Album: It'll Shine When It Shines (1975)
Charted: 3
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Songfacts®:

  • This song is about a woman who is in pursuit of happiness but never gives anything a long enough time to make her happy. She gets bored too easily - she's flighty, or indifferent. >>
    Suggestion credit:
    Catherine - New England
  • Radio stations usually played an edited version omitting the last verse. This verse pretty well sums up what the whole tune is about:

    Everyday in your indigo eyes
    I watch the sunset but I don't see it rise
    Moonlight and stars in your strawberry wine
    You'd take the world but you won't take the time
    >>
    Suggestion credit:
    Beatleant - Toronto, Canada
  • This was written by band members Steve Cash and Larry Lee. It's inspired by someone they met in Los Angeles who was strung out on drugs. >>
    Suggestion credit:
    Lori - Springfield, MO
  • Smashing Pumpkins covered this song. Their version shows up on various rarities and compilation albums. >>
    Suggestion credit:
    Kain - Charleston, SC

Comments: 48

  • AnonymousI thought this song was not only the 'best' song of 1975, I thought it was the best song of 70's !!
  • Rik from Springfield, MissouriContrary to what all the wanna be's and I need attentions on here are saying the guys in the Ozark Mountain Daredevils have always said the song was about a Drug dealer from Nixa, MO, where they are from. It wasn't about a girl, that was changed in the studio when they were recording it at the suggestion of producer Glyn Johns.
  • Kidyubyub from So CalActually, Mike Granda said in an interview the following: As he explains, it wasn’t always about a girl who lives her life ‘free-form style’. “[Ozarks drummer] Larry Lee brought the song to us. He said he wrote it about a guy we knew. Every night, this guy would go out to the nightclub with a wad of money and a pocket full of blow and he’d be out there chasing women.

    "So we played this song for about a year. After we recorded the song we went to LA to mix it, and A&M said: ‘You’ve recorded a number one song, but Jackie needs to be a girl.’ So Larry took Steve Cash, our lyricist, into the other room, and three or four hours later they came out and Jackie was a girl. Larry laid his vocals down, and it flipped all of us out.

    "We’d been hearing this song about a guy for a year-and-a-half, and all of a sudden it was about a girl. But it sounded great.”

    Jackie Blue shot up the US chart to No.3 in 1975. It’s still a rock radio staple.
  • AnonymousIt was written about a bartender drug dealer (male) the band hung out with while on the road
  • Davey R from Cardigan, WalesPardon my ignorance but until a week ago I’d never heard of the Ozark Mountain Daredevils or any of their songs. Then, as I watched an episode of the Netflix series, Osark, Jackie Blue was played. I’ve listened to more of their music since, but for me none is as good as JB - although What’s Happened Along In My Life isn’t too far behind. Better to have discovered them late than never!
  • Jackie Lennon from Greensboro,nc I loved this song as a pre teenage AND still do
  • Kevin from Harrisonburg, VaI first heard this song around 1980 on a tape my father had recorded off of the Washington DC station Q107, which had this odd distinction at that time with being a top 40 station during the day and an album rock station at night. Anyway, I had thought for years that the Ozark Mountain Daredevils had female vocalist, however my reasoning for this is quite legitimate. Also on this cassette was "You Make Loving Fun" by Fleetwood Mac with lead vocals by Christine McVie whose vocals are actually slightly lower than Larry Lee's falsetto on this track.
  • Seventhmist from 7th HeavenWhat a travesty that the best verse wasn't played on the radio when it was a hit.

    My wife knew a dreamy, occasionally druggy, biker in the late 70s named Jackie. He died when he drove his cycle through a barrier and into a ravine. No one was ever sure whether it was intentional or not, but she believed it was.
  • Kk from LouisianaBack in 1974 I snuck a small Transistor Radio into Navy Bootcamp at Great Lakes, IL to listen to at night. I used to hear this song play all the time - now when I hear it, I instantly think about Boot-camp and the fun and not-so-fun times there ...:)
    Thanks Jackie Blue..:)
  • Jackie from Tacoma, WaY'all she wasn't strung out on drugs just a whimsical impressionable young indigo eyed girl who managed to get into their heads for a time and vanish like a puff off blonde smoke! Please know your facts before you give someone a bad rap!! I ought to know... its a much shorter story than y'all think!! ~ J. Blue
  • Jackie from Tacoma, WaHey Lori get yur facts straight I wasn't strung out on drugs just a young impresionable blone groupie who managed to get into somones head with her strangeness. I'm a song writer too since then... we often can write a song from the most forgettable experiences!!!
  • Jorge from Bronx, NyI'd discovered a lost gem,back in '75,i hardly knew english,but this song used make me feel good,and after all these years seeking for the song,and only knowing the band as Ozark Mountain,couldn't find it,but never knew it was Ozark Mountain Daredevils,,,,The station here in NYC that played it was WABC AM radio
  • Bonnie from Canton, TxI can, sadly, relate to this song and its main character a great deal. This song means so much to me. My mother used to call me her little Jackie Blue, before she passed away last year, so this song will always hold a special place in my heart.
  • Rikki from Austin, TxActually, the song is about a junkie in L.A. that was strung out...
  • Esskayess from Dallas, TxTook me years to discover that the idiots at A&M removed the song's best verse to make it "radio length." A song like "MacArthur Park" deserved such treatment, but not this unique gem.
  • Jackie from Newry, United KingdomLove the song. Love the title.
    Hi. My name is Jackie Blue. I'm from Northern Ireland and I'm MALE!! I like my name but it has confused some in the past. I was in a dental hospital waiting-room on one occasion where there were seven other patients, all female. A medical nurse came in after some time and without looking in my direction called out my name. I rose to my feet and said "Hi, I'm Jackie Blue". She looked somewhat puzzled and glancing round the waiting-room at the women waiting there said, "Are you sure, I mean, you're a man!" Just goes to prove, not all Jackie Blue's are female!!
  • Jacky from Los Angeles, CaMy name is Jacky Blue Bridges. I was born at 9am on May 22, 1975. I was named after my aunt Jackie and my moms best friend Gary Blue. I love this song, I just wish it was about a man! Lmao! Everyone that hears my name loves it, in fact I had a cop pull me over and when she saw my ID she seranaded me.. It was great! Thank you OMD!
  • Brady from Windsor, On"Jackie Blue" is my boy Jamie Logsdon's eldest
    brother Brooke(yes,eldest BROTHER brooke;don't laugh,dude's a good ol' boy and,though 5-9,150 lb.-
    two-thirds my weigh exactly,he's a biker dude!!!!)
    Logsdon's favourite song.In fact,Brooke's a really
    talented guitarist and I'm always telling Jamie that,just like the Boston fan who replaced front-
    man Brad Delp after Delp committed suicide in '07,
    Brooke should be The Ozark Mountain Daredevils'
    new guitarist.
    But could someone give my an idea of the boys'
    present where-abouts?
  • Joel from Mercer, NjThis is also featured on an episode of "That 70's Show". At the end it shows Kelso alone in the basement and this song is playing. He had just been dumped by Jackie (Mila Kunis).
  • Judy from Springfield, MoOMG.Jackie was a young man with a life-long illness.His mother was a cook for Ozark Mountain Daredevils.There wasn't any hard drug use in his life.Just ended too soon.Jackie died in 1977. I was his friend.There's some cool stories here though.
  • Michelle from Seattle, AkTim from Fort Worth, you must have met my cousin Rhonda, who actually DID, for whatever reason go by the name Jackie, and DID, yes, I know this for a fact, go out with Larry from the OMD. She is certifiable but did not lie on this one. And before the drugs got her she was beautiful. I am a normally sane person that does not post stuff on this kinda' deal, but you know, family....
  • Erin from Clarksville, PaI just recently heard a comment by a DJ on a radio station that said that "OMD was sometimes though to be a country version of Steely Dan." I am a huge Steely Dan fan, and only know (and really like) a few OMZ songs from the radio (which really don't sound to be country, or Steely Dan-ish). Is there really some sort of connection? Any information or comments?
  • Michael from San Diego, CaMartin,
    Steve Cash is credited with harmonica, percussion & vocals on this classic song o that may be who you are inquiring about....
  • Dan from Winthrop, MaI remember this from the seventies and thought the vocalist was a woman
  • Wayne from Salem, VaI was 15 in 1975. I remember hearing Jackie Blue on the radio for the first time. It just hooked me, the intro and the lead guitar throughout the entire song. I love the solo. It takes me back every time I hear it.

    From having heard "If You Wanna Get To Heaven" first. And then "If I Only Knew". Hearing "Jackie Blue" always made me think that Ozark Mountain was just proving that they could do contemporary rock,if they so chose to. A great song. I love it. I lived in Missouri for 4 years when I was a kid. Went to "Lake Of The Ozarks' many times. Guess that's as close as I ever got.
  • Martin from San Diego, Cawho was the guy who sang and drummed on jackie blue, one of the best songs ever.

    Im 28, and am sad i nearly missed out on such wonderful 70's music.

    Thank god for the internet
  • Michael from Cincinnati, OhIn reply to the comment about Ray Conniff: He was an orchestra/band leader mainly popular in the 50s and 60s. He and his orchestra covered dozens of popular tunes, as well as performing some original music. Check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Conniff for more info.
  • Kevin from Reading , PaDon't feel bad Farrah, I thought it was a woman, too!
  • Dale White from Sallisaw, OkLarry Lee wrote the great song on "It Will Shine When It Shines" by the Ozark Mountain Daredevils in 1974 my favorite, man are these guys versatile!
  • Charles from Charlotte, NcLarry Lee also sang lead on the very underrated 1976 OMD single You Know Like I Know. I think I heard it only one time on the radio that year, but the memory of it stayed with me until I found it on the Net recently. I highly recommend YKLIK if you enjoyed Jackie Blue!
  • Barry from Greenville, NcLOVE the slide guitar in this song! Really sets the song's and Jackie Blue's mood.
  • Scott from Valencia, CaI think this song is about Witchie Poo from HR Puff and Stuff. Can't you here it? oo oo oo Witchie Poo, What's a game girl if you never lose....just kidding. This is the first song I can remember as a kid when I first got into music at age 10. It's vibe has stuck with me eve since and most of the music I like today is somehow a kin to this song.
  • Farrah from Elon, NcI know this will sound silly but I heard the song many times and actually thought a woman was singing lead on this. I certainly know better now.
  • Joey from Boston, Ma"Oh....the drummer sang it. That probably explains why the drum parts are so sparse. They are effective though...I thought it was just some producer tell them what to do.
    - Chris, Morristown, TX"

    Even with the lower level of audio engineering at the time, Larry Lee could've done both the drum track and the lead vocal tracks himself. Whether or not he did so I do not know, it'd be cool if someone could provide a source on that.
  • Michelle from Wilmington, DeLove this song....but can someone tell me if OMD did the original? I just heard a version done by Ray Conniff who the heck is that?
  • Basil from Skylark Sound City, MtThis song's about JFK. The Zapruder tape revealed that his head actually blew off. So, it's kind of a past tense look at a very depressing situation, which is why his voice is so high.
  • Al from Portland, OrWith album "Time Warp" Larry Lee tells of writing Jackie Blue, about a guy he knew who used to deal drugs. Producer Glyn Johns heard part the song-liked it very much. Told Lee and Cash to re-write it. Make the song about a girl. They just made up a story about some girl and wrote it into the song.
  • Chris from Morristown, TxOh....the drummer sang it. That probably explains why the drum parts are so sparse. They are effective though...I thought it was just some producer tell them what to do.
  • Craig from Ozark, MoI grew up with these guys. some of the guys live by me, like in nixa. i am priveleged to have known/know these great people
  • Jeff from San Jose, CaTo PHIL in San Jose: I think that Tommy Aldridge was the drummer for Black Oak Arkansas at that time, although it is easy to confuse the names of the two bands. Great song, though.
  • Marie from Fort Wayne, InI was surprised to read that there was an edit to this song. My conservative hometown of Fort Wayne, IN always played all the verses, if I remember correctly. I certainly hear the unedited version all the time now. This is their best song. I think this girl is either depressed, or simply easily bored. Great song, whatever its meaning.
  • Joey from Boston, MaThis 70's pop song was very different from most of their music, which was folk-rock with a strong country twang. Drummer Larry Lee sang the lead vocals, and co-wrote the song with Steve Cash.
  • Jeff from Austin, Txone of the greatest tunes in history
  • Brandon from Morristown, TnI love this song,an this band-If you want to get to heaven is a hell of alot better though.
  • Lori from Springfield, MoI think everyone is way off with these comments. Being from Springfield and knowing the band don't remember any Jackie except one and I know Larry wasn't writing about her. Think it was someone in L.A.
  • Phil from San Jose, Cafrom my understanding the drummer was Tommy Aldridge, awesome drummer that has played with, it seems like every major hard rock band at some point!
  • Tim from Fort Worth, TxI moved to Springfield, Missouri in 1974 and our first residence was in a triplex. Next door lived a girl of around 20 years by the name of Jackie. Inside her apartment was a drum set, keyboards, and guitars along with the amps and miscellany associated with bands. She claimed that her boyfriend was the drummer with the Ozark Mountain Daredevils and that the song Jackie Blue was written for her.

    I have my doubts, but to this day I don't know for sure if she was telling the truth or not. Whatever the case, I have always liked the band and think they didn't receive enough airplay.
  • Bruce from West Columbia, ScFrom the above comments--especially the first one--the poor soul sounds like she has a hard case of Manic-Depression. Bless her heart. She and Jimi must have had a lot in common....
see more comments

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