Glad you are here, please stay and enjoy for a while. There are some pics and information here and some free-sample, full-song mp3s below and on the Music page. Let's enrich the culture and have some fun! Your visit here is much appreciated. Jim
From left: Jim Chaps, Kirk Gibson, Alan Trammell.
How it started.... Acoustic National Anthem
Happy birthday, Star Spangled Banner! Thank you for the enthusiasm surrounding this effort. The idea for singing all four verses started because so many people said thanks the first time I played this song seven years ago, 2005 at a Cincinnati Reds / Detroit Tigers spring training game in Sarasota, Fla. I recvd a great response from many people afterward. The Reds organization in Sarasota went the extra mile to mic for vocals and guitar. Cincinnati's manager at that time was Dave Miley. He said, "Nice job on that song" as I walked past him and into the stands. Tigers mgr. Alan Trammell, also gave a nice compliment, and it was memorable to get a photo with Tramm and Kirk Gibson after the game. One of the nicest compliments I received was from ABC-7 sportscaster Lowell Galindo (moved to ESPNU and Texas Longhorn Network) We talked for a few moments and Lowell said the song was "Top 5 all time". The main dude responsible for me even figuring out the chords to the song is then-Detroit-Tiger-pitcher Jason Grilli. One week before the game in Sarasota, I sang the Anthem a capella at the Tigers spring home in Lakeland. Before that game, I met Jason Grilli and we were just talking near the dugout. He told me he thought it sounded cool when guitar music just fills in through the background in a stadium. I said, I'm singing this again next week when you guys play the Reds in Sarasota. I can figure out the chords and try it. The Reds organization was kind enough to set up a vocal mic and a guitar mic. (UPDATE: Alan Trammell and Kirk Gibson are coach and manager for the Arizona Diamondbacks; Jason Grilli aka/GrilledCheese49 is now with the Pittsburgh Pirates.)
"Brevity" from Arthur Guiterman's "Vanity of Earthly Greatness."
"To Zenny From Yeats" (like dates, mates) A W.B.Yeats poem fits for this namesake to sing to Zenyatta.
"Destiny" from First cd/project.... video by marathoner Kim
Hope you are doing well. The third song-collection is in production phase. On the heels of Third will come a poems to music project, and then a Christmas Spirit project, all due by October, 2012. Jim Chaps - Second (Folk Music Renaissance) is a collection of eclectic folk, instrumental and public domain music. Jim Chaps - First cd (2004) featured 12 original works, among them top-selling instrumental "Man With Blue Guitar" and "New York For Firemen" All Jim Chaps music is available on iTunes and more online music sellers.
The war of 1812 provided the backdrop for Francis Scott Key to write the four verses of “The Defence of Fort McHenry”, shaping the words to match “To Anacreon in Heaven” a hymn-like, pub song composed by John Stafford Smith in the 1700s. Oh-oh say, what?
True. The second, third and fourth verses present the full truth of the song. Let's hope “Acoustic National Anthem 4-Verses” can educate, entertain, be thought about, talked about and that more "covers" are made now of this complete song. The author Isaac Asimov has a great essay about all verses of the song.
Peace and Freedom, Jim Chaps
Link opens Jim Chaps music available from iTunes
Hear it now on iTunes <----
Let the celebration begin Acoustic National Anthem 4-verses single available NOW! Album scheduled to release June 14, 2012
Link opens song sample from cdbaby site
Always much appreciated if you send an email to jim@jimchaps.com to say hello and share your thoughts about the Jim Chaps music and mission of enriching the culture and having some fun.
By Jim's Blog | May 03, 2012 at 05:44 AM EDT | No Comments
Was great to see the tribute to Barbaro at his statue in front of Churchill Downs. (Sunday April 29, 2012) There is a photo album of the event on the pics page.
By Jim's Blog | April 27, 2012 at 08:09 AM EDT | No Comments
Old Kentucky Home - on caffeine free download. Also Time To Ride, both of these songs have special re-recording are available on jimchaps.com homepage. All three verses of the Old Kentucky Home! I love recording the truth and history of great Folk songs. The trifecta: acoustic National Anthem 4-verses, Concord Hymn, Old Kentucky Home.
By Jim's Blog | March 21, 2012 at 02:41 PM EDT | No Comments
The poem-to-music of Concord Hymn gained more sales than any other songs of mine during the last year... Please give it a new listen via the music tab of this page. Also I will do a new HD video of the song for posting online.
By Jim's Blog | March 04, 2012 at 09:51 AM EST | No Comments
I saw some NCAA spring baseball yesterday while doing my normal exercise of running at a local park. Some nice northern colleges have trekked to town here in Southwest Florida for good weather and competition. I'm nearing completion of the mix for a single release of Acoustic National Anthem.
By Jim's Blog | February 27, 2012 at 05:29 PM EST | No Comments
Well, someone asked me what I've been listening to lately. Always I've enjoyed a big range of styles and artists--wow we live in an era of incredible talent and with the access to prior years (and eras) of music this is song-lover paradise.... Tops lately for me is Al Green. Thanks to the upperclassmen on the Divine Child HS cross country team in 1971-1972 Al Green has been an icon for me for a long time. Love and Happiness is getting heavy rotation on the iPhone along with Let's Stay Together and Here I Am.
By Jim's Blog | February 15, 2012 at 02:50 PM EST | No Comments
Thoughts from the weekend in music, Chris Brown is seriously talented. Wow and Adele enriches the culture. Room for all genres at the big table. Rest in peace Whitney Houston one of the greatest talents of our generation. Ever inspiring rendition of the Star Spangled Banner at Super Bowl in Tampa. So many gifts.
By Jim's Blog | February 09, 2012 at 10:11 PM EST | No Comments
This Sunday, always a big event. One of my favorite speech lines was from Paul Simon, "I'd like to thank Stevie Wonder for not making an album this year."
