The 2008 Lys Blues Music Awards are now on-line. Voting continues until September 21st. Canadian singer/songwriter Dale Boyle is amongst the nominees with his CD, Small Town van Gogh, which captured nods for Album of the Year, Composer of the Year, and Blues and Associated Styles.
Why am I encouraging you to visit the Lys Blues site and vote for Dale? Well, for one, I have, and I did. Small Town van Gogh is a wonderful CD, and independent musicians deserve our support! Also, I do admit I’m biased, but, as we all know, subjectivity plays a part in the creative arts, so there. As some of you who followed my old on-line diary, Trials & Triumphs, might remember, Dale’s CD features a song inspired by my grandfather, William “Duke” Procter, who, when he died in 2005 at the age of 106, was the last veteran in my province to have served in The Great War (a.k.a. WW I). Dale never met my grandfather, which to me makes the fact that Duke inspired the song, Over 100 Years, all that more poignant (scroll down Dale’s lyric page to read the lyrics).
You can listen to Over 100 Years in its entirety on Dale’s website. Click on the song title in the Listen to the Album widget on the right of the album cover, then click the Play icon and wait for the song to load. It does take a little while to load, so be patient.
I’m also quite partial to Send Monica Away, No One Lives Here Anymore, If I Come Back, and Idalene. Dale also does a nice rendition of the Springsteen classic, My Hometown.
Visit Dale’s CDs page to sample songs from Small Town van Gogh and In My Rearview Mirror: A Story from a Small Gaspe Town. You can buy Small Town van Gogh at several on-line retailers or directly from Dale’s website.
Hmmm, I’ll try to remember to check out that song 🙂
Thanks, Teresa. The first time I heard it, I sobbed like a baby. It’s kind of done in a spoken song form. Narrative song, I guess you’d call it. He definitely captures my grandfather’s feelings about the War and outliving all his comrades.