Long before Patty was nominated for a Latin Grammy for “Song Of The Year” in 2016 for her lyric contributions to the Bossa Nova song “A Chama Verde,” which she shared with Ned Claflin, and John, Patty was singing folk, vintage country, and blues songs. John and Patty go way back. They met at the Casablanca Bar in Cambridge , MA in 1977. Patty was already a natural singer and John became her piano player. About her voice and musicianship, John says:” Patty just closes her eyes and sings out with freedom and she makes an immediate connection with the listener. I, on the other hand, have to practice.” Together, they would make music together in bands and weekly living room jams through the decades, and their partnership would bring out some of John’s most personal songs.
Patty and the “Early Days” recordings
In 1980, John recorded an album’s worth of original Pop, R & B and Blues songs at Downtown Recording studio in Boston and Patty sang on three ballads: the slow stride blues “Too Far To Go”, the torch song “Without You,” and “I Don’t Cry Anymore” a country ballad, all with lyrics by their friend Karen Petersen.
The Pumps – Country sessions
In 1981, Patty and John regularly performed with their friend John Shaw and his band The Pumps. They recorded three country standards at a small 8-track studio in Watertown, Massachusetts: “Easy From Now On” and “Two More Bottles of Wine” (both by Emmylou Harris) and “Route 66.” Patty sang with her signature heartfelt delivery, and John played the honky-tonk piano. Though the master tapes were lost, the recordings now preserved on the “Early Days” page of the website https://www.greenflashmusic.com/about-john-finbury/#early-days were salvaged from a cassette and the Patty magic in these lo-fi performances is ever-present.
In 1982, Patty and John wrote “One False Move and I’ll Blow This Love Apart.” Originally conceived as a Country Song, it was re-styled as an R & B recording with Pat Thomason singing in another lo-fi 8-track recording. It may quietly be John & Patty’s most successful song to date as it was picked up by Fervor Records and placed in the background in an episode of the Amazon Series “Red Oaks” and HBO’s “The Righteous Gemstones.” John and Patty are thinking of returning this song to its roots and arranging and recording the song as a bluegrass tune.
Between 2008-2019, Patty and John performed with their jazz band, “Day For Night,” with a special affection for Billie Holiday songs.
In addition to her lyric contributions to “A Chama Verde,” Patty’s lyric credits on John’s recordings include “A Feathered Thing” on Pitanga sung by Marcella Comargo, “All The Way To The End” on Quatro sung by Magos Herrera, and “Look At What a Mess You Made Of Me,” performed by Camille Bertault and Christian McBride.
Today, Patty sings and plays guitar in the bluegrass band “Five Year Plan.” She writes original songs for the group, and John plans to produce their debut album next year.