Maple Room Melodies Vol 1: Album Notes

The Man Your Father Was
This idea began with a piano improvisation recorded in 1999. When discovering this idea in 2021, the title “The man your father was” came to me while listening to the melody and thinking about my kids. This tune and arrangement…, well, it kinda sums me up. I’ve said it a few times: there’s more of “me” in this song and performance than anything else I’ve ever done. After I’m gone, my kids can tap “Play” and this song will bring me back to them. With love forever, -Dad

Said And Done

I composed this tune in the early 1980s. It was called “F major #4.” Until the Spring of 2021, I had never recorded any version of this tune. I moved it Bb for my solo piano arrangement. Then transposed to F# for the final version.

Light Of My Time

The verse of this tune was composed on March 25, 2000. I found it on an old piano recording and liked the melody. So I decided to compose a bridge and finish the song in April 2021. Came up with the title “Light of My Time” on thinking about by daughter Annie.

Broken Hearts

I wrote this song in the summer of 1978. At the time, I recorded a version of the song with vocals, in the basement of parents' home on Sheffield Lane in Harrisburg PA) for a 4-song demo tape, using two reel-to-reel tape recorders (Dokorder model 7140). I played all of the parts: piano, drums, bass, lead and harmony vocals. I used my parents’ old full-size upright piano that they originally acquired at our previous home in Slingerlands NY. I’m pretty sure I started with an old-fashioned metronome and played either the drums or piano to start the tracking. This song was never released on any of my albums (pre- or post-CD era). It looks like I didn’t copyright the song until 1983. I never recorded another version of the song until July 2021, when arranging it for solo piano. I always liked the melody of the tune. It was fun and challenging to “flesh it out” into a full piano arrangement.

Magnolia Waltz

This tune wasn’t originally a waltz. It was written in 1982 and called “C major #1” in 4/4 time. I recorded a solo-piano version circa 1982 or 1983; but never released this tune on any album. In late 2020, this was the second tune I worked on for a solo piano project. Sometime in April 2021, I decided to convert the tune into 3/4 time (waltz). One day when daughter Annie and I were walking down our driveway and looking at magnolias, the new title came to me: Magnolia Waltz.

In Every Footstep

I discovered this tune in early 2021. The original idea was recorded in June 1999 on my Steinway Model D piano, during miscellaneous improvisations. I had to develop and finish the bridge in 2021. I really like this one. Key of Eb.

My Sweet June

I wrote this song in 1978, whilst dating the girl who would eventually become my wife. The first version was recorded on my 4-song demo tape in August 1978. On that rendition, I played all the instruments and sang everything. (Recorded on two Dokorder 7140 tape recorders.) Based on my lyrics, it’s obvious that I wrote the song before we became a “couple.” The copyright date on the leadsheet shows “1983” — that’s only because I didn’t file for copyright until then. The version here was arranged for solo-piano in June 2021. There’s a phrase in the melody that was inspired by one of my music heroes, David Gates (the song Guitar Man).

The Secret Door

The idea for this tune came from a piano improvisation recorded in April 1998 in the basement of our 702 Robert Street, Mechanicsburg home. I played my model B Steinway piano. The current version was finished in October 2021. It was the 33rd tune I completed for (at the time) an unreleased solo-piano project. I really like the closing line of the last 2 choruses, and that’s where the tile “The Secret Door” came from.

Promises

When first written, this melody was called “Eb Major #3.” I recorded one or two instrumental versions of the tune in the early 1980s. Eventually I wrote lyrics and recorded the song with Dale Carroll singing the vocal. In 2021, I recorded this solo-piano rendition.

Time In The Morning

This tune came from a piano improvisation recorded in 2006. I never made a lead sheet for the tune. I was just playing random ideas on the piano (Model B Steinway, in the Maple Room). When arranging this for solo piano in 2021, I used an accompaniment pattern similar to the arrangement I created for Shirley Lebin’s song “Rainin on the River.” (I released my rendition of her song on the 2024 album Maple Room Covers.)

The Singing Sound

This tune was composed on July 6 1984 when I recorded a rough sketch of the tune on piano, using a cassette tape recorder. (See the quickly scribbled leadsheet.) In 2021, I revived the tune and renamed it to “The Singing Sound” because the chorus melody (with the rapid notes) struck me as saying: “listen to the singing sound…”