“If you can make it to march, march on.” — Amy Jack’s Latest Release
Growing up in Western Oklahoma, listening to traditional Scottish and Irish music, dancing to fiddle music and singing around the piano. Your grandmother and mother, both music teachers, told you at age 7 that you were going to learn to play the piano. You sang with your sister, who has perfect pitch, and your mother was your teacher. What was the first song you learned to play?
It was “Mary Had A Little Lamb” and then I started learning some classical songs after that.
University of Oklahoma, Bachelor of Arts in TV/Radio/Film. Worked as an account executive with iHeart Media and Cumulus. You applied for a PR job with Merle Haggard after graduation. Meeting him turned out to be your inspiration to pursue a career in music.
The country music superstar ended up producing your debut album, Introducing Amy Jack, along with sharing advice on accountability and the value of being honest. You said you still aspire to live like Merle — what does that mean to you?
I’ve been thinking about this a lot this week actually and how I’ve never met anyone like him. In terms of accountability and being honest — this was the core of Merle. He believed in looking someone in the eye and if that someone didn’t look him back in the eye, he didn’t trust them. He said that was what his father taught him (he lost him at the young age of 9).
He wrote in his song “The Roots Of My Raising” — “He could borrow money at the bank, simply on his word” and that’s truly how it was for him. He was the most intense soul you will ever meet and he had an unquenchable desire to learn. His son always talks about how much passion he had for life and how he loved every little thing in it. He had boundless energy and he wrote over 4,000 songs which is more than The Beatles or Elvis. His energy, passion and sincerity influence how I try to live my life everyday.
The U.S. Olympic Committee featured “For The Love Of The Game” for their Road to Rio Tour in 2016.
Last year you released “Worked All Week For This,” a song about grinding through the work week to be able to relax and watch sports on the weekends. Which athletes have influenced your life and in what ways?
Tom Brady, who just retired and won the Super Bowl at age 44 after being drafted in the 6th round — 199th pick and still became the greatest of all time, winning 7 Super Bowls. Kobe Bryant, who Fox Sports actually used in the video clip of my song “For The Love Of The Game.” And Baker Mayfield, who went down as the greatest of all time at my school University of Oklahoma. I think the common thread with these athletes that I’m talking about is tenacity and perseverance.
A Kobe Bryant quote that I love is, “Great things come from hard work and perseverance, no excuses.” I think sometimes people mystify Kobe Bryant and forget that it wasn’t just his great talent, it was his work ethic.
“LA’s Calling My Name,” The first step to making your dreams a reality is believing in yourself. How does the West Coast city represent dreams coming true?
The great songwriter Jimmy Webb was from my mother’s hometown in Oklahoma, he left for LA and became a millionaire by age 21 because of the power of music and his unmatched songwriting talent. I always find myself going back to that story.
What is the backstory for “March On,” your newest release?
A friend of mine from my hometown gave me this song title. It was inspired by what their father, who ran a small grocery store in the town, would say, which was “if you can make it to march, march on.” I think there’s a lot of really heartbreaking things going on in the world right now and I just want to tell everyone that, if you can make it to march, march on.