The latest video contains an original song by Rick Fitzgerald, “Further Down the Road“, in tribute to the late great Bill Staines. This was recorded at the 2023 Mountain Laurel Autoharp Gathering during a sound check, courtesy of Bill Belz, sound engineer extraordinaire. Rick played guitar and sang lead vocals; the fine high harmony was sung by Geoff Goodhue of the Goodhues Band (one of the featured performers of this year’s gathering). The picture of the two performers on stage was taken from a video shot by Maureen Maxwell.
Three recent videos were recorded for presentation as part of the annual New Song Concert for the Portage Road Songwriter’s Guild. This annual charity fundraising event was held on June 12, 2021 as a livestreamed concert through The Coffee House.
Love All to Live (w/m by Rick Fitzgerald) is a song about basic human kindness, inspired by words in the cartoon strip, “Curtis”.
A Simple Leap of Faith (w/m by Rick Fitzgerald) came from an assignment to write a song about Faith, and serves as a reminder that faith and religion are not the same thing. Inspiration came from a poem by fellow PRSG songwriter Tom Webber. In his poem, Tom ponders whether an autumn leaf actually falls or if it chooses its destiny.
Covidwearpajamas (w/Tom Davis & Rick Fitzgerald; m/Gordon Lightfoot) was a co-write project with Tom Davis as part of a dual challenge to write a Covid-related parody, and to write a song that coins a new Covid-related compound word. Sincerest apologies to Gordon Lightfoot for stepping on his lovely melody.
Rick performed two of his own songs, A Thanksgiving Song and I Fall in Love Again, which were recorded during the Portage Road Songwriter’s Guild New Song Showcase, held at The Coffee House on February 8, 2020 in Milwaukee, WI.
Rick also performs his song Ears to Hear, which he wrote with his friend Chris Straw (Chris’s lyrics / Rick’s music), and was recorded at the 2019 Mountain Laurel Autoharp Gathering.
On January 6, 2018 at The Coffee House in Milwaukee, WI, Rick was part of a group of talented performers in a concert honoring musicians who passed away in 2017. The concert raised money and collected food donations for the Central City Churches food pantry. The Root River Music YouTube channel, which has several of Rick’s performances, includes Memphis Tennessee by Chuck Barry and Tinfoil Raindrops by Bill Barwick, recorded from this event.
Rick also performed his autoharp arrangement of a lesser-known John Denver song (Healing Time On Earth) during the MLAG 2017 Board Members’ Concert.
Be sure to check on the Home and Playlists section of the Root River Music YouTube channel for more of Rick’s music performances as they become available!
