MY GRANDPA'S HANDS - 03.04.08
I get a lot of mail about My Grandpa's Hands, in fact, so much so, that three of us can't keep up. Here's the story behind the song.
My first producer, Dik Darnell, once told me a story about a chieftain who was a sorcerer, an avatar who could alter reality, create storms and make things appear at will. He scared the US Army so bad that, when they finally killed him, they cut him up and assigned soldiers to bury each part of his remains in locations far away, known only to themselves. These soldiers were not only sworn to secrecy as to the whereabouts of these graves but didn't even know the identities of each other. To this day there is no record of the event, who gave the order, the names of the soldiers or where any of the remains are buried.
Sometime later I heard the story again from Buddy Red Bow and then, again, indirectly from Frank Fools Crow. Stories like this don't get passed down to young people anymore but they survive for some reason. I kept getting reminded of it when I would read stories of chieftains, like Sitting Bull or Geronimo, who possessed these same powers. Asian lore is, of course, full of sorcerers who harnessed the powers of the unseen world. But this account implied that there were American Indians who knew The Way and who acquired supernatural power, much like the avatars in Autobiography of a Yoga, or The Teachings of Don Juan.
When it came time to write My Grandpa's Hands, it almost wrote itself. I began with the last verse and finished that same day.
Chuck
WEDDING SONG - 11.06.07
Thanks, everybody, for your thoughtful notes about using Your Life In Love With Mine for weddings. Many people skip over this song because the bridge kind of wanders off, so I did a re-write. (I actually re-wrote it some time back, for a friend of mine who got married in Cabo.) I will just leave it here from now on so you'll know where to find it.
Hope it helps make it your sweetest day.
Chuck
HIGHER GROUND - Songs of Colorado - 07.07.07
Chuck has just released his 10th CD, Higher Ground - Songs of Colorado. It includes three new songs and nine songs from earlier CDs. The one sure to become a favorite, a new original called Little Town Tour, names over 100 Colorado towns with populations under 3000, little towns where ranchers and farmers go to buy supplies and connect with their neighbors. Moonlight On The Colorado is a period piece, written by a W.W.I soldier yearning for his true love back home in Colorado. And John Denver's Rocky Mountain High is, of course, the new Colorado State Song. Every tune is a perfect fit. Some songs are dedicated to the beauty and others to the harshness that make the Colorado lifestyle so vital.
TRUE UNITY - 02.02.06
Chuck Pyle has just completed his ninth album, True Unity, departing from former producer, Doug Haywood, in favor of in-house producer, John McVey, out of Boulder's nationally-prominent Coupe Studios. While Pyle's finger-style guitar is out front, the player line-up reads like a Colorado "dream-team": Sally Van Meter, award winning dobro player and John Magnie, accordian player of the Subdudes, lend a hand to the solid beat of the fabulous eTones, house band for the syndicated variety show, eTown. Pyle's fiddle player, Gordon Burt, adds some tasty violin work but the final polish comes from the brilliant keyboardist, Taylor Mesple, son of Steve Mesple, founder of the Boulder-based band, Wind Machine. The musical styles are eclectic, a satisfying collection of swing, folk, cajun & pop, all sprinkled with Pyle's intelligent lyrics.
Chuck Pyle, the showman with flair and style - and the great hairstyle - is once again at large, and promoting his newest release, Romancing the Moment. Yup, finally!!! It's been over three years since Affected by the Moon, and we've been waiting ever so patiently. This newest CD re-establishes him as a ground-breaking guitar player and celebrates his considerable wit and charm onstage in a way that only a live CD could do. Romancing The Moment is Chuck's 8th release and is now available at his shows, at this website, and at Amazon.com.
Check out Chuck's songbook, Keepin' Time With Chuck Pyle, available now via mail order.
A letter from Chuck about Mercury