I remember my Grandpa, his hat in his hand,
The Star Spangled Banner being played by the band,
The roar of the crowd as the pitcher took aim,
When baseball was just a game.
I Love Baseball is a collection of fifteen brand new songs about the grand old game, written by Joe Manning and Steve Vozzolo, plus an exciting new arrangement of “Take Me Out To The Ball Game,” with the original verses written in 1908.
The tunes, composed in a timeless Americana style – ragtime, folk, rhythm & blues, rock, even Dixieland – evoke the spirit and emotions of the game. The lyrics, full of humor and a sincere love for the game, and Steve’s heartfelt vocals, express both the joy of the little boy watching his first game, and the nostalgia of the veteran fan who longs for the days when baseball was just a game.
Selections from I Love Baseball have been featured on ESPN and National Public Radio, and are played frequently in baseball parks all over the country. All of the original songs have been accepted as part of the permanent collection of baseball music at the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. As a result, Joe and Steve were awarded lifetime passes to the museum.
To hear MP3 samples, click song titles below:
I Love Baseball
When Baseball Was Just A Game
My Mother Threw Mine Away
Black Diamond Days
Triple-A Blues
Big Game Tonight
Before The Giants Moved To Frisco
Cooperstown
Take Me Out To The Ball Game
Quotes From Reviews
“I Love Baseball pleases on the first visit and delights on repeated visits. If you yearn for baseball’s past and lament what we have lost, the album does not disappoint. Vozzolo and Manning know how to get to the heart of baseball’s nostalgia and dreams. And to yours.” –NINE: A Journal of Baseball History and Social Policy Perspectives
“I have collected quite a few CDs and cassettes with songs about the national pastime. While there are some wonderful compilations (with songs from a variety of artists) out there, without a doubt the best collection of baseball songs from a single artist is I Love Baseball, by Steve Vozzolo and the Rookies. The topics of the compositions (e.g., peanuts, the Hall of Fame, baseball cards) are wonderful, and Steve’s vocals are perfectly matched to the material penned by Steve and Joe Manning.” -Joe Mock, webmaster of BASEBALLPARKS.COM and author of Joe Mock’s Ballpark Guide
“I Love Baseball is a wonderful, original album of baseball songs. The album really does go around the horn: from scouting (“They Say There’s a Kid in Texas”), to nostalgia (“When Baseball Was Just a Game”), to the heartbreak of discovering missing parts of our childhood (“My Mother Threw Mine Away” — cards, of course). And it roams the entire country of baseball, from Little League and high school games (“Big Game Tonight” has a great image of Grandpa re-enacting an at bat), to the minors (“Triple-A Blues”). I especially liked “Sometimes It Rains.” I also enjoyed the sultry tribute to “The Peanut”: ‘it’s time the peanut took its rightful place in baseball history.’ Some songs rock (like the lead-off “I Love Baseball”); others are soft and thoughtful (“Cooperstown” – ‘a place in our dreams where the stars look down.’) “Black Diamond Days,” which is about the Negro Leagues, is as cool as Papa Bell and jazzy as Satchel. “Baseball’s Sad Lexicon” is the old Franklin P. Adams poem (‘Tinker to Evers to Chance’) turned into a ballad. Finally, there is “Take Me Out to the Ballgame.” You hear the whole song, not just the refrain that everybody knows. This is a fine rendition, and might someday make Katy Casey as famous as the Casey who robbed Mudville of its joy. She is the ultimate fan and has a fan’s priorities, and I think she’d love this album. Highly recommended.” -Gene Carney at Baseball1.com
The Making Of I Love Baseball
Order CDs of I LOVE BASEBALL with credit card, via PayPal. Please fill out the form below and click Submit.