William Lee | 09-11-2019
John Vento tells us about the song “Baby Blues” from his album “Love, Lust & Other Wreckage” to celebrate the opening of a stage play of the same name featuring music from the album this Friday (September 13th). Here is the story:
Baby Blues was the very first song that we worked on for “Love, Lust & Other Wreckage,” and it ended up being a sort of theme song for the album.
It all began after my cancer surgery and the struggles that followed, when my dear friend and co-writer Bert Lauble came to visit me, and we had a real heart-to-heart discussion. We talked about regrets, and about taking responsibility for damaging or ending relationships that had potential to be fulfilling. We decided to write songs that approached relationships from that perspective.
When Bert presented the first draft of our first song, Baby Blues, it was really a completely different melody, which he had written over the music from another song that we had started months earlier. It was just frankly kind of boring, but the lyrics and the bones were there.
Then when producer David Granati suggested we bring singer/songwriter Cherylann Hawk into the project, she added life to the chorus, so we decided to revisit the main melody of the verses. We re-wrote a lot of the lyrics, and even much of the melody several times until we stuck with what you hear now. You can hear some of the previous lyrics and melodies in the second verse if you listen to what Cherylann sings. She was singing a harmony to what I had sung. When we changed my part, we kept hers as a counter melody. We tried to do so for the other verses as well, but decided it worked best only on the 2nd verse.
Well, I’m so glad we were persistent in creating and completing Baby Blues, because I think it’s the song that captures the whole message of “Love, Lust & Other Wreckage” the most. Because of this, it will be featured prominently in the stage play, which is a collaborative multi-media experience written by playwright Amy Hartman, which tells the story of one man’s struggle to understand the fractured mess his life has become. He recalls his crooked journey of heartbreak, his own cruelty, and his insatiable lust for the stage. After losing all, he must climb out from under the wreckage he’s created, which sends him through a dark journey of chaos and despair, eventually leading him to love, discovery and forgiveness… and it’s mostly all true.
The video for Baby Blues that will be featured during the stage play was directed by Nicole W. Ross, who stars in the video, and is also the model on the front cover and throughout the artwork of the CD. Nicole will also appear in multiple film vignettes throughout the stage play.
It’s amazing to think of all the wonderfully talented artists involved in creating songs, videos, and even a stage play based on part of my life story, and it all began with Baby Blues.
Hearing is believing. Now that you know the story behind the song, listen for yourself, learn more about the album and the stage play right here!
Related Stories
Singled Out: John Vento’s Baby Blues
Singled Out: John Vento’s Rainbows & Lightning