes they come to me from the simplest of things.  In this case, it was a little guitar lick I liked to play.  Whenever I would sit down to fiddle on my guitar, this lick would inevitably show up and over the years it developed into a song.  Sometimes a song develops quickly and sometime it takes years for it to expose itself to me.  Because this song came from the latter, I knew what it was about: 

IT’S ABOUT TIME

Song Title: IT'S ABOUT TIME

Track Number: 4
Album Title: OUT OF THE BLUE
Artist: Old Blue
Record Label: Namesake Music
UPC/EAN Code: 884502 466836
Released 01 June 2008
Composed and Produced by: RB Smith
Copyright (c) Namesake Music, BMI

http://NamesakeMusic.info/
http://OldBlue.info/

All rights reserved

THE FINALE - GATES OF HEAVEN

On Tuesday May 10, 2012 I posted here on The Old Blue Blog, “GATES OF HEAVEN – Part of a much larger body of work” and hinted that maybe someday I would post some of the “unheard” songs from those sessions.  Well I dug deep into the vaults and came up with THE FINALE to the complete works of GATES OF HEAVEN. 

To my Old Blue friends, this will really be different because I never released any of these songs (except the title song) on any Old Blue album.  But I always wanted to score and record a classical record and this was my shot at it.

I hope you enjoy the FINALE.

Song Title: FINALE

Track Number: 7

Album Title: GATES OF HEAVEN

Artist: RB Smith
Record Label: Namesake Music
Released 15 January 2007
Composed and Produced by: RB Smith
Copyright (c) Namesake Music, BMI

http://NamesakeMusic.info/

All rights reserved

GATES OF HEAVEN – Part of a much larger body of work.

Most people that know me are familiar with my song Gates of Heaven.  What most people don’t know is that the song is part of a much larger body of work.  Several years ago I wanted to do a “classical” style record with full orchestration.  I wrote the songs and when it came time to record them instead of using my usual guitar, bass, keyboards and drums, I scored the songs for a full 32 piece orchestra with an Overture and a Finale and everything in between.  I never release the recordings as an Old Blue album but I did release the title song Gates Of Heaven on my album SEE ME THROUGH.

So maybe someday I’ll post some of the “unheard” songs from those sessions here on The Old Blue Blog.  In the meantime, here’s the video of Gates Of Heaven.

Song Title: GATES OF HEAVEN

Track Number: 3

Album Title: SEE ME THROUGH

Artist: Old Blue

Record Label: Namesake Music

UPC/EAN Code: 884502 436365

Released 01 June 2007

Composed and Produced by: RB Smith

Copyright (c) Namesake Music, BMI

http://NamesakeMusic.info/

http://OldBlue.info/

All rights reserved

SANTA BARBARA

I had just arrived after driving cross country to attend a friend’s wedding.  It was my first time in Santa Barbara and I was taken by its sheer beauty.  Yet there was this underlining tension in the air (perhaps the result of 3 days of driving).  As I unwound with my guitar on the beach overlooking the Pacific, the sunset gifted me this song.  Many years later I recorded SANTA BARBARA.

Song Title: SANTA BARBARA

Track Number: 9
Album Title: TRUE BLUE
Artist: Old Blue
Record Label: Namesake Music
UPC/EAN Code: 884502 473612
Released 01 June 2009
Composed and Produced by: RB Smith
Copyright (c) Namesake Music, BMI

http://NamesakeMusic.info/
http://OldBlue.info/

All rights reserved

SEE ME THROUGH

I almost never “write" a song.  I usually just let it happen to me.  My songs are almost always deeply personal and are triggered by some sort of event, or a person, or place which somehow had the ability to move me.  The music always comes first and then I try to write down what I think the song is about.  Buried within those words - are the lyrics.

There has been one exception to the above.  When I was performing as a solo artist, I woke up one morning and said, "Today I'm going to "write" a new opening number."  So I sat down, picked up my guitar and within a couple of hours, I wrote SEE ME THROUGH.

It seems fitting that I should perform it for you now in The Old Blue Theater.

                                                          










Song Title: SEE ME THROUGH
Track Number: 1
Album Title: SEE ME THROUGH
Artist: Old Blue
Record Label: Namesake Music
UPC/EAN Code: 884502 436365
Released 01 June 2007
Composed and Produced by: RB Smith
Copyright (c) Namesake Music, BMI

http://NamesakeMusic.info/
http://OldBlue.info/

All rights reserved

SUMMER IN THE CITY

I was sitting on a park bench in the early evening after a very long day - just me and my guitar.  I was lamenting the fact that summer had almost expired and I never got a chance to get away.

And then this song came to me and took me where my body couldn’t go.



Song Title: SUMMER IN THE CITY
Track Number: 7
Album Title: THE OLD MAN IN THE CORNER
Artist: Old Blue
Record Label: Namesake Music
UPC/EAN Code: 884502 574098
Released 01 June 2010
Composed and Produced by: RB Smith
Copyright (c) Namesake Music, BMI

http://NamesakeMusic.info/
http://OldBlue.info/

All rights reserved

SEASONS

Many years ago, my best friend at the time was a fellow musician. It just so happened that his girl friend was my next-door neighbor who I also knew very well. It was inevitable that whenever their relationship ran into trouble, I found myself in the position of being “Mr. In-Between”.

Their rocky relationship was the genesis of my song SEASONS.

Song Title: SEASONS
Track Number: 8
Album Title: THE OLD MAN IN THE CORNER
Artist: Old Blue
Record Label: Namesake Music
UPC/EAN Code: 884502 574098
Released 01 June 2010
Composed and Produced by: RB Smith
Copyright (c) Namesake Music, BMI

http://NamesakeMusic.info/
http://OldBlue.info/

All rights reserved

PLACES OF DREAMS

My father was already in the hospital when I received the call. I lived 1,500 miles away but I had to get back to him. Back to the city I grew up in. He was dying.

Shortly after I arrived, we realize how fortunate we were to have this time together. We told stories, shared memories and gave thanks for this opportunity.

Each evening I would leave his bedside and drive to his house where I would spend the night. And each time I made this trip, I would take a different route to visit my old neighborhoods and experience places that were once important to me.

One morning when I arrived at the hospital, I was told my father had been moved to a different room. After we greeted each other, I notice he had this terrific view out his window of Gesu Church down the street. I asked him if he was able to see the church and he told me he was and then proceeded to tell me this story.

When my father was a small boy, his father owned a roofing business and his dad had won the contract to re-roof Gesu Church. He would stand on the street below, holding his mother’s hand, while gazing up at his father high above swinging from steeple to steeple making his repairs.

What makes this story so remarkable is that my father only lived in this city a very short time while as a young boy. He grew up in a different state entirely. He only came back many years later and married my mother. And now, after all these years, he was once again in the exact same spot where he once stood with his mother gazing at this church.

My father passed away.

When I arrived back to my home, I picked up my guitar and this song was waiting for me. It’s about places we remember. It’s about PLACES OF DREAMS.

Listen to:
PLACES OF DREAMS

Song Title: PLACES OF DREAMS
Track Number: 2
Album Title: OUT OF THE BLUE
Artist: Old Blue
Record Label: Namesake Music
UPC/EAN Code: 884502 466836
Released 01 June 2008
Composed and Produced by: RB Smith
Copyright (c) Namesake Music, BMI

http://NamesakeMusic.info/
http://OldBlue.info/

All rights reserved

LONELY ONE

Have you ever had one of those days when you’re just in a funk and you don’t know why?

I think everyone has had a few of those days. For me when this happens, I usually just pick up my guitar or sit at the piano to put myself in another place – a better place.

There was this one time in particular when I was feeling a bit low and while playing my guitar, this song started to expose itself to me. I worked on it and worked on it until it was done. And before I knew it, instead of me feeling down, I felt uplifted with a great sense of accomplishment.

I called my friend so that I could play the song for her. And after I played it, there was this uncomfortable silence - and then she started to cry.

You see, she thought the song was about her. Nothing could have been further from the truth. I was working out my own problems.

(Which brings me to another point. Different people will interpret a song or any other piece of creation differently. That’s the power and beauty of art. But I’ll save that discussion for another time.)

It’s enough to say, that at that moment, both my friend and myself felt like we were the LONELY ONE.

Listen to:

LONELY ONE
 

Song Title: LONELY ONE

Track Number: 5

Album Title: SEE ME THROUGH

Artist: Old Blue

Record Label: Namesake Music

UPC/EAN Code: 884502 436365

Released 01 June 2007

Composed and Produced by: RB Smith

Copyright (c) Namesake Music, BMI
 

http://NamesakeMusic.info/

http://OldBlue.info/
 

All rights reserved

THE STORY OF BLACKIE AND LITTLE ONE

When I was a young child, one of our family members was a beautiful cat we called Blackie. (You’ll never guess what color she was.)

Blackie was instrumental in me learning about the birds and the bees because while still at a very young age we discovered that Blackie was about to deliver kittens. My mother found herself in the untenable position of having to answer all my never-ending questions on the subject.

Soon we had a house full of playful kittens and we needed to find good homes for them. But there was this one kitten – the little one – that I had grown particularly found of. So I started my successful campaign to convince my parents that he needed to stay.

This is the origin of the names Blackie and Little One. I always liked those names and I thought one day they might make a good song title.

And then it happened. The music fell out of the sky and the words fell out of my head and many decades later I experienced the second birth of THE STORY OF BLACKIE AND LITTLE ONE.

Listen to:
THE STORY OF BLACKIE AND LITTLE ONE

Song Title: THE STORY OF BLACKIE AND LITTLE ONE
Track Number: 10
Album Title: OUT OF THE BLUE
Artist: Old Blue
Record Label: Namesake Music
UPC/EAN Code: 884502 466836
Released 01 June 2008
Composed and Produced by: RB Smith
Copyright (c) Namesake Music, BMI

http://NamesakeMusic.info/
http://OldBlue.info/

All rights reserved