I included a “Bonus” track at the end of this record that's entitled, “In Memory of Scottie”. This is the very first song I ever wrote lyrics for in my life back in January 1981when I was eighteen years of age. A close family friend who was also an amazing concertina player and street entertainer (who could also sing in four languages) unfortunately passed away suddenly by a heart attack on Christmas day in 1980. He was 65 years old at the time of his death and his name was Jean Weyts. Oddly enough, Jean had been a butcher by trade in Phoenix, Arizona for 28 years before moving up to Solvang California. (It is interesting how later I ended up moving to Scottsdale, Arizona where I live to this day).

My mom was the one to named him "Scottie" because he was born in Scotland though raised in Germany. My family loved "Scottie" very much and he became my friend. The last time I saw him was right before Christmas in 1980 and he played the song, "Silver Bells" for . me. When he died it was the first real death in my life by someone close to me that literally shook me to my core. This is why I wrote the lyrics that are included here.

Not long after "Scottie's" death I met a young piano player named, "Kevin McConnell" who (to me) was an amazing talent and who also sounded very similar to me to "Elton John's" style of playing. Kevin said that he had been working on a piece of music that didn't have lyrics yet and I had my lyrics with me at the time. Incredibly the words fit perfectly with the music from the first time we tried it. I was 18 and Kevin was 17 and we are still in touch to this day. We both loved the song, so much in fact that we went to a very nice recording studio called, "Spectrum Studios in Santa Barbara, California to record it not long after writing it in early 1981.

This year, in 2021, "In Memory of Scottie" celebrates it's 40th anniversary so I thought I would add it here at the end of the album to share with everyone. I hope you enjoy it.

Sincerely,

Prophet / The Cowboys of Apocalypse.
Arizona, USA.