Songs with Stories

Among the most important things I've learned from Mike McCoy is the importance of laughter. He had that mischievous grin and approach to life from the day I met him. It used to drive me crazy which made him even more, well, mischievous.

If there was a part of this room called "stories with songs" this would be in it. To celebrate 55 years of friendship and musical partnership with Mike McCoy I created what I call the Dear Partner Letters. There are 30 of them written to McCoy.

The Magic Carpet was written for my first singing partner and longtime friend, Dan Eaton. Though Dan drove a Hillman in high school, for some reason I put him in a Chevy for this song. I sang it to Dan in his kitchen on a visit to Spokane.

In this video you will find McCoy singing a couple of songs, "Back When I Was Drinking" and "How I Need You." A couple of songs and a redemption story told in his own words. 

This is the signature song for McCoy and me. It was written as a way of introducing McCoy and introduced at a concert in 1983. 

Over the years I've written songs about McCoy. This may be my favorite. Written forty years ago. In college McCoy was known as the Golden Boy. All of us were amazed at how gifted he was.

When I was in high school and college I spent a lot of time on buses. Back and forth between Spokane and Seattle. Long bus rides to Canada to go to camp. Football road trips. Ski buses.

McCoy and I got together right after his dad died. His dad had spent a lot of time near Mt. Rainier. McCoy told me he was hoping to get his pilot's license and to pour his dad's ashes out as he was flying over that incredible mountain.

In a lot of ways this song speaks for itself. McCoy and I both came to the University of Washington on football scholarships in the Fall of 1965. We started singing together soon after.