My Daily Smile

Life is short - begin every day with a smile!

Video: One of the most beautiful things ever written on acoustic guitar

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If you’re old enough to remember the music of Jim Croce you no doubt also remember the amazing guitar work that accompanied his distinctive voice in virtually every song he sang.

One of my all-time favorite Croce songs is “Time In A Bottle”, primarily due to the guitar work featured in it.

I have listened to this song numerous times over the years but I had never heard an instrumental version of it before I happened to encounter this video on YouTube. It’s actually an instructional video demonstrating how to play the song, but the performance is simply masterful.  [Read more…]

Ten Questions with Jana Jae: Hee-Haw’s “Girl With the Magic Blue Fiddle”

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Jana Jae – “The girl with the magic blue fiddle”

Living (and loving) Life

Do you happen to enjoy classic country music?

If so, you’re surely familiar with Jana Jae, the award-winning musician whose superb mastery of the fiddle prompted country music icon Buck Owens to invite her to join his band as the very first female Buckaroo.

Jana performed with Buck and many other top-tier singers and musicians over the years, most notably as a member of the cast of the ultra-popular Country music variety show Hee-Haw.

Never one to sit idle while the world passes her by, Jana is still hard at work playing her iconic blue fiddle in concerts both here in the U.S. and all around the world.

And when time permits she also loves teaching and mentoring aspiring musicians of all ages.

I recently had the opportunity to talk with Jana about her long and successful career and her abounding love of music.

Here are ten questions and answers with Jana Jae…

[Read more…]

Video: “Lewis & Clark” – Another masterful performance by Tommy Emmanuel

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If you really enjoy acoustic music you’re no doubt familiar with the works of Tommy Emmanuel, the Australian guitar maestro who consistently fills concert halls and headlines music festivals all around the world.

I have featured Tommy’s music several times on My Daily Smile and those posts generated tons of positive feedback. No one has mastered the instrument better and he always puts on a fantastic show.  [Read more…]