Jackson singer-songwriter Julie Walker releases first CD

JACKSON, Mo.

Julie Walker's voice has the same vibrancy and purity Joni Mitchell's had when she was younger, a soprano that eschews diva-ish meandering among the notes to clear a channel toward the heart.

Until now, church congregations, wedding guests and a few coffeehouse audiences were the only ones privileged to hear Walker's voice, and she almost always sang music written by others. Now she has recorded a CD of her own songs, "Summerhill Dreams," a well-produced collection of folk-influenced tunes that have been following Walker around for many years.

Walker, a teacher in the Jackson schools, grew up in an academic household and thought it was natural to be a child who liked folk music. The Cyrkle's "Red Rubber Ball" and Simon & Garfunkel's "Feelin' Groovy" were the first songs she sang. Her musical sensibility was formed by people like James Taylor and Dan Fogelberg and Mitchell.

She and her friends put on musicals for the neighbors. They called it Dead End Street Theatre. Her first recital was in a living room. She sang for her mother's PEO meeting.

"I always liked to play in front of people," Walker says.

She taught herself to play the guitar before taking lessons in the seventh grade. That's when she began writing songs.

She enrolled at Southeast Missouri State University as a music major and appeared in "HMS Pinafore" and "Dames at Sea." Ironically, the difficulty the budding songwriter had with music theory convinced her to change her major from music to education.

"I wasn't a disciplined musician," she says.

She wonders why she didn't ask someone to help her solve the puzzles of theory. "I would have been happy as a musician," she says.

Fortunately, she's also happy teaching. Walker teaches gifted students at the Jackson Middle School. "For the Flowers," the newest song on her CD, was inspired by being a teacher.

Most of all, Walker loves working with youth musical groups. She leads the handbell and children's choirs at New McKendree United Methodist Church. "I enjoy pulling it all together, taking the black and white notes and turning them into something so beautiful."

Being a performer and songwriter seems to be a part of Walker she now is growing into. She used to get upset when she was performing and made mistakes. She does no more. "Sometimes you can do things with those mistakes," she says. She loves it when people sing along.

Her now-19-year-old son, Luke, was the one who first suggested she record her music.

"In a way, it's kind of like a legacy," Walker says.

She has two more children, Chelsea, 16, and Hannah, 13. Hannah plays the piano and wants an electric guitar.

Her husband, David, is a nursing home administrator.

The album was recorded over 2 1/2 years at Sunrise Recording. Kurt Tietz, who bought the studio in January, is a multi-instrumentalist steeped in classical music. That influence comes through in the arrangements and his accompaniment.

Walker, who plays guitar and piano and provides her own background vocals, also brought in heartfelt touches. A friend from high school played flute.

"They each brought their own selves into the music. That's when it came alive for me," Walker said.

Tietz helped her know when to hold back and when to let go. "He said, you have to put the ear candy in at the right time," Walker recalled.

He was impressed by the purity of Walker's voice throughout her entire range.

"It reminds me a lot -- though not stylistically -- of a Julie Andrews kind of voice," he said.

The CD is available in Jackson at The Way, the Book Bug, New McKendree Church and the Style Stop. It is available in Cape Girardeau at CD Warehouse, Hastings, Garbers, My Daddy's Cheesecake, Renaissance and Touch of Grace. Information about the album also is available at www.songs-by-julie.com.

The honesty required to sing your own songs kept Walker singing others' in public for many years. "That's why I waited until this point in my life to do this," she said. "Now I don't care."

These songs are like old friends.

"These are songs that have stood the test of time," she says.

sblackwell@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 182

FROM "FOR THE FLOWERS" BY JULIE WALKER

sometimes it feels like

you've waited too long

sometimes it seems like

you just can't go on

but then the rain comes

and the sun shines

and you've grown

those busy days the hustle bustle

find you here they mark your way

and there's something to be done

for this world that needs a garden

so you plant the seeds

give them sunlight

pull the weeds and you wait

for the flowers

you plant a seed

you watch it grow ...