3/5/26: “The Me I Was Meant to Be,” by Gordon Wright

Gordon Wright is a Chicago-area musician who will be sharing music on the 5th day of the month all year long. Long ago, he fronted an East Coast pop/rock band called Fooled By April. These days you can find him singing jazz in the Chicago Jazz Dads.

My song for today is called, “The Me I Was Meant to Be.” OK, why was I singing about cattle with a thick Texas accent? Well, that’s actually a song I co-wrote for a musical called “Mr. Texas,” that I’m writing with my dad, author Lawrence Wright, and our friend, blues legend Marcia Ball.

This musical has had a long and meandering path, from potential TV show to a few stage productions as a play, to a novel my dad published a few years ago. And now we’re actually producing it as a narrative podcast.

It’s about a West Texas rancher who gets swept up into running for state legislature and manages to win. But he’s not ready for what’s in store when he gets to Austin. This song comes early in the musical, and in a way you could think of it as the “I want” song…for those of you musical buffs out there.

I’m sure I’ll sprinkle some more Mr. Texas songs into this podcast over the year, and if you want to hear some of the tunes, you can head over to https://www.lawrencewright.com/mrtexasmusical