Stories Behind the Songs: “Ace of Blues”
Posted by Grand Poobah on February 20th, 2015
“Ace of Blues” first appeared in the spring of 2005 when I was trying to come up with an optimistic song for the slot in Transposition which was ultimately taken by “Could Be Me”. At that time there were no lyrics, and the feel was much more 60’s folk-pop, similar to “I’m Into Something Good” by Herman’s Hermits. Also there was no chorus, or “B” section.
Six years later, while taking a Desktop Music Production class, I choose the song for my class project. I still had no lyrics, so the melody was played by a synth sax. At that time I introduced the harder-rocking feel that ended up in the final product. A few months after that, I came up with the second section and a working title, “You Know You Should”.
In July of 2012 I changed the title to “(Happiness is) Out of Style”, finished the music and the lyrics, and recorded a demo. I previewed it for my wife, who didn’t think the lyrics worked. I ultimately agreed that they seemed contrived and resolved to come up with a new title and a new concept. The phrase “Ace of Blues” popped into my head one evening, and the lyrics followed soon after. Incidentally, I resisted making the trump card the Jack of Hearts; I thought it was a little too easy. But after wracking my brains in vain for a while, I succumbed.