About Don Whitaker
The team of Don Whitaker, a gifted musician with a folk rock and country music background, and Ward Kelley, who writes award winning poetry, as well as full-length novels, pooled their exceptional talents to create a unique work of Folk Rock music poetry. These unusual and striking pieces recieved more than 10K song plays and downloads worldwide and have been featured on the radio including such shows as James Fox’s radio show that airs Friday night on Blue Mountain Radio KQBM 103.7 FM.Don’s distinctive sound generated an audience that has grown to 1100+ fans from a wide array of websites. The music reviewers at ReverbNation (a group representing all music genres: rap to hard rock to country to folk) gave “Death Does Not Come Humble” a 70% approval rating. ReverbNation has also given a 66% combined approval of five of Don Whitaker's other reviewed songs.The Gnarled Bones album is released free as a download on Jamendo and the physical CD is available on Amazon. Don and Pat are currently working on their second album, High Tide of Love.To help you understand the depth and soul of Don and Ward's music, here are write-ups for a few of their more popular songs. Gnarled BonesGnarled Bones is a song about a man searching for his soul mate. He carries a sadness from this – which he calls ‘gnarled bones’ – with him throughout his life, sometimes catching echoes of her from a past life with his true love. Follow this man’s journey as he searches . . . and concludes he’s a better man for the journey. The Gypsy’s Daughter Enters the Third ReichSometimes overlooked in discussions of the Holocaust are the conditions of the Gypsies, or Roma, who were subjected to the same attempt at genocide by the Nazi. Over 200,000 Gypsies lost their lives in the Holocaust. This song is the story of a Gypsy father and his nine year old daughter, as they are led towards the ovens in Auschwitz. The lyricist, the poet Ward Kelley, says, “these lyrics came from the saddest poem I ever published, but I thought it important the story of this small family was told. The poem, named the same as the song, was later nominated for the Pushcart award, and became one of my most reprinted poems. Still, I must admit, it’s difficult for me to read or contemplate this story.” I Need the Beauty of YouThis song is an unabashed love song. But with a twist -- the singer realizes the main attributes he loves about his woman all have little to do with her physical beauty. He wants to spend every spare second with her because she enchants him with her personality, her conversation, her grace. He loves the tilt of her laughing eyes, the sound of her divine sighs. He comes to see Love is about never letting it get old. See the video, “Don Whitaker – I Need the Beauty of You.” Canterbury MeditationsThis song uses the trope of Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales to muse about the possibility of reincarnation, how we’re all ‘rocks in the rock polisher’ of life. It follows the struggles of four of Chaucer’s characters: The Nun, The Friar, The Merchant and the The Knight, including long instrumentals to give the listener spacious time to reflect upon the characters’ travails. Lyrics are available on each Jamendo song or can be downloaded at http://WardKelley.org.