Joined: May 17, 2018
Jack Likes: 23 Songs
A few years ago, a friend invited me to join a group of 6 other guys who rode (MWF) bicycles on trails in our general area. Not long after I joined this group, I invited my neighbor to ride with us. Shortly thereafter, my neighbor shared with the guys, “Jack’s a songwriter.” One of the guys asked, “Why don’t you write a song about us riding our bikes?” This became a real challenge, as I couldn’t imagine a storyline to go along with bike riding. But, it finally hit me. As long as I can remember, whenever I would hear a rhythmic pattern, i.e. running track, marching to the cadence of our high school band, or peddling my bike around town, I would typically get an earworm (a riff that would loop repeatedly in my head) of the flavor-of-the-month hit song.
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During my early days of grade school in Groveland, FL, I remember asking Dad, “What is a Greenback and why is our high school’s team called something like that?” When he told me it was U.S. Currency, I was really disappointed, as I couldn’t understand why we weren’t something more ferocious, i.e. lions, tigers or bears. But, as I grew into becoming a member of this team, I also became proud of the name on our jerseys, although I never fully understood why we were tagged with such a name. Only recently did I learn we got our name from the man who donated large sums of money to build our school near the end of the Great Depression in 1939. When asked what he’d like to name our school he said, “Well, there’s nothing stronger than the U.S. Dollar. Let our school be called, ‘The Groveland Greenbacks.”’
So, a few years ago I wrote a song to share during one of our annual, All Class School Reunions (although the chorus might be a slight case of plagiarism).
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Shortly after becoming a member of NSAI (about 15 years ago), our coordinator for the Tampa Bay Area told our group, "Try to paint a picture with your lyric, i.e. describe the things and accounts of where you grew up and how these matters affected your life." I have many fond memories of the very, small "Mayberry-like" town that shaped my life, and reflecting on these things was like a pleasant trip down memory lane...
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I grew up in a really small town, very much like that of "Mayberry." There were only 48 in my senior class and 90% of us were classmates since 1st grade. We were, and remain, like family. So, 10 years ago, for our 40th Class Reunion, I wrote this song and sang it to our class... Although I realize this song is not a template for a "Hit Song," I've always felt it was one of my better songs and performing it to my classmates (and best of friends) was one of the highlights of my life.
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Having been fortunate to have played sports from junior high, through 2 colleges, I had numerous coaches. But, the coach who had the greatest influence on me, also coached my mother (basketball) in her high school years, as well as taught me how to swim when I was 6. He coached my high school years in football & baseball and is listed in the Florida High School Hall of Fame. Most of all, this man coached character and self-control. I never heard him swear or even raise his voice. In fact, if he said, "John Brown," you knew you were in trouble and you were about to run some laps. This song is NOT autobiographical, but it is about the greatest coach I've ever known, Coach Shaw Buck!
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I received a phone call while I was at work. As I answered the phone, I could hear someone on the other end, but he was so emotional, I couldn't understand what he was saying, or who it was. After a moment of trying to console this person, I could tell it was my brother-in-law, as he composed himself enough to say, "He's gone, James is gone!" James was his son, my nephew and my son's best friend. James had a dynamic personality and was only 28 when a head-on collision with another car took his life... I couldn't stop asking, "Why?" I wrote this song for the service, but I was way too emotional to sing it. This recording of Tim Buppert's vocals & production was played.
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WHAT’S IN YOUR HEART (written by Jack Speer, sung by Tim Buppert, produced by Tre' Corely of Oak Tree Studios):
I’ll never forget the first time I met my great-grandmother. I was 6-years-old when I awoke from the back of my parents’ station wagon, only to see a dilapidated old shack with cows all around. I had just seen the Wizard of Oz and the old lady standing on the front porch of this shack had long white hair and looked a lot like the witch in the Wizard of Oz. I was scared to death of this old lady. But, in no time, I loved her. I once asked, “Are you poor?” She smiled and said, “Wealth is but a frame of mind and I’m as rich as you will find.” I learned so much from my great-grandmother.
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My wife took this picture of me with Tim Buppert, the singer and producer of the song, as we found him performing last year in Port Saint Joe, FL.
My cousin asked me to write a song for a friend of hers, who had just lost her daughter suddenly in a car accident. So, I tried to imagine the horror of the sudden loss of my wife, Julie, and came up with this song. I feel Tim Buppert did an outstanding job, both in terms of producing this song, as well as performing the vocals. I'm not sure this song is appropriate for a mother/daughter loss, but again, I like what Tim did with it.
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This was basically my very first song (A "Poor Me" song); one that I wrote as I dropped out of college, following a divorce. I found work quickly in a band (keyboard) and sang this song with a nice reception. However, it never seemed quite finished. But, about 2 years ago, I got an idea similar to Brad Paisley's introduction to Waitin' On A Woman with Andy Griffith, when an old friend called to tell me he'd be in my area and wondered if we could get together for a brew. So, I added a new introduction to my 47-year-old song.
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