Jack Blanchard & Misty Morgan

The husband-and-wife country act of songwriter, saxophonist, and keyboardist Jack Blanchard together with his spouse, keyboardist Misty Morgan, secured 15 singles on the country charts from 1969 to 1975. Three years apart in age, the pair entered the world at the same Buffalo, New York hospital before each family relocated to Ohio during their early years. Only after both landed gigs on the Florida club circuit did they meet and form a romantic attachment. Misty worked the piano while Jack pieced together income as a musician and comedian. Following their 1967 wedding, the two immediately began composing and appearing onstage as a unit. Their first chart entry arrived in 1969 with “Big Black Bird,” which climbed into the Top 60. The breakthrough arrived the next year when “Tennessee Bird Walk” topped the country listings, registered strongly on the pop side, and received a Grammy nomination. Further lighthearted country singles such as “Humphrey the Camel,” “Fire Hydrant 79,” and “The Legendary Chicken Fairy” followed, along with the Top 30 entry “You’ve Got Your Troubles (I’ve Got Mine).” The duo signed with Mega in 1971 and notched additional successes including “There Must Be More to Life (Than Growing Old)” and “The Legendary Chicken Fairy.” A 1973 move to Epic produced their final major hit, “Just One More Song,” before subsequent label affiliations. Activity waned through the 1980s and 1990s, yet the new millennium brought a return as they launched their own imprint and issued the albums Jack and Misty Are Crazy!, Back From the Dead, and Masters of the Keyboards.