Helen Lapakko

Devil In My Headlights Helen Lapakko

I have been writing and performing music for forty years. I started listening to music at a young age. I listened to Joe and Eddy, the Righteous Brothers, Peter, Paul, and Mary, and a little later Barbara Streisand as I ironed every Saturday morning. I sang at the top of my lungs, knowing every word. I was the third child of five in a home with alcoholism and mental illness and became "invisible" when I was very young. The music kept me company and made me feel like I was not alone and there was more to life than what I saw around me. It was exciting to feel the melodies and the rhythm inside me. I started listening to Billie Holiday, Nina Simone, Quincy Jones, and Eddie Harris. Then I discovered Emmy Lou Harris, Waylon Jennings, and Rita Coolidge. I loved how the music transformed me, and the world around me. I taught myself piano and a friend gave me a guitar and taught me a few chords. I started writing my own songs hearing little whispers of songs from my past. I went back to college and studied music in all its forms. Music became my "home." I have performed in restaurants/bars, theatres, cafes, and coffee shops. I have taught piano, guitar, and voice for seventeen years. My adult students have performed inWe Fest, house concerts throughout the country, and music festivals. I have produced two albums of original music and performed my songs in my one-woman show "Merica's Story." My songs have been performed in plays I've written, sung at weddings and funerals, and used as background music in educational videos. The songs in this book are eclectic: some are folk, some blues with a little jazz thrown in, some country, and some light rock. They tell stories of my life. From "Devil in my Headlights", a country tune about taking a risk and jumping on the stage to perform, to poignant songs like "Bright Eyes" dealing with a loved ones drug addiction, to "Little Bird" a song about finding your own voice and "I Met Him on a Touring ship" a story of love and romance. This book contains different styles of guitar music, a little classical flare, and soft rock, songs using the whole neck of the guitar. Some songs have tablature and some just the notes. I hope you enjoy the journey of playing my songs and experiencing all they have to offer. I also have a piano book called "Little Bird." My piano songs are a combination of folk, spiritual, and a little new-age thrown in.