The Unheard Music (Volume XLIV)
I guess when you take your stage name from a Bob Dylan album but sound more like Elvis Costello people are bound to be confused. Take the case of John Wesley Harding (nee' Wesley Harding Stace), a British ex-pat who's been making sharp, witty records for almost twenty years with virtually no American mainstream success. There are outlets in which Harding's profile is significant, just take a listen to XM Radio's Channel "Fred" or listen online to woxy.com and you're bound to hear a JWH tune or three before long.
After a promising debut and follow up Here Comes The Groom, Harding released The Name Above The Title in 1991, netting several hits on the then nascent Billboard Modern Rock Chart. Among them "The People's Drug" and and "The Person You Are" two of the alternate universe 'hits' you're likely to hear on the aforementioned outlets. The momentum gained by the minor success of Name Above Title seemed to have Harding poised for greater things. While not as acerbic as Elvis Costello, Harding did share a keen wit and gift for turning a clever phrase (and he also used two of Costello's Attractions in his early touring band) but outside of the Modern Rock genre he barely made a dent, meanwhile lesser talents were crossing over into the mainstream charts. I won't name names. A few years later, Harding would turn up amongst his heroes Bob Dylan and Elvis Costello on the soundtrack to the film adaptation of Nick Hornby's High Fidelity with the track "I'm Wrong About Everything". It's probably worth noting that another of Harding's influences--Bruce Springsteen--also had a cameo in High Fidelity. And for true music geeks, the title High Fidelity itself likely comes from the Costello song of the same name. Dude keeps popping up everywhere.
Unlike a lot of musicians/songwriters who rarely have much more than pumping gas or waiting tables to augment their non-rock income, Harding listened to his guidance counselor and had a back-up plan. While continuing to release records periodically, Harding fell back on his academic background (he dropped out of Cambridge just shy of a PhD but did achieve a First in English Literature) and has released two acclaimed novels: Misfortune and By George under his given name, Wesley Stace. And where the rock thing may not have bore the kind of fruit for long-term sustainibility, the author thing seems to be quite promising so far.
I hope you enjoy the music of John Wesley Harding (Stace) and I hope you have a great weekend. I know there's fewer of you out there reading this in the summertime but please add a comment if you do read this as it's been kinda lonely on Fridays for The Unheard Music, except for a few loyal souls who know who they are.