SONGS BY JOHN LUCKEN
  • Home
  • Songs
    • Archive I >
      • There's a place
      • Rejoice in the sun
      • Tomorrow & Yesterday
      • Travelin Man
      • One Step Beyond
      • The Dream
      • Right Then
      • Goodbye
      • Resolutions
      • The Nightmare
      • Solitaire
      • For You
      • The One
    • Archive II >
      • The Ways of Change
      • Lose Your Love or Die
      • Though You're Gone Today
      • Hello There Little One
      • Pacifier/Complicator
      • Love
      • Warning
      • Forever Evergreen
      • Those Times We Had
      • On Our Way
      • Nasty Habits
      • Slow Poke
      • War Child
      • Summer Breeze
      • Anytime Anywhere
      • Time Capsul
    • Archive III >
      • State of Mind
      • Tribute
      • Second Thought
      • Back Alley Blues
      • I Told You So
      • It Just Don't Hurt Anymore
      • Persecution Complex
      • Anxiety
      • Rock-n-Roll Star
      • Interlude in E/Triumph
      • Trouble-Maker
      • We Can Make a Difference
      • On Such A Night As This
      • Beyond Words
      • Voyager
      • The Uncelebrated
      • I'll Be Back For You
    • Archive IV >
      • Early Saturday Morning
      • I'm Leaving You
      • Friends are Friends
      • Renaissance
      • Another Buck
      • Days' Done
      • Haywire
      • Thing's aren't what they Seem
      • One
      • Baqtasia
      • The Seed
      • Loneliness
      • Dreamspun Reality
      • Try one more Time again
      • Tangled Lives
      • Derelict Shuffle
      • Heat Up
      • Our Love
    • Archive V >
      • Never Going Home
      • Come What May
      • Hide Away
      • Way Back When
      • Home
      • Heaven's Gate
      • Atlantis
      • No Matter
      • Another World
      • Say Your Prayers
      • Finding my way Back
      • Boogie Blues
      • Over the Crest of a Wave
      • Reasons People Change
      • Not Far Beyond the Dream
      • How Many Times
    • Archive VI >
      • Someway,Somehow,Somewhere
      • Sunrise
      • Instrumental 1
      • Instrumental 2
      • HalfWay
      • Fade Back-to Reality
      • Confusion
      • Take as you Give
      • Test of Time
      • Nothing can stop you
      • Steamroller
      • Doin' it Right
      • Easy
      • Impact
      • Sooner or Later
      • Melancholy Monday
      • Judgement Call
      • City of Thieves
      • No Rest for the Wicked
    • Archive VII >
      • Prologue
      • The Promise
      • Keyz Teeze
      • By The Way
      • I've seen you out there
      • Headline Story
      • American Dream
      • Say what you Mean
      • Outta sight-Outta mind
      • Roller Coaster
      • Oh well
      • 1976
      • Small Town Boy
      • After the Fall
      • Dolphin Sonata
      • Wake Up-It's Not A Dream
    • Impact-Ground Zero >
      • Steam Roller
      • Nothing Can Stop You
      • Sooner or Later
      • Confusion
      • No Matter
      • City of Thieves
      • Tomorrow & Yesterday
      • Fade Back-To Reality
      • Doin' it Right
      • Second Thought
      • No Rest for the Wicked
      • Try One More Time Again
    • Impact-Critical Mass >
      • Keyz Teeze
      • On Our Way
      • WarChild
      • Tangled Lives
      • Easy
      • Impact
      • The Uncelebrated
      • Though You're Gone Today
      • By The Way
  • Featured
    • Warning 2022
    • Tribulations
    • RTZ
    • Live in Peace
    • Featured Songs 2015-2017
    • The Evolution of Confusion
    • In Memoriam
  • What's Next
  • Feedback
  • The Studio
  • What Else?
    • Resist >
      • Election Day 2020
      • Election Day 2018
      • Wake Up-It's Not A Dream
      • Partisan Political Message
      • March For Our Lives
      • Democracy Awakening
      • Action Links
    • Earth Day >
      • Earth Day 2017
      • Earth Day 2018
      • Earth Day 2019
      • Earth Day 2020

Welcome!

This is an archive of my song ideas from over the years.
Many are rough guitar/vocal performances recorded to a portable cassette deck.Later works were recorded to 4 track cassette and 8 track reel to reel with drums and more instrumentation to serve as demos.None were meant for wide distribution. Please excuse the rough edges!

SONGS
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This is me in the studio we made at Nation Wide Storage in San Bernardino Ca. Mid 1990's.

  I'm a songwriter & guitarist who, like thousands of others,
thought I had what it takes to make it in the music business.
But, as John Lennon once said, "life is what happens while
you're busy making other plans". Time gets away, dreams & goals are put on hold & next thing you know, "10 years have got behind you",as David Gilmour of Pink Floyd  said, and now I'm a half century old! So, before my time is up, I decided I would put my stuff (over 100 songs) out there, for what it's worth, it is what it is, for my family, or anyone who's interested, to see another side of me. And this way I know my songs won't end up in a landfill somewhere. So please, check out the samples below, and if it intrigues you, I welcome you to explore further, this chronicle of my musical journey--
so far....
  The menu above my guitar case will take you to collections of my songs & lyrics. Using the drop down you can go directly to individual songs.


  Each month I will try to add more songs, lyrics, photos & videos until I have everything documented, so please check back from time to time.


              Thank you for stopping by!

​       Original, no-frills, Rock music

Songs
Featured
What's Next
Feedback
The Studio
What Else?

QUICK TAKE


Today is
3/23/23!
​Won't see that again.

3/17/2023

Hope your St Paddy's Day
​is Lucky!


3/5/2023

R.I.P
Gary Rossington 
of
Lynyrd Skynyrd 
&
The Rossington Collins Band 
A lot of great music.
Simple Man
was a favorite, as was
Tuesday's Gone 
below.
Fly high Free Bird.  



3/1/2023

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Fifty years ago today
Pink Floyd released
Dark Side of the Moon. 
One of the greatest Rock albums of all time.
Like the Beatles Sgt. Pepper, a Concept record
that lit the fire of my own musical quest
of serious subjects & deeper meaning.


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2/25/2023

Happy Birthday 
to
George Harrison! 
He would have been 80 today.


Thanks to Rolling Stone magazine
​for the images above.


Today marks the one year anniversary of
the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
President Biden became the first U.S. president to
visit a war zone not under the control of our military
then spoke in Warsaw Poland.

2/18/2023

Happy Birthday
to
Yoko Ono-Lennon! 

2/9/2023

R.I.P
​Burt Bacharach

It's hard to overstate his importance
to the world of music as we know it.
For years I was a member of 
The National Academy of Songwriters 
and got to see him at an awards ceremony honoring 
Crosby, Stills & Nash. 
​





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With the great lyricist Hal David, 
Bacharach created one of my favorite songs:
What the world needs now is love. 
Sung by Jackie DeShannon, 
who hosts "Beatles News" on the Sunday
Breakfast with the Beatles show
with Chris Carter on 95.5 KLOS in Los Angeles.
Below is a moving alternate version from 1971
by ​Tom Clay.  



Unfortunately not much has changed since '71.
As we are reminded with near daily shootings in 2023.
Still too little love in this world.

1/19/2023

R.I.P 
David Crosby 
founding member of iconic 1960's groups
The Byrds & Crosby, Stills & Nash 
and sometimes Young. 
Writer of so many great and influential songs
that inspired me.
Saw CSN in 1994 in Los Angeles at the 
9th Annual Salute to the American Songwriter.





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1/11/2023

Another sad day in Rock history.
Jeff Beck took his final bow yesterday.
One of the greatest guitarists of the 1960's
British Invasion. 
I saw him at Anaheim Stadium in 1976
with Aerosmith, Rick Derringer & Starz.
R.I.P


Freeway Jam is one of my favorite Beck songs.
Great bass work by Tal Wilkenfeld. 

1/6/2023

​Never Forget

1/1/2023

Happy New Year!
Here's a wish that each new year is better than the last
and that we are all growing wiser & kinder.
I was told once: "Don't sweat the small stuff". 
I'm going to try to make that my resolution in '23.
Since this is the first day of the first month,
I'm reminded of my song,
ONE. 

12/25/2022

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

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12/17/2022

R.I.P P-22

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Steve Winter-National Geographic

12/16/2022

Well, first of all,
CHRISTMAS 
is coming!
But a couple of other notable happenings over the last month,
I'd also like to mention:
11/30/22
R.I.P to Christine MacVie of Fleetwood Mac. 
11/20/22 
Elton John 
gave his last American performance at L.A's Dodger Stadium.


11/26/2022

It's 
Small Business Saturday 
once again!
Get out there & support the local 
businesses you love!


11/24/2022

​HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

11/16/2022

The Artemis Moon Launch
finally happened!


We've lost a number of great people lately I'd like to mention.
First Judy Tenuta on October 6th,
then Gallagher on November 11th,
were two comedians from the 1980's-90's I loved.
Please click on their names to learn more
if you didn't live it.

On November 8th Dan McCafferty of the band,
Nazareth died too. Loved their music back in the 1970's (!)
Saw them in 1978 at the Swing Auditorium in San Bernardino.
These artists enriched my life experience and
I thank them!
R.I.P
                                   


Changin' Times is a great song with some nice lead guitar,
please click to listen.

11/12/2022

A
Happy Birthday
to
Neil Young! 
One of my favorites.

11/8/2022

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Please do your part to support our Democracy
​and vote for candidates who will respect & defend it.

10/31/2022

Happy ​Halloween!



10/30/2022

I've re-recorded my 20th song
Warning 
You can use the link here,
or go to the Featured tab to listen.

10/28/2022

R.I.P
Jerry Lee Lewis 
An American Original &
Rock-n-Roll pioneer.

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10/22/2022

R.I.P
Tyler
A ​very good boy.

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10/9/2022

Remembering John Lennon ​on his birthday.
He would have been 82 today.
Imagine.

10/4/2022

Today is the 7th anniversary of my website!
Time flies when you're having fun,
but sometimes it seems,
I'm getting nothing done!
I plan on giving it hell as we enter the 8th year.
I still have a lot of things I'd like to add to the site,
so please stay tuned.
I expect to have a new version of an old song out
by the end of the month.
I've been messing around with it since June!
It's more of a rocker than the last few I've done.
Meanwhile...Halloween ​is coming!

9/26/2022

What an awesome job by
NASA & ESA today!
DART hit it's target,
at a distance of over 6 million miles!
Reminds me of this oldie but goody.

9/19/2022

In Honor of the passing of the
QUEEN 
I loved that she had a sense of Humor! 


9/5/2022

Happy Labor Day!
Support hard working Americans
and
​the unions that support them!

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7/7/2022

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Happy Birthday & Peace & Love
to Ringo Starr! 
Big 82 this year. Saw him in 2003 & he put on a great show.
He always assembles an awesome All-Starr Band. 
In '03 he had John Waite from The Babys, & Bad English on bass & vocals.
(Happy Birthday to him, born 7/4/1952)
         Colin Hay from Men at Work on guitar & vocals.
( also a recent B-Day, 6/29/1953 ) 
Paul Carrack too many great bands to list here, on guitar & vocals. 
Sheila E. worked with Prince & many others, on percussion, drums & vocals. 
Mark Rivera of the Billy Joel band on saxophone. 
Glad to have got to see two of the Beatles. 
Both Ringo & Paul still going strong & on tour this summer.
​See them while you can!
 ​




7/4/2022

Happy 4th of July! 
As we commemorate our nations day of freedom & independence,
there is much to reflect upon in our current political climate.
I am saddened the Supreme Court and about half of our
"United" States have chosen to curtail those rights
for some of our citizens.
The ability to have control over one's own body,
to have a say in their own destiny, is personal.
​It's neither the business of bureaucrats nor busy bodies.
Amid the carnage of mass shootings, the court has
relaxed gun safety measures in New York, with
implications for the rest of the country.
The handcuffing of the EPA's ability to combat
Global Warming may seal the worlds fate.
The court is also moving us closer to Theocracy.
There was a time we could trust
those in power to do the right thing for ALL AMERICANS.
Unfortunately partisan power plays are becoming the norm &
the scales of Lady Justice are not in balance.
Her blindfold is gone, for all to see.

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6/18/2022

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Happy Birthday to
Paul McCartney 
80 big ones today!
One of the greatest, if not THE greatest
songwriters of all time.
A modern Mozart or Bach or Beethoven.
Saw him on his 2002 Driving USA tour.
I feel fortunate to have lived in a 
​time of so much talent.
Here he is
joined on stage in New Jersey by Bruce Springsteen & Jon Bon Jovi

5/14/2022
&
​5/24/2022

My heart goes out for the victims of the mass shootings
in Buffalo New York & Uvalde Texas.
31 innocents murdered with assault weapons
meant for the battlefield, but wielded by 18 year old
High School kids in bloody massacres at a grocery store
and Elementary School.
When will the madness end?
I have contributed to Brady, Giffords & March for our Lives. 
Please do what you can. Remember to use your vote to
reward those trying to fix this & punish those
who are not.
It's the only way we will ever see needed change
in so many areas, from gun safety to woman's rights,
voting rights and climate change.
Champions need our support.
Cowards need to go home.
Years ago I wrote a song titled
Headline Story 
about gun violence.
I last posted it in December of 2015 after the slaughter
of 14 County workers in San Bernardino.
​I am working on an updated version for 2022.


5/5/2022

Happy Anniversary!
to my dear wife.

5/1/2022

Since we haven't had much,
in the way of April showers,
here's some cactus flowers.

4/8/2022

A few things going on today.
I have added a new song, Tribulations & a new Earth Day page.
I like to be creative on the day I was created!
In other news, Pink Floyd has a new song for Ukraine 
due out today as does Julian Lennon 
who I share a birthday with.



3/28/2022

Click here for a short tour of my guitar case.

3/25/2022

RIP
Taylor Hawkins
Drummer for the Foo Fighters 
one of my favorite bands.
Here's a cool little song, Sunday Rain, with Taylor singing
& Sir Paul McCartney on drums.
Another gone too soon.
Live each day as if it's your last & give it your best.

2/24/2022

Really saddened to see Russia has
invaded Ukraine
today.
I thought the human race would have
outgrown this mentality by now.
War is the LAST thing the world needs now,
given all our other challenges.
Unfortunately, Putin is an idiot.
A relic from another time that could learn something
​from another relic from our past:
Give Peace A Chance.

2/22/2022


Had to mention today's date.
Won't see this again in our lifetimes.
You can click on Quick Take above
to link to my past notes.
Although there was drama, I really did
enjoy the Winter Olympics in Beijing.
So proud of all the Olympians.
What a testament to the human spirit
​& peaceful competition!
Next up are the Paralympics
running March 4th thru the 13th.
It's amazing what these Parathletes can do.
They deserve our support!


1/6/2022

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Today marks the one year anniversary of the attack on the Capitol.
I'm flying my flag at half staff in remembrance
and to honor those that defended it & our
Democracy.
NEVER FORGET. 

1/1/2022

HAPPY NEW YEAR! 
Wishing everyone a safe, healthy & prosperous '22.


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Prologue

This is a simple acoustic guitar instrumental I found recently.Recorded open air to a portable cassette recorder,flawed but I like it,This is what much of my 
Archive series sounds like.By the way,this picture is of the work shop at the Empire Bowl in Redlands California,where I worked for a few years.
Play
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No rest for the wicked

This one is hard rock with better production & recording equipment,recorded at the pinnacle of my IMPACT phase. Featured on Ground Zero.
Play
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Tangled lives

On this one I tried to get tricky with word-play.I liked the tune,but I didn't get any raves when I shopped it around.Not one of my happier songs,but it helped me through a break up! Featured on IMPACT-Critical Mass.
Play
ALL CONTENT ON THIS WEBSITE (C) J. LUCKEN UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED.ANY USE OF COPY RIGHTED MATERIAL IS PROHIBITED WITHOUT PERMISSION.
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