Hippie Hair (for the First Time)

When everything shuts down, sometimes you just need to let it grow.

The new single by Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers
Available everywhere February 18, 2022

About “Hippie Hair”—background for press/media/radio (downloads below)

The new single from John Lennon Songwriting Contest winner Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers tells a different kind of pandemic story—about how the shutdown inspired him to grow locks that recall his original music heroes.

“Hippie Hair (for the First Time)” describes being a child of the 1960s who was, as the song says, “far too young for dropping out” yet remains deeply connected to the music of that era.

As founding editor of Acoustic Guitar magazine, Rodgers interviewed such legends as Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir, Joni Mitchell, James Taylor, and many more, and he created a best-selling video series teaching Grateful Dead songs for acoustic guitar. And as “Hippie Hair” recounts, Rodgers even had the opportunity to play Garcia’s iconic Wolf guitar, onstage and off.

Musically and lyrically, the infectious folk-rock track tips its hat to songs from Rodgers’ teenage years, by the Dead; the Band; Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young; the Doobie Brothers; Peter Frampton; and more (the specific references can be heard in a companion playlist). 

Growing “Hippie Hair”

The song actually started as a joke. In his long-running songwriting class at Syracuse University, Rodgers asked students to make up catchphrases for themselves. 

“One I came up with for myself was ‘Hippie hair, for the first time!’ Which cracked me up,” he recalls. “The next day, while out walking, that phrase suddenly appeared in my head attached to a high, triumphant-sounding melody—which cracked me up again. And a song was born. Amusing yourself is actually a great impetus for songwriting.”

“Hippie Hair” was recorded remotely by Rodgers’ band, Sammy Award winner for Best Americana in their home base of Syracuse, New York. Rodgers plays acoustic guitar and a solo that aims, he says, to answer the question, “What would Jerry do?” Featured on the track are Josh Dekaney on percussion kit, Jason Fridley on bass, Wendy Ramsay on accordion, and layers of ’70s-style “ooh” background vocals. 

The song’s video documents the actual growth of Rodgers’ hair, thanks to YouTube guitar lessons he has created every month since March 2020.  

“A lot of songs have come along to document the struggles of the pandemic,” Rodgers says. “In the midst of so much loss, ‘Hippie Hair’ takes a moment to celebrate something gained during this strange time. We take what we can get.”

Press/radio downloads

Cover art / JPR photo

Contact: jpr@jeffreypepperrodgers.com

Lyrics

Hippie Hair (for the First Time)

Just like that it all shuts down
We vanish into screens
The bars go dark, the streets are clear
The days pass like a dream
While out there on the front lines 
The news is only grim
And the least of all concerns is that
My hair could use a trim

But looking in the mirror I see a rising dome
A shaggy dude with waves and curls 
Like I have never known
A few more months, salons are back
But I make up my mind 
Though my mother wonders why
Think I’ll let my freak flag fly and grow...   

Hippie hair for the first time
Hippie hair alright
When I sing hippie songs 
For the first time I kinda look the part
I am letting it grow for my art

I was just a toddler at the dawning of the Dead 
Far too young for dropping out
I’ve got no ’60s cred 
Still I did meet Jerry and I played his Wolf guitar
Never like to join a crowd
But I’m feeling strangely proud I’ve got...

Hippie hair for the first time
Hippie hair alright
When I sing hippie songs 
For the first time I kinda look the part
I am letting it grow for my art

In my mind I’m reeling through my teens again 
From Daltrey to the Doobies
All the rockers had a mane
Is it much too late to strive to be Frampton Comes Alive with my…

Hippie hair for the first time
Hippie hair alright
When I sing hippie songs 
For the first time I kinda look the part
I am letting it grow for my art

Words and music by Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers, © 2022 (Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers Music/ASCAP)

Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers vocals, acoustic guitar
Wendy Ramsay backing vocals, accordion
Josh Dekaney percussion kit
Jason Fridley backing vocals, bass

Recorded by JPR and Josh Dekaney (drums)
Mixed and mastered by Jeremy Johnston

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