Whiskey Jack have the cure for what eventually ails us all with their whimsical new single O L D — showcasing today on Tinnitist.
If you’re fortunate enough to grow old, things begin to happen and you begin to ask yourself simple questions — like: Did I leave my keys in the car? Did I leave my wallet at home? Did I leave my dentures in my car or with my wallet? Time remains undefeated after all. But for Whiskey Jack, the process of aging has provided inspiration for their latest toe-tapping tune.
O L D was inspired in early 2024 when singer and guitarist Douglas John Cameron was chatting one day with his old pal Steve Hunter. During the discussion, Cameron had a momentary brain lapse and forgot something. “It looks like you’ve got the O L D,” Steve quipped with a laugh. It was the spark for the single. “I just wrote about everything that was happening around me at the time — losing keys, doctor appointments and pickleball,” Cameron says. “The song wrote itself.”
Well, actually it was written and produced by Cameron, a two-time Juno nominee for his songs Mona With The Children (1986) and Ants In Your Pants (2000). This is a sparse but spectacularly precise tale of realizing the aches and pains might not go away so easily. Told as if it was a doctor-patient consultation, O L D recalls the work of John Prine, Lyle Lovett, Leon Redbone and Jerry Reed. The song features Cameron on guitar and vocals, Duncan Fremlin on vocals and Hunter on piano. And from the subtle piano tickling to the light and airy rhythm section, Whiskey Jack have played all the right notes to have a hit on their hands.
“We played it for the first time live with our bandmates Billy MacInnis on fiddle, and James McEleney on bass, at a Royal Canadian Legion show in April, (to) a crowd not known for their exuberance,” Cameron says. “We were stunned by the extended applause and robust laughter. Today, this has become our signature song and is featured at all of our shows. The reactions are the same each time. The young like it because they say, ‘My dad would love that song.’ The older crowd loves it because it speaks to what they’re experiencing every day as a senior. If it had been on a recording this year, our CD sales would have soared, and the pickleball craze would be even bigger.”
Whiskey Jack have been touring and recording for almost half a century. Their discography dates back to 1979’s Uptown, which was followed by 1981’s One More Time. They released their latest album Whiskey Jack 10 (Do It Again) in 2023. They have played everywhere from The Tommy Hunter Show and Morningside to The Alan Thicke Show. In 1990, Canadian icon Stompin’ Tom Connors made them one of his backing bands. The partnership — which included a 2004 appearance on Late Night with Conan O’Brien when the host took his show to Toronto — lasted for almost a quarter of a century, until Connor’s death in 2014.
Check out O L D above, hear more from Whiskey Jack below, and get what the doctor ordered on their website, Facebook and Instagram.
