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Edit from original Arts & Entertainment News Release 10/21/08

WILLIAMSPORT SINGER IS LOUD AND ‘GRATEFUL’

Songwriters have tributed Chicago, Liverpool, Los Angeles, New York City, Tokyo, and other cities. Now it’s time for Williamsport.

Williamsport-based “Singer at Large” Johnny J. Blair just released a download-only single entitled “Nothing Like Williamsport,” a song about the city he lives in. “I didn’t set out to do a gushy rah-rah song,” said Blair. “Yet it’s a genuine tribute to what makes Billtown great year round, slanted by the reality of what is going on now, from a street level and from the perspective of young people who grew up here or go to school here.

“I don’t think I’m as talented as songwriters like John Lennon or Brian Wilson, but if they can write about their towns, why not someone here?”

The first verse alludes to the demise of Millionaires Row and the story of Way’s Garden, then fast-forwards to downtown revitalization, street scenes, and music at festivals and the Brandon Park Bandshell. The chorus describes Williamsport’s geography in summer and winter, with some baseball lingo and a reference to the Repasz Band.

The second verse empathizes with restless young people with “small town feelings” about busting out into the big world, only to realize the grass isn’t always greener and where you are now is a fine place to start your journey.

“Dreams are spread around the land,
wherever you go with the work of your hands
Fires, floods, and sweat and drudge and
People find ways to rise above
Attitudes can take you far and
New blood flows right where you are
As you climb the ladder for a rule of thumb
Don’t forget where you came from.” (copyright 2008, Johnny J. Blair)

“I thought of that because there are a number of people from this area who moved away, then circled back for many reasons,” said Blair, who wrote the song one morning in 2003, then recorded it with acclaimed musician/engineer Tim Breon. The recording sat until May 2008, when Blair impulsively handed a CD of it to Mayor Gabe Campana. “He went wild over it,” recalled Blair. “I was impressed that he listened to it the same day, then amazed that he wanted me to play it at a press conference, where it was kindly received.”

Over the summer, Blair updated the track and his music company, Wampus Multimedia, released two download single versions of “Nothing Like Williamsport” on CD Baby...There will also be a link to the download single on the City of Williamsport homepage (www.cityofwilliamsport.org).

Of the two versions, Blair clarified, “The Grand Slam Mix is longer; more name-checks and more baseball sound effects.”

Blair's musical influences include punk, gospel, jazz and classical fashioned into “passionate, melodic pop/rock.” His "quirky music career" spans decades, with recordings that have been play listed around the world and commendations from British pop legend Cliff Richard, rock figurehead Lou Reed, and Brian Wilson, who called Blair “a virtuoso.” He has collaborated with and produced a variety of artists, including many projects with Davy Jones (The Monkees), with whom Blair frequently tours and records with. Irreverence, romance, and bittersweet spirituality characterize his “offbeat but sunny brand of pure pop music."

(end of 2008 news release) ###

credits

from THE BILLTOWN FILES (NOTHING LIKE WILLIAMSPORT), released April 7, 2017
JJB: bass, drums, guitars, keyboards, percussion, all vocals
Tim Breon: mixing engineer

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Johnny J Blair "Singer at Large" San Francisco, California

"Johnny is a virtuoso"--Brian Wilson
"Pop music with a conscience.”--Goldmine
“the Harry Houdini of rock and roll.”-- Spotlight. Listen to Johnny's fast-paced mix of old school soul, psychedelia, punk/new wave, & classic pop/rock. Singer-songwriter in his own right, he was also a sideman for Davy Jones and The Monkees + performed with David Cassidy, Al Stewart, Buddy & Julie Miller, & others. ... more

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