Our Song of the Day is Jackie’s Coming Around, the latest single from Rachel Taylor-Beales which was released last month in tribute to the late singer-songwriter Jackie Leven on what would have been Jackie’s 70th birthday. On the accompanying video Rachel’s husband, Bill Taylor-Beales conjures up an Ink Dip Pen drawing of the late singer while Rachel’s deeply poetic lyrics and independent spirit provide a more than a fitting tribute.
Blackbird on this tavern roof
Troubadour she sings the blues,
Loss and love and chagrin tunes
And politics and platitudes
And Jackie said ‘keep following the muse’
Jackie Leven was a Fife born singer-songwriter, who started out in rock band ‘Doll by Doll’ in the ’70s after having to flee his hometown because of local gang violence. After a tumultuous time, with the band imploding and a serious mugging that damaged his larynx and nearly cost him his voice, Jackie became addicted to heroin. Eventually, Jackie managed to get himself clean and headed back onto the road as a solo artist.
Jackie’s Coming Around merges elements of Rachel’s own songwriting journey alongside a musical biography of Jackie Leven’s life and weaves multiple references to tracks from Leven’s 2007 Oh What A Blow That Phantom Dealt Me album throughout. Recorded and produced at the Taylor-Beales Hushland Studio, the song features Rachel on guitar, banjo, harmonic, soprano saxophone and rhodes keyboard, alongside her trademark understated vocals; while her husband Bill Taylor-Beales has added slide and electric guitar, bass and percussion to the mix.
Rachel says:
I first met Jackie when I opened for him in Cardiff Barfly, back in 2008. Travelling the UK with my own music, I’d often heard stories about Jackie from other artists and fans, so I was curious to finally have an opportunity meet and hear the man in person. That night I was completely blown away by his songs and story telling. The dry humour and characters that Jackie evoked were wrapped up in his voice that could soar ethereally one moment and then punch you in the guts with gravitas the next.
After the gig we chatted about Kevin Coyne, one of my long time musical heroes and the highs and lows of life on the road. Jackie offered some generous comments about my own songwriting and pointed me in the direction of Karen Dalton and Judee Sill as artists he thought I would resonate with— and he was right. I walked away from that gig commenting that it was a crime that Jackie wasn’t more well known, it certainly wasn’t for lack of showmanship, musicality or ability.
On November 14th 2011, I was working on a collaborative project with composer Gill Stevens. Gill and I were just breaking for lunch when an enormous bang, made us both jump. A blackbird had crashed into her glass conservatory roof and died. At that same moment I had looked down at my social media and read the words that Jackie Leven was gone.
In these difficult and uncertain times, when so many of us are battling with the loss in different ways, I’m reminded of the way that Jackie Leven seemed to revel in defiance— against all the odds, he rebuilt his life and kept on following the muse and making music. Having had to personally rebuild myself after a serious accident in 2012, that left me unable to perform for a season, I’ve found myself drawn to the stories of those who have found a grace within, to begin again. I wrote this song on a day when future plans had fallen through, but hearing Jackie’s songs coming around on my playlist was a lifeline. Like so many artists right now in this age of necessary social distancing, I don’t know yet when I’ll next be back on the road and able to tour, but in the meantime as we work behind the scenes to figure our game plans, I’m grateful for the all gifts and encounters with so many inspiring people, that a life working in music has brought me. I’m buoyed by the stories of folks who have faced difficulties and yet found the courage to ‘keep on keeping on’— and today, on what would have been his 70th birthday, I’m celebrating the music of Jackie Leven.”
This is an ideal time to purchase the single from Bandcamp today (Friday, 3 July) as Bandcamp waive their fees meaning the artists get more from your purchase – https://racheltaylor-beales.bandcamp.com/track/jackies-coming-around
https://www.racheltaylor-beales.com/