Go Down Swingin'

How having his song Shazam'd in a hardware store uncovered a musician who'd been hiding in plain sight for 20 years.

You know what gets shared even more eagerly than a great song?

A great story.

I learned about this tale from Gabe today and it’s too good not to share.

Thad Cockrell began writing and recording songs about 20 years ago. He’s taken a step back from music a couple of times, but each time his passion has reignited and he’s been lured back in.

He’d been working towards releasing a new solo album in 2020 but the pandemic scuttled his plans, like it did for many of us. The album was released, but he wasn’t able to tour and give it the promotion he’d hoped.

At the beginning of January, Thad was disillusioned and ready to walk away again. Maybe for good. He knew he had interests and talents in other fields that he could put to work.

He made a plan to officially wind up his career as a musician, but as luck would have it, at that same time one of his tracks was playing over the speakers in a hardware store. The song caught the ear of one particular shopper who shazam’d it to find out what he was listening to.

Thad tells the next part of the story on instagram here.

The guy in the hardware store tells his version of events here.

…and as a result, thousands more people will know about Thad after Jan 26.

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Although he’s been through some musical ups and downs, Thad is a pro and in many ways he’s been preparing for the sort of attention this story could bring him for the past 20 years.

I spent the afternoon trying to learn more about him and his work and I found a recent instagram post which is a manifesto to his followers. It tells me that Thad has known who his audience has been all along — he was hiding in plain sight waiting for us to find him.

Hello! To those of you who have just joined my journey, Welcome! 

Instead of me telling you about me, can I first tell you about you?

You are smarter than people give you credit. You care about deep things and also care about joy and levity. You're not afraid to cry but you certainly don't mind following it up with a good laugh. You believe music and songs might just be the greatest gift that we have as humans. Music gives us permission and the freedom to feel things that we might not otherwise feel.

You listen to rock 'n' roll, hip-hop, country and gospel music one after the other without giving it a thought because you believe in songs and not genres. Sometimes when you don't have anything to say to the person next to you, you believe the right song playing at the right time says it all. 

You believe that the best of everything is coming and not behind you. You believe that we’re connected by our weakness and not our strengths. You are all ages, sizes, religions and orientations. You don't quit and you don't give up. And you believe that there is a GREAT LOVE that is surely but that is slowly but surely healing us and the world. 

Oh and last but not least, to hell with the critics! 

Birds of a feather… WELCOME TO THE FAMILY!

I urge you to hit the links above and hear the story for yourself. Then come back here and listen to the song.

Swingin’ — Thad Cockrell

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