Cliff Jinks "Ode to Ronnie" (1986)

Great Uncle Cliff Jinks (1914 - 1993) playing guitar and singing a song that was originally a poem that his friend Herbie Tipton wrote (Cliff added music and turned it into a song) . This was filmed by my Grandfather Don Paxton on October 2, 1986, out at Cliff and Helen's Kindle Road farm near Jacksontown, Ohio.

The song, "Ode to Ronnie", makes fun of Ronald Reagan, and it criticizes him for cutting social programs and not caring about the poor. Towards the end of the song, the lyrics joke about Ronnie wanting to load up a bunch of bombs filled with jelly beans and drop them on poor people. I categorize this as an authentic protest song from the 1980s.

Cliff worked on the B&O railroad as a brakeman, and he helped get my grandfather hired on the railroad as a brakeman in 1950. Both Cliff and my grandfather later became conductors on that railroad line, which operated out of Newark Station in Newark, Ohio. Cliff also owned the farm where the Buckeye Lake Concerts were held. When it first started, Cliff called it the Legend Valley Park. It was originally a country music venue, and he met many professional musicians like Willie Nelson. Later, he allowed rock concerts, and groups like the Grateful Dead performed there. The music park was successful in its day, and many people in Ohio during the 1970s can remember seeing a number of different performances. Cliff loved music, and he wrote some songs about the railroad too, such as "The B&O Vets", and his friend Herbie Tipton wrote some poems which Cliff made into songs. Cliff lived a good life surrounded by the family he loved and the music he loved, and though he is gone he is not forgotten.

For more information about Cliff and his music, check out the following link: http://www.angelfire.com/oh5/southeastohio/cliffjinks3.html

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Cliff
• Jinks
• Don
• Paxton
• music
• guitar
• sing
• country
• song
• Ohio
• Railroad
• Men
• 1986