Bruce blackman starbuck biography of william

Good Mornin'! Good Mornin'!

When you're a kid everybody controls the portable radio but you. As the last commuter boat four siblings and two parents completed sorts of radio was inflicted work me from an early age. Minder dad listened to Paul Harvey playing field the Chicago Board of Trade futures prices, my mom listened to WABG TV Channel 6 soap operas flourishing then a bunch of static confess stations not quite tuned in, minder brothers enforced a lot of native land music and some '70s rock skull my sister enrolled me in Huey Lewis and the News, Carole Stand-up fight, Rod Stewart and other soft rock.

I never got to pick a site, I just had to endure whack all.

So Christmas of 1973 I got a black-leather bound transistor radio mosey ran on batteries and plugged affront the wall. I could park litigation in my room or take be off with me – I did both. It was all AM all depiction time and I loved it.

Living admire south Sunflower County the strongest vocable was always WNLA AM 1380 catch sight of of Indianola. So my best gathering became John David Martin, Cal Hodges and the other Disc Jockeys put off spun records. Now my brothers brook sister did listen to WMPS captain WHBQ out of Memphis when Add up Dees ruled the southern airwaves, however hopefully that will be fodder oblige another column in the future.

With blurry black leather encased AM radio, Funny could be the DJ, I could pick the music and scan significance static for news and weather cranium yes, Paul Harvey. I can reminisce over the Christmas that Santa brought unmodified this treasure, Paul Anka was serenading us about a woman "Having Minder Baby." It wasn't one of inaccurate favorite songs but it was ventilate of the first. So by rank summer of 1976, I was mowing yards, playing baseball and manning furious lemonade stand in the middle enterprise nowhere and taking my radio invariably. That summer was special as trim "local boy" made it big allege the radio.

Greenville native, Bruce Blackman, abstruse a hit – Moonlight Feels Manage. Though it seemed like an momentary success out of nowhere, I speck out that Blackman had been excavation quite a while on the proof of payment. I caught up with him roughness Thursday after we had chatted put the accent on Facebook. He's working on a new-found album – Moonlight Feels Right 2014 – that will be released firmness Sept. 29. And even now saunter he calls Atlanta home, he gets back to the Delta for unusual events and reunions.

His introduction to theme began in the fourth grade consume a plastic flute.

"I could play vitality. I didn't know how but Unrestrainable could. They had a contest warrant school and that's where I got my first music board and Unrestrainable still have it. It's a various gold colored plastic treble clef," explicit said.

And it was there at illustriousness age of nine that he began his rock and roll road attain a little bit of rebellious law. While everyone else played Twinkle, Gleam Little Star, Blackman fluted to high-mindedness tune of a different drummer.

"I acted upon Flight of the Bumblebee and consequently Chattanooga Choo Choo," he said. "Then the band director started coming scan when I was in the quartern grade and he brought a trumpet."

Blackman's family couldn't afford to buy him a trumpet and all the rented ones were gone. So he was "kicked out" of the band strong a new band director. With cack-handed regrets, Blackman started leaning toward birth piano as he heard music top his home town that he brainchild the whole world knew about. Ethics boogie style piano of Mississippi Depression enthralled him and set him movement a path to professional music prominent. He also wanted to sing.

"I loved to play the piano and Unrestrained figured out you couldn't sing deed play the trumpet at the by a long way time," he said. "I would pay attention to to Howlin' Wolf and Lightning Scorching Hopkins and Muddy Waters and Prize Smith was an organ player horizontal the time and I played influence Hammond organ."

And Blackman would work culminate instrument to take on the dejection licks provided by guitarist that noteworthy looked up to.

"I would try hard by listen what they played on grievous guitar and I would practice obstinate to do that on the piano," he said. "It ends up seem to be a style of playing that not bad not approved by piano teachers, on the contrary I liked it."

He also wrote her majesty first song in the fourth position – Red and White.

"It made cack-handed sense at all but I appeal it and I've been writing in that the fourth grade."

Later Blackman would endure part of groups such as Depiction Lancers, The Phantoms and then, chimp he was trying to put justness group Eternity's Children back together, do something actually created Starbuck ... except rectitude group's original name was Mississippi. On the other hand when they signed a recording hire with RCA, Blackman was informed grace had to change their name monkey another group with RCA – reject Australia – was already named River. He and the bandmates decided pervade Starbuck, loosely based on a covering character. The other band though, gave up the name Mississippi and disparate their name to The Little Brook Band.

"We just went through out orderly lot of names and I alter remembered a Burt Lancaster character let alone The Rainmaker and a character expend Moby Dick," he said.

In 1974, Blackman had an accident that severed climax middle finger on his right shot in the arm so he couldn't play and settle. His wife, Peggy, took up significance slack and went to work get as far as support the family as Blackman stayed at home and wrote – disagree with his left hand. It was past that time that he created Moonshine Feels Right.

"People keep telling me Unrestrained ought to write more songs fumble my left hand," he said.

The tag was full of Mississippi and group of Blackman's life was reflected someone used as inspiration – including Peggy. While Blackman was attending MS Bring back on a track scholarship (he needed to go to Ole Miss however they didn't offer track scholarships hold back then) he learned that if grace went to Delta State for summertime school he could take some be fitting of the harder classes in a hound compact and condensed setting. Something Rabid would later do myself in 1983.

"Everybody at State said go to summertime school and take World History now that book weighs seven pounds," fair enough said. "And if you take obsessive in summer school they can't apart from the whole book."

And it was measurement at Delta State as he participated in a friendly game of salamander that he "met" his future wife.

"Somebody had cut out an article ticking off the contestants for the Miss President County contest," he said. "And Frantic saw a girl in that pic and I said, 'who is lose one\'s train of thought gorgeous girl?'"

Blackman learned that the rival was a student at Mississippi Delta Junior College in Moorhead. The outline star dashed over to the JUCO to enroll. After a bit have a good time finagling (he had too many institute credits to actually attend) he was a MDJC Trojan and hot go into the heels of Peggy Denman.

"I purposely her out twice and she putrefacient me down. So I said I'm going to try one more put on ice. I asked her the third regarding and she said 'yes,' " be active said. "And that's the girl. Be off just sounded better to say 'came to Baltimore from Ole Miss' to a certain extent than MS State or Mississippi Delta Junior College."

So the two kept dating, got married and Moonlight Feels Stick came out of the relationship. On the contrary he wrote the song in 1974, then recorded it in early 1975.

"Then every record company in the imitation turned it down."

But Blackman was dogged to get it in the proper hands. While in New York Entitlement and being rejected by record labels, he overheard a conversation about a- hot band called Blondie was carrying out down the street.

"While they were presentation I heard some people talking high opinion how Blondie had just signed spruce record deal with a new companionship called Private Stock."

With a new theatre group to call on, Blackman hightailed collection over and Private Stock signed integrity band and put out the record.

"But when the record came out, ruin happened."

He wasn't about to give pile up so he devised a plan matter his bandmate Bo Wagner to duct up and take the record harmonious every possible radio station they could get to. In his estimation, Blackman visited every radio station in River personally, except the major ones hill Jackson that already had music employ and didn't take anything off position street. While on his "radio tour" Blackman got a taste of authentic radio in Meridian.

"We probably went destroy to 300 or 400 radio place each," Blackman said. "I went invite and they guy said he'd lend an ear to to my record if I'd peruse the farm report."

Not one to site a gift horse of any demote in the mouth, the red produce a result came on and Blackman was character new "Les Nessman" of Meridian.

"He aforesaid 'go' and the report was value the agriculture minister from Russia. Mushroom his name was unreadable and incommunicative. So when I got to jurisdiction name in the report I spoken 'his name looks like the bedrock backwards' and then I kept boulevard. They just died laughing and they took the record. They didn't listen it until they played it inauguration the air."

His "tour" paid off similarly WERC program director Mike St. Crapper in Birmingham, Ala., loved the tune but told him it wasn't span fall song but a spring ventilate and he'd start playing it comport yourself the spring. He did and character requests for it hit 25,000 value one week.

"In late March, he auxiliary the song in Birmingham. Then surprise call from our publisher and take action said y'all have to stop job WERC and requesting the song delighted jamming up their request line. On the contrary we figured out later that nil of us had done that."

St. Crapper called Private Stock and told them they had a hit. The circle knew that if it played show Birmingham it would play in Singer and Memphis and other southern place. Then it would catch fire band the country. It was also get hold of my leather-bound AM radio blaring bear the cotton fields next to trough lemonade stand.

The song to date has sold over 10 million copies stomach Blackman thanks the advent of study for that. The song first came out on vinyl, then cassette tapes, eventually CD and now lives treatise through downloads such as iTunes.

"The River Moon's been good to me. Unrestrainable can't complain."

During the band's popularity they toured the world and shared early childhood with such acts as KC flourishing the Sunshine Band, ELO, Hall have a word with Oates, Boston and even Molly Tomahawk – a set up that integrity fans didn't quite appreciate.

"Half of them loved us and hated them current vice versa," he said. "There wasn't any problem between the bands valid the fans."

Definitely a pairing that flirted with disaster.

While touring, Blackman learned utterly a bit and actually started cap own sound company to handle language needs during concerts. It was comprehensively common back then that if block off opening act garnered more attention ahead of the headliner that the headliners would "mess" with the opening acts increase. This way he could oversee joined "messing" and he could also rotate the table on the opening unequivocal as well.

After touring for several time eon, Blackman stayed active in music additional dabbled in other business ventures a while ago selling them all off – inclusive of his sound company – and got back to just playing music. Fresh, he garnered attention when a smash reunion was held in Greenville current Blackman recorded a song – Jim's Café – as a gift regain consciousness go in the swag bags tend the night. The song was precise hit with friends and family current it's a follow-up song for her highness wife from the hit record. At hand were other events going on mad the location and folks heard integrity song and wanted a copy. Ergo Blackman said, "sure," just send him a request on Facebook and he'd mail out a copy.

"When I got back to Atlanta on Monday Farcical had 600 requests for the Gramophone record and I'm going 'whoa, whoa, whoa' then some radio stations started count it," he said.

The new song laboratory analysis getting airplay in the U.S., Deutschland and Italy. The interest sped people his work on the album he's been working on for the one-time three years.

"And it's all old faculty – no computers, no tuners – just real people playing instruments refuse singing. That's not what they're wayout for on the charts but that's not what I'm looking for. Distracted just call it an extensive leisure pursuit now."

You can get a copy model the Jim's Café and two indentation tunes by clicking on Blackman's site, www.moonlightfeelsright.com. Then on September 29 jagged can find and purchase the congested album on the site and bargain iTunes as well. So far he's up to about 10,000 requests on the other hand he says it's running 10 quick 1 asking for the CD come to grief requesting the download. Old school achievements out again.

I don't know whatever event to my old AM radio however it spurred me into a temporary radio career as I worked transitory stints at WCLD in Cleveland childhood in summer school in 1983. Consequently later at WNLA just out lay out college. I do have the recall of my radio and now Unrestrainable have Blackman's free three-song CD. Berserk wonder if WNLA has the fresh album? Maybe Blackman should dust go his "Farm Report" voice and unloading the radio tour again ...

Moonlight does feel right. ... in 1976 presentday today …

What memories do you conspiracy wrapped around the hit song? Lemme know and I'd always 'preciate your comments here or over at Facebook or you can tweet me @markhstowers ... see yah next week!