“It’s All About Showing Up,” with Guest, Author, Marketing/PR Consultant, and Certified National Speaker, Robbie Motter; and Musical Guest, Singer / Songwriter, Michael Mc Ginnis on The Life Changes Show
GUEST: ROBBIE MOTTER and MUSICAL GUEST: MICHAEL MC GINNIS
MICHAEL MC GINNIS
During Michael McGinnis’ long career as a singer, songwriter, actor, poet, and storyteller, He directed the music for, and performed with, the internationally popular New Christy Minstrels, a group that spawned Kenny Rogers, The rest of the First Edition, Kim Carnes, and Barry McGuire. He has also toured extensively with his own band, the Rodeo Gypsies. Michael has six major label recordings to his credit, Besides It’s All Good, and was the first artist ever to produce a full-length music video for EMI Video. Many major artists, including Kim Carnes, Don Henley, Michael McDonald, Wayne Newton, and Captain Kangaroo have recorded his songs. He is a published poet, and contributes to several literary magazines. He and his friend the legendary David P. Jackson, have collected Michael’s best ever performance pieces on It’s All Good, producing a compilation of material which showcase his experience, strength and hope in a sensitive, funny, and altogether delightful way. Featured on this album are Stephen Geyer, (Great American Hero, and Hotrod Hearts) and Danny Wheatman (John Denver Band, and Marley’s Ghost).
More About Michael Mc Ginnis…
Born in February of 1942 in Peoria, Illinois, the third and last child of Francis and Dr. Clifford McGinnis, Michael spent his early years riding his pony, Star, and fantasizing about being a cowboy movie star. When he started school, the reality that hardly any of the other children in his class acted this way was quite startling to him. Often he wore his pajama top to school, because it was the closest thing he had to a pirate shirt. He never quite understood why that didn’t completely bowl the girls at school over, when it worked so well for Burt Lancaster or Kirk Douglas in the movies.
His parents were quite musical, and Michael started taking piano lessons from his mother at the age of five. This was disastrous, because he already knew all the beginning piano tunes by ear from listening to his older brothers play them, so he didn’t really bother with learning how to read the music, he just played them from memory. This of course displeased his teacher greatly, subsequently, Michael could often be found hiding behind the chicken house when it was time to practice or take a lesson.
Sometime around the age of seven, Michael’s dad took him to a nighttime rodeo at the Peoria motor speedway. This was a particularly special event for several reasons. They did not take the rest of the family; it was at night after dark, and past his bedtime; and something life changing occurred in the middle of the whole thing. The McGinnis family owned lots of horses, and Michael had already been to many horse shows and rodeos in his young life, but at this one, during the intermission, the lights went down, and the spotlight came up and out of the shoots on a big white horse, and dressed in a burgundy cowboy suit trimmed in rhinestones, rode Tex Ritter, the singing cowboy movie star. Tex rode to the center of the arena, and strumming his rhinestone-decorated guitar, sang, “Blood on the Saddle”. The story goes that upon completion of the tune, Michael leapt to his feet, and screamed, “Daddy, I want to do that!”
Michael bugged his folks for a guitar, until they finally bought him a ukulele. With a little help from his mom, he taught himself to play it, and began entertaining his family, and performing in school variety shows. Eventually he graduated to a four-string guitar,