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A ‘Fair’ tribute

By Dave Zuchowski, For The Greene County Messenger 5 min read
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Gary Van Scyoc may now live in Columbia, New Jersey, but his roots and fond memories lie embedded in Greene County.

Over the course of a long career, launched at the age of 19 while a student at Salem College in Salem, West Virginia with a hit record, “The Fife Piper,” on his hands, he has since performed and recorded with notable artists like Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Mick Jagger, Stevie Wonder, Jerry Garcia, Neil Sedaka, Keith Moon, Paul Simon, 60’s soul singer Howard Tate and the legendary songwriter/producer Jerry Ragavoy.

Perhaps his greatest claim to fame came with a nearly two-year stretch playing with John Lennon and Yoko Ono.

But with all his success and notoriety in the music field, Van Scyoc’s love for his Greene County past recently reared its head when he decided to write and record a special song about the Jacktown Fair, which will be celebrating its 150th anniversary starting July 14.

“I once lived with my grandmother in Wind Ridge and learned to love the fair,” he said. “My grandfather, Stanley Stickle, was a groundskeeper there, and my grandmother Alene, was on the advisory board and judged the farm products entered in the show. I even worked at a jewelry stand around the age of ten and once carried a teddy bear around the grounds as a shill to get people to play the games of chance.”

On May 16, Van Scyoc and sound engineer, Dennis Ferrante, who worked with John Lennon on several recordings including “Imagine” and “Mind Games,” drove from their homes in New Jersey to Greene County to record Van Scyoc’s new composition, simply titled “The Jacktown Fair.” From 9:30 the next morning till late that same evening, they recorded the song at Silent Wing Studio in Bobtown.

Wanting to use as much Greene County talent as possible, he chose local musicians Greg Short on 12-string acoustic/electric guitar, Bill Harding on drums, Beeb Harding on guitar and Gary’s brother, Jay, on bass with Van Scyoc providing the vocals.

“I call the group ‘The Greene County Boys,’ he said.

Not only did he use local musicians and a Bobtown recording studio, he also hired the Chuck Wagon, a Carmichaels caterer, to prepare the food. Hanging out for the session to get a taste of the composition were DJ Doug Wilson of WANB Radio and videographer Bill Molzon, director of media services at Waynesburg University, who is making a music video of the song.

“I brought along sheet music for the musicians to use, but they didn’t seem to need it because I’d sent them a demo ahead of time, and they picked up the music very well,” said Van Scyoc, who is donating this song to Walter A. Burns of the Jacktown Fair committee as soon as it is completed. “I’m giving the committee carte blanche to do whatever they want with it.”

Described by Van Scyoc as “a country rock song with a nice little groove,” the lyrics contain everything the composer can remember about the way the Jacktown Fair used to be when he was a youngster – the rides, the fair queen, the food, the tractor pulls, the games and the parade. The hook even mentions the fair’s slogan “You can’t die happy until you’ve been to the Jacktown Fair.”

“I’m very proud of the song,” he said. “It’s something I feel will have longevity. The fair’s been around 150 years, and I hope the song will still be around long after I’m gone.”

Van Scyoc last visited the fair five years ago and hopes to get back for this summer’s 150th anniversary. However, at the time of the fair in mid-July, he’s committed to being on the road performing with Gene Cornish, original guitarist with the Young Rascals.

Van Scyoc’s new song will be released on the Windridge Records and Music Publishing label as a single available on the website www.garyvanscyoc.com. It will also be a bonus track added to his latest album “Pop Goes the Elephant,” recorded in 2014.

“Gary and I first met in 1971 when he walked into the recording studio to do Yoko Ono’s album, ‘Sometime in New York City,'” Dennis Ferrante said. “We’ve remained friends ever since, and he’s been in my band, The Renegades, for the past two years. A couple weeks ago, he phoned and asked me to help on the recording of ‘The Jacktown Fair.'”

Ferrante said he thinks the song is really good and told Van Scyoc that it brought back memories of Johnny Horton’s hit, “The Battle of New Orleans,” although he said it has a different beat and melody.

“The opening line references a date which jogged my memory of the Horton song,” Ferrante said. “It really jumped out at me. Gary picked some really great musicians for the recording. They really knew what they were doing.

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