Richard Daigle, Singer/Songwriter in Chattanooga, TN
A LITTLE ABOUT ME
I'm a late bloomer artists, released my first CD in 2020. Here's a nice review that came out a while back another here just recently. And here's my first podcast.
I’m a retired writer/editor and communications specialist turned singer/songwriter the last several years. Things happen in life and we all find ways of processing. Songwriting is often that for me. I was so blessed and fortunate to be married for 34 years to Jan White Daigle, a fine woman, beautiful inside and out. She loved God and loved people, always cheerful and faithful. In 2014, cancer took away what should’ve been a fuller life but she made the most of the years she had and she touched so many people with me at the front of that list. Since then, I’ve met some wonderful women and had relationship and life experiences that have inspired songs.
When it comes to songwriting influence, John Prine is at the top of the list. Someone turned me on to his first album when I was in college in the mid to late 70s and I was hooked. I first saw him in 1977 at a bar at the foot of Sunshine Bridge near Donaldsonville, La. Glad they didn’t call the fire marshal because we were sardines in there, packed to the gills. Then, around 1979 or so, he played a show in Jekyll Island. I was a reporter for The Brunswick News daily paper and I interviewed him. As my song "John Prine, A Friend of Mine" details, he invited me for dinner, broke several guitar strings that night, and then I saw him decades later at a New Years Eve 2016 show in Nashville with Jason Isbell and Kacey Musgraves. The woman I was dating at the time won the tickets when she heard it on the radio. I always wish I could have met him again because I’m sure he would’ve gotten a kick out of remembering the Jekyll Island show and my interview with him (which I doubt he ever got to read). John Prine songs say so much in so few words. Beyond his songwriting genius, he was a regular and a really good guy.
I hope you enjoy my songs. If you do, let me know! :)
BOOKING
I'M AVAILABLE FOR HOME CONCERTS AND OTHER VENUES. I AM VACCINATED NOW SO TRYING TO BE MORE ACTIVE WITH MY MUSIC.
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BIOGRAPHY
Born in New Orleans, Richard Daigle learned how to peel crawfish and dismantle a blue crab before he lost his baby teeth. After moving away for elementary school in Memphis then middle school in Dallas, Richard ‘s family moved back to Louisiana, in Gretna on the West Bank (the Best bank) where he played guitar in his room and played in high school garage bands with practice sessions outnumbering actual gigs by a substantial margin, although one of his bands indeed rocked the house at the West Jefferson High School talent show. At 11, Richard saw The Beatles as his first live concert in 1966 at Mid South coliseum in Memphis, thanks to the generosity of his late older brother, Lennet, who let his kid brother tag along. From 1970 to 1977, he saw every classic rock band known to man, from the Allman Brothers to ZZ Top, at the legendary Warehouse on Tchoupitoulas Street. His high school rock band and Warehouse concert experiences gave him a music foundation and tinnitus that have both remained with him until this day.
As a retired writer/editor, it made sense he’d become a songwriter, although it took several decades for that sense to actually seep into his cranium. He began writing songs in earnest in his late 50s, drawing inspiration from his favorite artist and one-time dinner companion, John Prine. He worked on his stage skills at The Velvet Note in Alpharetta, GA, a noted jazz club that held a weekly open mic night for any genre of music, even a singer/songwriter with quirky Americana/folk/country songs that were far removed from jazz standards. After moving to Chattanooga in 2019, he continued playing open mics and eventually paid gigs. He began and hosted a concert series, Chattanooga Song Circle and has just started Red Couch Sessions, both promoting local singer/songwriters.
Richard lost his wife, Jan, to cancer in 2014 after 34 years of marriage to a wonderful woman who was far better than he deserved. He has three grown kids, Richie, Bethany and Caroline, who all reside in Chattanooga and seem to have survived their youths and turned out okay. He also has a grandson, Emmett Charles Daigle, who, unbeknownst to him at this time, will one day play guitar and write songs. Of course, he might have a choice in the matter...might.
When he’s not playing guitar or writing a song, Richard can be found on a tennis court or sitting on his back deck watching hummingbirds and getting lost in thought ranging from deep to shallow to completely irrelevant.
"Average Joe" CD Credits
- Big thanks go out to Ronnie Winstead and Virtual Adrenaline Productions for doing a bang-up job on the CD.
- All songs written by Richard Daigle
- Vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, charango-Richard Daigle
- Vocals, “Carnivore,” “The Best Part,” “I Saw It In Your Eyes,” “Open Mic Night” -Pam Hamilton, my “plant based baby” forever. :-)
- Lead guitar, bass, vocals-Ronnie Winstead, the guy who makes me sound better than I am
- Fiddle, mandolin-the incomparably cool Emerald Butler!
- Keyboards, sax-Eric Baker, music is his middle name.
- Lead Vocals, “I Saw It In Your Eyes.”-Amanda Richards
- Mountain dulcimer-Butch Ross, my right and left hand music man
- Drums—Alex Stephens
- “John Prine” chorus voices- The Briars (Jerris Schmidt and Robert Lovett), Trish Ross, Butch Ross, Shawnessey Cargile, Ronnie Winstead, Eric Baker
- Photography-Flint Chaney
- ADDITIONAL CREDITS
- Thank you to Allen Williams, builder of my beautiful Jubilee Baruke guitar!
- “For Lennet” is dedicated to Lennet, my older brother, who we lost at Thanksgiving, 2019. The album is dedicated to Jan Daigle, my wonderful wife of so many years, who passed away in 2014 and continues to be a source of inspiration.
LYRICS of songs on "AVERAGE JOE" CD
Cooking for One
Cooking for one ain’t no fun. Walk to the fridge, eat on the run
Just my observation that my dinner conversation Is with no one, I’m cooking for one
Had me a girl once upon a time. She was the rhythm I was the rhyme
Coffee talk in the morning and sweet dessert at night. Then it came undone, now I’m cooking for one
Our recipe was from above. Seasoned with thyme and baked in love
Somehow it all got burned. We lived and loved and learned
Well we gave it a run, now I’m cooking for one
I feed your spirit you feed my soul. Wish I was there in Tennessee
So many things we can’t control. Over the hill who can see?
Cooking for one, ain’t no fun. Wa[k to the fridge and eat on the run
Even my dog can see I’m as lonely as can be. He’s eating the crumbs and I’m cooking for one
Maybe one day I’ll set a table for two. hope we both can change our point of view
That sizzle in the pan between a woman and a man. Ain’t found often, I’m cooking for one
Cooking for one ain’t no fun. Walk to the fridge, eat on the run
Just my observation that my dinner conversation. Is with no one, I’m cooking for one
This ain’t no fun, it’s kind of dumb, I’m cooking for one
Average Joe
I’m younger than John Mellencamp, I’m older than John McEnroe
A guitar in one hand, a racquet in the other but really I’m just an Average Joe
I’m half as smart as half of all the genuises walking down the road
I don’t double park, I keep up my credit score, because I’m just an average Joe
Averages Joes don’t rock the boat they’re just along for the ride
They don’t count their chickens or the tears they’ve cried
They know when the party’s over it’s high time to go
And there’s a special person living inside every Average Joe.
My vocal range is limited so that’s why I use this capo.
I ain’t no rock star except to my dog, I’m just an Average Joe
So lend me an ear or maybe two, here’s the truth if you really want to know
Everyone you see is special and at the same time just an Average Joe
Average Joes are human beings being whatever they are
Good people sometimes caught with their hand in the cookie jar
They ain’t Elvis but they ain’t no John Doe
There’s a special person living inside every average Joe
If you’re an average Joe then welcome to the club
There’s no one you should bow to, no one you should snub
God has a camera so let’s all pose
Goofy smiles on our faces, a whole world full of average Joes
Carnivore
My plant based baby, drives me crazy
Bean sprouts and chia seeds, that’s all she ever needs
Her idea of a feast is cauliflower and nutritional yeast
Somebody help me please I need a double cheeseburger with extra bacon
Hear me roar, hear me roar...I’m a Carnivore
For her the holy grail is quinoa and kale
Help yourself, help me Lord, it tastes like cardboard
This bowl of lentil stew, got no meat just tofu
She threw away my steak, put broccoli on my plate,
And called it protein
Hear me roar, hear me roar, I’m a Carnivore
One crazy day I found her at the kitchen counter
Eating ice cream, jelly beans, chili cheese dogs when she finally paused
I gave her some pizza and bacon and she finally stopped shaking and felt fine
Now our clothes don’t fit but we’re happy and fat and we don’t give a...darn
Hear us roar, hear us roar, we’re carnivores
Hear us roar, hear us roar, we’re carnivores
John Prine, A Friend of Mine
I was a cub reporter, played guitar and knew Sam Stone
We sat outside your bus on the day of your show
I wanted to know the man who wrote all those songs
You wanted fried shrimp and asked me to come along
That night you busted jokes and Martin strings too
No time to be a legend, too busy being you
35 years later, tickets on the radio
My baby’s the ninth caller, we’re going to your show
John Prine John Prine you were a friend of mine
You’re shining in the morning dew
Nobody will forget ya even if they never met ya
Cause you were a friend to them too, you were a friend to them too
You and Jason Isbell, Nashville New Year’s Eve
Singing ‘bout a topless lady with something up her sleeve
You’re still the singing mailman with a bag of joy and truth
It’s a big ole goofy world, we’re all just passing through
John Prine John Prine you were a friend of mine
You’re shining in the morning dew
Nobody will forget ya even if they never met ya
Cause you a friend to them too, you were a friend to them too
I cried in my coffee when I read it online
How can the world go on without John Prine?
A yellow news clipping is with my souvenirs
Dear Abbey can you tell me where are those missing years?
John Prine John Prine you were a friend of mine
You’re shining in the morning dew
Nobody will forget ya even if they never met ya
Cause you a friend to them too, you were a friend to them too
Open Mic Night
It’s open mic night, people at tables pouring beer, she’s on stage pouring out her heart,
They’re loud and laughing, she’s only 19, with her dream, deep inside a Martin guitar.
What’s the next line to that cover song, she bites her lip, doesn’t want to get it wrong
Does it matter, if no one takes the time, to listen and see her shine, see her shine
She finds herself when she’s lost in the music
There’s a reason to her rhyme
The stage is set, its time to use it
This is her time, at open mic night
It’s open mic night, people settle down as they hear her original song
First time she’s sung it, smiling faces look at her, this is where she belongs
She’s wide open, sweating out her fear, singing secrets no one’s earned the right to hear
She’s stepping out, ready to arrive, in the spotlight is where she’s alive, she’s alive
She finds herself when she’s lost in the music
There’s a reason to her rhyme
The stage is set, its time to use it
This is her time, at open mic night
I Saw It In Your Eyes
I saw it in your eyes, down by the shore
I saw it in your eyes, you loved me no more
Feet in the sand, stars in the night, I saw it in your eye[Am]s
I saw it in your smile, it gave me a clue
I saw it in your smile, in that moment I knew
We were apart ten thousand miles, I saw it in your smile
I’ll keep my heart and you keep the ring, love is nothing or everything
And every new [sunrise, I’ll remember I saw it in your eyes
I saw it in your eyes, there in the dark
It was a surprise, was it a spark?
Behind the clouds, are there blue skies? I saw it in your eyes
I saw it in your eyes, something was new
Was it a disguise or the real you?
Over the waves a sea gull flies, I saw it in your eyes
I’ll keep my heart and you keep the ring, love is nothing or everything
This is not goodbye, since that day I saw it in your eyes
I saw it in your eyes, down by the shore
I saw it in your eyes, ooh ooh ooh
The Best Part
We were 10 years old at the birthday party
You were pretty and so smart
Two pieces of cake remained on the plate
And I saved for you, I saved for you, the best part
I took you to the high school prom
Bought your flowers at the grocery mart
A magical night and that kiss goodnight
Was for me, it was for me, the best part
Take my hand let’s walk together on this road
Might be adventure round the bend
Life is so much better when you share the load
Share your love, and find a friend
Come with me I’ll give you a head start to the best part
Years went by and I married Sally
You loved painting, married your art
Oh the tears that I cried when Sally died
In my life I could not find, the best part
60 and single ain’t no fun
Took some courage to call an old sweetheart
No use in playing games with our time that remains
I’ve saved for you, I’ve saved for you, the best part
Take my hand let’s walk together on this road
Might be adventure round the bend
Life is so much better when you share the load
Share your love, and find a friend
Come with me just follow your heart to the best part
We were 10 years old at the birthday party
You were pretty and so smart
Two pieces of cake remained on the plate
And I saved for you, I saved for you, the best part