"Too Old to Rock & Roll" - Jack Nimersheim

Dad, you're never "Too Old to Rock & Roll"

Blame the kid!!

Yep, it really was an innocent comment by my son, Jason, that inspired this song and, in many ways, reignited my interest in writing and recording new music...some twenty years after my last foray into anyplace even remotely resembling a recording studio.

I'd like to recognize a number of "friends" who contributed to the songs on this CD. I put that word in quotes because, in many cases, these "friends" are people I've never met. I'll explain that in a moment. But first, let me thank one very special person, someone who's been a true and close friend for more years than I care to think about.

Jim Gaines and I first started making music together in 1969. We've remained friends, ever since. Jim laid down the incredible pedal-steel tracks you'll hear on "Distant Light" and "You Can Fly". Even after four decades, all I have to do is pick up the phone, give him a call, and "Gainer" will pack up his guitar and amp, truck over to Chez Nims, then lay down a pedal-steel part that far surpasses anything I might have heard in my head, before he arrived. Thanks, pal, for both the friendship and musical support, through all these years. You're one of a kind, Jimmy...the finest kind.

Now, about those other "friends". Several of these songs were written and recorded through Internet collaborations, working with extremely talented musicians from all around the globe...people who, as I said earlier, I've never met, in person. Nevertheless, we've made some amazing music together.

Lorf Page (Italy) and I co-wrote "Fog of War". Basically, Lorf composed and recorded a haunting instrumental track, to which I added the melody line and lyrics; Aledelu (Italy) and Gil Wayne (Texas) contributed the background vocals and sitar, respectively. Lorf and I were joined by Canadian musician Patrick Lajeunesse, when we wrote "Many Countries, One Sky". More musicians than I have space to list individually contributed to this beautiful song, as it evolved...also through an on-line collaboration. Thanks, all.

I first encountered Chris Nurse (Australia) and Andy McGinty (Scotland) while working on an Internet-based project called "Peace Partners". Since then, we've collaborated with one another on almost a dozen songs, two of which ("Ray of Hope" and "Beautiful Child") are included here. For more of our creative efforts, complemented by the contributions of three other far-flung folks with whom we've formed an ad-hoc, "virtual" band called "Gypsies in Cyberspace", check out "Mad Bad World", our premier CD.

And, finally, there's my amazing German "friend", minime c. minime cranks out impressive instrumental tracks like Hostess cranks out "Twinkies"...by the ton. One particular track minime sent me ultimately evolved into "Hold On", a piece of musical cake into which Lorf and Aledelu inserted their unique instrumental and vocal cream filling. The end-result is quite tasty.

And that's the (admittedly verbose) story behind "Too Old to Rock & Roll". To hear a specific song, click on its title. Or, select the Play button at the top of the player, sit back, relax, and enjoy the entire CD.

Too Old to Rock & Roll by Jack Nimersheim is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

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