Singer & Songwriter Interview - Joe Pickering
View the interview with singer and songwriter of numerous sports albums including Baseball Songs Sports Heroes, Sports Songs and
Beyond, and Baseball Songs Sports Heroes 2. Joe's music has now been accepted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame library and
sound collection.
When did you begin writing songs? Why have you largely focused on sports songs?
Joe Pickering - I wrote my first song when I was 16 year old and it was pretty bad! I think I have improved over the years. I began writing seriously in 1980 and started focusing on writing mainly sports songs in the late 1990's. Songwriting is extremely competitive as there are many creative songwriters. So, I decided to write about sports not only as a niche market but because I grew up in a family that had a great love for sports especially baseball. My late Mom was a Hall of Fame Red Sox fan and I wrote a song about her called: Who's the greatest Red Sox fan? To date that one song gets digitally downloaded more than any of my other songs.
I understand that you have three CD's accepted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame Sound Collection. How did that happen?
Joe Pickering - I feel honored that the National Baseball Hall of Fame has accepted my three CD's: Baseball Songs Sports Heroes, Sports Songs and Beyond, and Baseball Songs Sports Heroes 2 into their Sound Collection. I assume it happened because I wrote a goodly number of songs about baseball in each of the three CD's which they must have found acceptable to be included in their Sound Collection.
Your song Babe Ruth's Curse which was in an HBO film mentions the Chicago Cubs. Why?
Joe Pickering - A fine Chicago Cubs (team) faced the Boston Red Sox with Babe Ruth pitching for the Sox in 1918. The Cubs would be without future Hall of Famer Pete Alexander who went off to fight in the World War 1 The Red Sox won 4 games to 2 but would never win another until the miracle year of 2004. The Cubs as all Cubs fans know are still waiting. Babe Ruth's Curse allegedly began in 1918. So, the song Babe Ruth's Curse starts in that year and the Red Sox opponents in that World Series were the Cubs. So that is why the Cubs are mentioned.
You claim that there is no Billie Goat Curse. How come?
Joe Pickering - Why is there such hostility to old Murphy the Goat? Some Cubbie Fans need to stop picking on him. It is cruelty to animals. There is NO Billie Goat Curse because its origins are in 1945. One needs to dig much deeper into the history of the Chicago Cubs. The fact is the Chicago Cubs have NEVER won a World Series while playing at your beloved Wrigley Field. (Wrigley is one of the most beautiful stadiums in baseball and more importantly a shrine to baseball.)
How did you ever come up with the idea behind the Our Cubbie Curse song?
Joe Pickering - I could tell you that it came to me in a dream or I had a vision but I didn't. I looked into the history of the Chicago Cubs and their long drought and searched and searched and found the answer to baseball's greatest riddle: why haven't the Chicago Cubs won it all for 100 years? The Our Cubbie Curse song answers that question that burns in the heart of every Cubbie Fan. The song is on the CD Baseball Songs Sports Heroes 2 and is available on digital download on Apple I-Tunes and other digital download companies.
Did you write a song about Buck O'Neil the first black third base coach in major league history and a great Negro League star?
Joe Pickering - Yes, I wrote a songsimply called Buck O'Neil which is on my CD Baseball Songs Sports Heroes 2. In my opinion Mr. O'Neil was not only a great baseball player, great coach and manager but also a great humanitarian. Buck O'Neil was America Ambassador for Baseball. The whole Chicago Cubs organization should be proud that they hired him to be the very first black third base coach in the majors.
Are you planning to write anymore baseball songs?
Joe Pickering - Does the Sun come up in the morning? Sure, I will continue to write baseball songs as long as I can conjure up memories and put them into a baseball song.
What are your thoughts on the 2008 Cubs?
Joe Pickering - My thoughts are the Cubs will do very well either coming in second or first in their division. The Cubs are a fine team! They sure can come from behind and win!! But, the eternal question is will the Cubs break the 100 year curse! The answer is sadly NO unless the Cubs strictly follow the direction of the Our Cubbie Curse song. However, to follow the solid advice will break the hearts of many Cub fans but you folks have a painful choice to make. Hope your readers will listen to the song Our Cubbie Curse to find out why and then rally behind its message.
But for those who don't want to support the message, take heart Cubbie fans! My predictions often turn out the exact opposite of what I predict once I write a song about a Curse. One year after I wrote a song about Babe Ruth's Curse that played in the HBO film: The Curse of the Bambino, that awful Curse was broken! One year later, I wrote the song Let Buck Back in about Buck Weaver. I predicted in the song that the Chicago White Sox would never win another World Series unless they lifted the ban against Buck Weaver. That didn't happened but the Chicago White Sox did break their ancient curse and did win it all!
Cubbies fans, maybe the end of the 100 year Cubbie Curse is near. 2008 could be the year! Perhaps the Our Cubbie Curse song will work its magic and poof the most ancient of all sports curses will be over! Cubbie fans all over the world will rejoice including me. I believe Red Sox Fans feel a certain closeness to Cubbie fans because both for so many multiple decades have suffered through a prolonged draught of no World Series. So, sure please break your curse and win it all! Just don't do it against the Red Sox!
CBB thanks Joe Pickering and and appreciates his time. If you wish more information on his songs, visit his website at King of the Road Music.
When did you begin writing songs? Why have you largely focused on sports songs?
Joe Pickering - I wrote my first song when I was 16 year old and it was pretty bad! I think I have improved over the years. I began writing seriously in 1980 and started focusing on writing mainly sports songs in the late 1990's. Songwriting is extremely competitive as there are many creative songwriters. So, I decided to write about sports not only as a niche market but because I grew up in a family that had a great love for sports especially baseball. My late Mom was a Hall of Fame Red Sox fan and I wrote a song about her called: Who's the greatest Red Sox fan? To date that one song gets digitally downloaded more than any of my other songs.
I understand that you have three CD's accepted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame Sound Collection. How did that happen?
Joe Pickering - I feel honored that the National Baseball Hall of Fame has accepted my three CD's: Baseball Songs Sports Heroes, Sports Songs and Beyond, and Baseball Songs Sports Heroes 2 into their Sound Collection. I assume it happened because I wrote a goodly number of songs about baseball in each of the three CD's which they must have found acceptable to be included in their Sound Collection.
Your song Babe Ruth's Curse which was in an HBO film mentions the Chicago Cubs. Why?
Joe Pickering - A fine Chicago Cubs (team) faced the Boston Red Sox with Babe Ruth pitching for the Sox in 1918. The Cubs would be without future Hall of Famer Pete Alexander who went off to fight in the World War 1 The Red Sox won 4 games to 2 but would never win another until the miracle year of 2004. The Cubs as all Cubs fans know are still waiting. Babe Ruth's Curse allegedly began in 1918. So, the song Babe Ruth's Curse starts in that year and the Red Sox opponents in that World Series were the Cubs. So that is why the Cubs are mentioned.
You claim that there is no Billie Goat Curse. How come?
Joe Pickering - Why is there such hostility to old Murphy the Goat? Some Cubbie Fans need to stop picking on him. It is cruelty to animals. There is NO Billie Goat Curse because its origins are in 1945. One needs to dig much deeper into the history of the Chicago Cubs. The fact is the Chicago Cubs have NEVER won a World Series while playing at your beloved Wrigley Field. (Wrigley is one of the most beautiful stadiums in baseball and more importantly a shrine to baseball.)
How did you ever come up with the idea behind the Our Cubbie Curse song?
Joe Pickering - I could tell you that it came to me in a dream or I had a vision but I didn't. I looked into the history of the Chicago Cubs and their long drought and searched and searched and found the answer to baseball's greatest riddle: why haven't the Chicago Cubs won it all for 100 years? The Our Cubbie Curse song answers that question that burns in the heart of every Cubbie Fan. The song is on the CD Baseball Songs Sports Heroes 2 and is available on digital download on Apple I-Tunes and other digital download companies.
Did you write a song about Buck O'Neil the first black third base coach in major league history and a great Negro League star?
Joe Pickering - Yes, I wrote a songsimply called Buck O'Neil which is on my CD Baseball Songs Sports Heroes 2. In my opinion Mr. O'Neil was not only a great baseball player, great coach and manager but also a great humanitarian. Buck O'Neil was America Ambassador for Baseball. The whole Chicago Cubs organization should be proud that they hired him to be the very first black third base coach in the majors.
Are you planning to write anymore baseball songs?
Joe Pickering - Does the Sun come up in the morning? Sure, I will continue to write baseball songs as long as I can conjure up memories and put them into a baseball song.
What are your thoughts on the 2008 Cubs?
Joe Pickering - My thoughts are the Cubs will do very well either coming in second or first in their division. The Cubs are a fine team! They sure can come from behind and win!! But, the eternal question is will the Cubs break the 100 year curse! The answer is sadly NO unless the Cubs strictly follow the direction of the Our Cubbie Curse song. However, to follow the solid advice will break the hearts of many Cub fans but you folks have a painful choice to make. Hope your readers will listen to the song Our Cubbie Curse to find out why and then rally behind its message.
But for those who don't want to support the message, take heart Cubbie fans! My predictions often turn out the exact opposite of what I predict once I write a song about a Curse. One year after I wrote a song about Babe Ruth's Curse that played in the HBO film: The Curse of the Bambino, that awful Curse was broken! One year later, I wrote the song Let Buck Back in about Buck Weaver. I predicted in the song that the Chicago White Sox would never win another World Series unless they lifted the ban against Buck Weaver. That didn't happened but the Chicago White Sox did break their ancient curse and did win it all!
Cubbies fans, maybe the end of the 100 year Cubbie Curse is near. 2008 could be the year! Perhaps the Our Cubbie Curse song will work its magic and poof the most ancient of all sports curses will be over! Cubbie fans all over the world will rejoice including me. I believe Red Sox Fans feel a certain closeness to Cubbie fans because both for so many multiple decades have suffered through a prolonged draught of no World Series. So, sure please break your curse and win it all! Just don't do it against the Red Sox!
CBB thanks Joe Pickering and and appreciates his time. If you wish more information on his songs, visit his website at King of the Road Music.
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