Music Friday: 'The Joy's in the Ride' Reads the Inscription of Amanda Marshall's Locket in Her 1995 Hit, 'Dark Horse'

Welcome to Music Friday when we bring you hit songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the title or lyrics. Today, Canadian songstress Amanda Marshall throws caution to the wind while wearing a very special locket in her 1995 chart-topper, "Dark Horse."

In the song she co-wrote with Dean McTaggart and David Tyson, Marshall tells the story of a 19-year-old girl who enters into a whirlwind romance with the new guy in town. She's criticized for being a crazy, romantic fool, but Marshall's heart tells her that this could be "the lucky one." Despite the long odds, she's willing to put her money on this "dark horse."

She sings, "I wear your locket, our picture's inside / Inscription says 'the joy's in the ride' / And I believe / That something so sacred / Is something worth this kind of fight / Cause love knows no patience / You can't please everyone all the time."

"Dark Horse" appeared as the fourth track from Marshall's wildly successful self-titled debut album, which sold more than one million copies in Canada alone. The single peaked at #5 on Canada's RPM Top Singles chart and #1 on RPM's Adult Contemporary chart.

Interestingly, while appearing on The Rosie O'Donnell Show in 1995, Elton John commented that he was listening to Marshall's just-released album and that "Dark Horse" would be a "guaranteed hit."

Born in Toronto in 1972, Amanda Meta Marshall studied music extensively during her childhood and her talents yielded her a spot at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto. While performing on the Queen Street West bar scene in her teens, she met Canadian jazz and blues-rock guitarist Jeff Healey, who was impressed by her powerful voice. She eventually toured with Healey and then released her debut album a few years later. It was a monumental work that spawned six Top 40 hits.

A year later, in 1996, her song "This Could Take All Night" was included in the original soundtrack of the motion picture Tin Cup, and, in 1997, Marshall's "I'll Be Okay" was featured on the original soundtrack of My Best Friend's Wedding.

Although Marshall has an active Facebook fan page, the artist has not performed since 2010. Her followers regularly encourage Marshall to return to the music scene.

Please check out the official video for Marshall's "Dark Horse." The lyrics are below if you'd like to sing along.

"Dark Horse"
Written by Dean McTaggart, David Tyson and Amanda Marshall. Performed by Amanda Marshall.

Indian summer
Abilene
You were new in town, I was nineteen
And sparks flew
They called us crazy behind our backs
"Romantic fools" we just let them laugh
Because we knew
It may be a long shot
We may get lonely down the line
But love knows no reason
And I won't let 'em make up my mind

My money's riding on this dark horse, baby
My heart is saying it's the lucky one
And it's true color's gonna shine through someday
If we let this, let this dark horse run

The stars are brighter in the desert sky
No need to wonder or justify
Where this will lead
I wear your locket, our picture's inside
Inscription says 'the joy's in the ride'
And I believe
That something so sacred
Is something worth this kind of fight
Cause love knows no patience
You can't please everyone all the time

My money's riding on this dark horse, baby
My heart is saying it's the lucky one
And it's true color's gonna shine through someday
If we let this, let this dark horse run

So rare
So sweet
Together baby, I know
We can
Disappear
Be free

My money's riding on this dark horse, baby
My heart is saying it's the lucky one
And it's true color's gonna shine through someday
If we let this, let this dark horse run

My money's riding on this dark horse, baby
My heart is saying it's the lucky one
And it's true color's gonna shine through someday
If we let this, let this dark horse run

Indian summer
Abilene
You were new in town, I was nineteen

Credit: Screen capture via YouTube.com.

Fender's Senior Master Builder Yuriy Shishkov Unveils Custom Guitar Inlaid With 1,000 Diamonds

A custom Fender Stratocaster guitar inlaid with 1,000 diamonds was one of the biggest draws at last weekend's National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) trade show in Anaheim, Calif.

Conceived by senior master builder Yuriy Shishkov, the Art Deco-inspired design celebrates the 30th anniversary of the Fender Custom Shop.

The guitar includes 423 diamonds on the front, 462 on the back and 115 at the top. It has a glistening sterling silver body that complements the red enamel guilloche inlay of the dramatic fretboard.

As a special touch, Shishkov added rubies to the side dots. Shishkov did not, however, cite the total weight of the gemstones used in the design nor the guitar's estimated value.

Shishkov explained that the 30th anniversary guitar was inspired by the Art Deco lines of the 1936 Kodak Bantam Special camera, which was the vision of famous industrial designer Walter Dorwin Teague. Kodak distributed the Bantam Special from 1936 to 1948, and the camera has since earned a reputation for being one of the most beautifully designed cameras ever made.

Fender's senior master builder is calling his one-of-a-kind, diamond-embellished guitar the Fender Studioliner Stratocaster.

"I wanted to connect the two objects together — the guitar and photo camera," said Shishkov. "For that reason it's actually called Studioliner [to represent the] photo studio and recording studio."

The guitar, which is gorgeous from every angle, is a reflection of the craftsmanship, artistry and attention to detail that has earned Fender's Custom Shop worldwide acclaim.

A native of the former Soviet Union, Shishkov is considered one of the last of the renaissance guitar builders. He handcrafts many of his own woodworking tools and is known for custom inlay work. Shishkov arrived in the U.S. in 1990 and settled in the Chicago area, where he collaborated with the likes of guitarists Jimmy Page and Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin, Robin Zander of Cheap Trick and Paul Stanley of Kiss. Shishkov joined the Fender Custom Shop’s Master Builder team in 2000.

The 2017 Winter NAMM show, which its organizers describe as "the world’s largest trade-only event for the music products industry," is a magnet for famous musicians, who often attend the show to promote their own signature models and equipment.

Credits: Screen captures via fender.com.

Backstage Worker at CMA Awards Pockets Beyoncé's 13.73-Carat Diamond Thinking It's a Worthless Prop

A backstage worker at the 50th Annual CMA Awards in Nashville in November found a pretty pear-shaped stone sitting on top of a band cart and dropped it in his pocket, reasoning that it was merely a worthless prop.

The "prop" turned out to be a 13.73-carat colored diamond that had come loose from a ring worn by Beyoncé after her show-stopping performance with the Dixie Chicks. The gem had been borrowed from designer Lorraine Schwartz and was said to be worth "hundreds of thousands of dollars."

Even though the show's organizers alerted many members of the stage crew about the missing diamond and spearheaded a frantic search, Jesus Lopez was not aware of the loss and went about his normal routine of unloading band carts at the Bridgestone Arena — with the gem safely tucked in his pants pocket. After the show, he gifted the stone to his wife.

"I've been doing CMA for the last 12 years, and I have seen a lot of different jewelry, fake jewelry, rhinestones," Lopez told Nashville's News Channel 5. "I gave it to my wife thinking, of course, it was a rhinestone."

On the day after the show, Lopez's son, who also was a member of the stage crew and had heard rumblings about the lost gemstone, told his dad, "Do you know what you found? You found Beyoncé's diamond."

Lopez knew that the right thing to do was to return the gem to its rightful owner, but he hoped that his granddaughter might benefit from his honesty.

"When I heard it was Beyoncé, I said, 'Well, maybe my granddaughter can meet Beyoncé and give it to her herself,'" Lopez told Nashville's News Channel 5.

Lopez soon learned that the diamond had been on loan from Schwartz and that the diamond had to be returned to the designer. A meeting with the singer was not in the cards. Schwartz's representative picked up the diamond from Lopez and presented him with an undisclosed reward.

Lopez told a reporter that he still held out hope that his granddaughter could meet Beyoncé one day, but even if she doesn't he's pleased that the valuable diamond was able to find it's way back to its rightful owner instead of being lost or thrown away.

Credits: Screen captures via YouTube.com; Newschannel5.com.