Country musician Joan Spalding, who recently celebrated 50 years as a singer, songwriter and entertainer, has written a book.
In the independently published, 144-page autobiography co-written with Lisa Lachapelle, Spalding said she talks about growing up in Mooretown in a musical family, winning a singing contest that earned her an opportunity to record in Nashville, and making connections with Howard Walker and Gary Buck, the producers of her records.
“It’s just all about my music,” said Spalding. “What all I play and how I got involved.”
The writing process took about a year and included narrating her story to Lachapelle, who also filled in details about some of the people Spalding has worked with, Spalding said.
The duo first connect when Spalding was performing virtual concerts from her Plympton-Wyoming home during the peak of COVID-19 gathering restrictions.
“When I was doing my shows with Facebook, I was doing them every day — I did 736 days in a row,” Spalding said. “When I did that, (Lachapelle) was listening to it on Facebook and she asked if she could do an interview with me.”
Spalding is selling and signing books Sunday from 2 pm to 4 pm at the Lawrence House.
She said she also plans to play some acoustic songs at the event alongside blues musician Missy Burgess. Recently, she’s been performing about 12 shows per month at retirement homes, legion halls and the Lawrence House.
As for why she wanted to write a book, the grandmother of two said it was to tell the story of her career.
“I was always shy about it,” she said. “Not shy about it. Just never one to brag I guess.”
The book, Life’s Highway, borrows its name from her cassette, and the single of the same name, released in 1978.
The song made the top 10 in Europe, she said.
She later released another five albums between 2000 and 2013.
There are also already plans for another book, she said, “because you only have so many … pages.”