When I launched The Immortal Jukebox in March 2014 I had, as they say, no expectations.
I just knew that it was time to find out if I could think on the page with the same fluency I could talk about the music I loved.
My readers are of course the judge and jury as to whether I have managed in my writing to convey the depth of my passion for the music and musicians from the golden age of recording – by which I mean the late 1920s to the late 1970s.
It seems I have now written some 200 Posts here on The Jukebox – each one a letter from the heart.
Starting out with just my family and a handful of loyal friends I now see, with some amazement, that my combined WordPress, Twitter and Email followers are now approaching the 10,000 mark!
I determined from the beginning of this adventure that all my posts would read as if no one else could possibly have written them and that no matter how well known the record or artist featured I would illuminate their particular merits from my own unique angle.
I also decided, as time went on, to risk inserting fictional elements and personal anecdotes and reflections into the mix.
It’s my Blog and I’ll rant, rave, laugh and cry if I want to!
Heartfelt thanks to my readers who have produced so many intelligent and inspiring comments and so much warm encouragement.
Remember a handful of Nickels and The Jukebox is a cure for all your ills.
In reflective mode, I’ve been reviewing my Stats and thought I would share some of my discoveries with you.
Top 5 Posts :
1. ‘Ordinary (Extraordinary Stories) featuring Mary Gauthier & Iris Dement
Mary Gauthier, Iris Dement : Ordinary (Extraordinary) Stories
2. Van Morrison ‘In The Days Before Rock ‘n’ Roll’
3. ‘An Archangel, A Journey, A Sacred River, The Folk Process & A Spiritual’
An Archangel, A Sacred River, A Spiritual & The Folk Process!
4. ‘Hear that Lonesome Whistle Blow!’ – Train songs featuring Bob Marley & The Wailers, Hank Williams, Curtis Mayfield and John Stewart.
Hank Williams, John Stewart, Bob Marley & Curtis Mayfield : Hear That Lonesome Whistle Blow!
5. ‘John Lennon loved ‘Angel Baby’ by Rosie Hamlin (RIP) – Here’s Why!
John Lennon loved ‘Angel Baby’ by Rosie Hamlin (RIP) – here’s why!
Thom’s Top 5 (the Posts that gave me the most pleasure to write)
1. ‘Bob Dylan : The Nobel Prize, One Too Many Mornings, The Albert Hall & Me.
Bob Dylan : The Nobel Prize, One Too Many Mornings, The Albert Hall & Me!
2. Van Morrison : Carrickfergus (Elegy for Vincent)
3. ‘Walk Away Renee – The Lost Love That Haunts The Heart’
Four Tops, Rickie Lee Jones – Walk Away Renee : The lost love that haunts the heart
4. ‘Dolores Keane : Voice and Vision from Ireland’
Dolores Keane : Never Be The Sun – Voice and Vision from Ireland
5. ‘A Poem for All Ireland Sunday – Up Tipp!’
If you’ve missed out on any of these – catch up now!
I would be fascinated to know which Posts make your own Top 5 – set the Comments section ablaze!
To conclude let me thank every one of my readers for supporting The Jukebox.
I’ll sign off now with a song from the Patron Saint of The Immortal Jukebox – Van Morrison.
Heart stopping. Spirit lifting.
Hey Girl! Hey Girl!
An eerily beautiful prefigurement of Astral Weeks dreamlike mood.
Van takes a walk and watches the boats go by in the early morning light.
A spectral flute welcomes the wind and sun as Van’s vocal caresses each word of the lyric in which once again he encounters the young girl, his Beatrice figure, who will almost make him lose his mind.
The track is only three minutes and ten seconds long yet seems to last much longer – indeed seems to have stopped the flow of Time itself.
Time itself.
The Immortal Jukebox 
Thom, A wonderful retrospective of your 3+ years doing The Immortal Jukebox! And what a following you have cultivated! Great stats on Top Posts, your viewers & your own!!! And here I learned that Van Morrison is your Patron Saint of TIJ! I know you have so much more music & words burning to share with us all! Congratulations for all you have done thus far! Phil
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Phil .. your heartfelt responses to my writing are tremendously encouraging! Thom.
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Thom, congratulations on connecting your love of music to a mass of music lovers in the universe! Your posts are unfailingly informing, thought-provoking, memory-evoking and most of all, entertaining.
I have to say the Walk Away, Renee is in my top 1%. And of course, the Bob Dylan, also. The country music singers, songwriters and musicians are at the top of my list, though. Thanks for such great stories – the music just makes the stories better.
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Thanks so much Sheila. Delighted you enjoy the IJ. Stay tuned. Thom.
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Congratulations with your success at doing what you started out to accomplish—write like no other. Each week I learn something new about a topic, or subject, that has become old hat UNTIL I find your post in my Reader.
As far as Van Morrison goes, he is my Patron Saint of the Fog. My favorite times at the Golden Gate Bridge were when I pulled up “Into the Mystic” on my iPod and listened to him sing “…When those foghorn whistles blow, you know that I’ll be coming home.” It always—always— synced up with the real foghorns outside the powerhouse at some point during the song, including the night that I retired as I drove home across the span and into a gathering of coastal fog.
I look forward to your future posts. Your energy and musical knowledge is a joy to experience.
Ω
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Thanks Allan.
There’s a whole book to be written on Van and nature.
Regards and thanks for your continued support.
Thom.
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I look forward to reading it once you’ve published (hint, hint).
Ω
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Working on it!
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