Missing You in St. Louis
1997 · Sisapa 5948-2-EP · USA
- Artist
- J.D. Blackfoot
- Title
- Missing You in St. Louis
- Release
- Ohio Dream
- Year
- 1997
- Label
- Sisapa # 5948-2-EP
- Language
- English
- Country
- USA
- Genre
- Singer Songwriter · Singer Songwriter
- Primary theme
- Post-War
Annotation
Singer/songwriter, and psychedelic rock / folk artist, he was born Benjamin Franklin Van Dervort on 9 May 1944 in Cleveland, Ohio, USA. The song "Missing You in St. Louis", a beautiful, sad, tribute to the artist's high school friend John Kramer (of Beltsville, Maryland), K.I.A. in Vietnam, and inscribed on the wall memorial - although the Wall is not mentioned directly in the lyrics, it was dedicated to the Wall, and he performed it at the Lincoln Memorial in D.C. at the 20th Anniversary of the dedication of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. (1) The narrator recalled bumping into the K.I.A. soldier's father at the hardware store, then looking at his picture at the school's 25th reunion, and the soldier's mother calling to say that it would have been his birthday. He paid tribute to "the brothers and sisters who marched home again", while remembering his friend. The song ended with helicopter sound-effects. J.D. Blackfoot served in both the Army National Guard and as an Air Policeman in the Air Force Reserve (1963-1969).
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
About the artist
J. D. Blackfoot (born Benjamin Franklin Van Dervort, 9 May 1944 in Cleveland, Ohio) is an American rock singer-songwriter who first fronted the Ohio band the Ebb Tides as Benny Van before re-forming the group around his own name in 1969; his debut album 'The Ultimate Prophecy' (Mercury, 1970) became a prized item among psychedelic collectors, 'The Song Of Crazy Horse' won the 1974 RATA award for album of the year in New Zealand, and he founded Sisapa Records in 1988. "Missing You In St. Louis" appeared on the 1997 CD EP 'Ohio Dream' (Sisapa 5948-2-EP) and was performed by him at the…