Ritchie Grasso. Now, there’s a name you don’t hear every day. Well, unless you’re related to Ritchie or you went to school with him. Or you wrote songs with him. I didn’t. And my guess is, you didn’t either. But one guy co-wrote a hit song with him called “Sweet Cherry Wine.”
And now you’re wondering when Sweet Cherry Wine was a hit.
Obviously WAY before my time. WAY back in 1969. And I won’t keep you in suspense. Because I know you can’t handle the suspense. And I certainly don’t want you to have to endure any more than you can comfortably handle.
Of course, I have no idea of how much you can comfortably handle. So, I can only assume it isn’t much. Because most people can barely handle getting through their morning coffee these days. And although I don’t know if that includes you, I’d prefer to err on the side of respecting your sensitivities (not to mention your feeling, which I just mentioned, yeesh this is getting out of hand).
Oops. Looks as though I already kept you in suspense a little longer. And that’s even after I said I wouldn’t do that. Man, I can be so thoughtless sometimes.
But I think most people who truly know me would tell you I’m a caring guy.
So, it was Tommy James. OK, there you have it.
Yeah, THE Tommy James who also wrote and sang “Draggin’ The Line” was the guy who co-wrote Sweet Cherry Wine.
But what makes the song much more interesting than the fact that it was a top 40 hit was what Tommy said about the lyrics. I read an article that said Mr. James admitted “the lyrics of ‘Sweet Cherry Wine’ were metaphorical. And he follows up that admission by saying, “Yes, it’s a metaphor for the blood of Jesus.”
Wow. When you consider how many big hits Tommy James had over the course of his songwriting and performing career, that’s really something.
Check out this part of the lyrics. And remember what sweet cherry wine is a metaphor…for.
No we ain’t gonna fight
Only God has the right
To decide who’s to live and die
He gave us sweet cherry wine
So very fine
Drink it right down, pass it all around
So stimulating, so intoxicating
Sweet cherry wine
To open your mind
And everybody’s gonna feel so fine
Drinking sweet cherry wine
Yes they will.
Tommy James said he was “brought up Catholic, but I really didn’t know my faith very well, didn’t know what I believed, why I believed what I believed.”
And then he saw Billy Graham on TV.
It apparently had quite an effect on him. Because he said, “And we were writing, as a matter of fact, and I put the guitars down and started listening. And he just gave the most amazingly lucid teaching on why Jesus came. I had never heard it put quite that way before.”
I enjoy stories like that. And the fact that Sweet Cherry Wine made it to number 7 on the Billboard Hot 100, back in the day, is no small thing when you consider what it means.
So, there’s a little trivia that’s definitely NOT trivial.
Now, go out there and make some Mony Mony.
And stay tuned,
