Daughter of Calamity

What was Calamity Jane's real name? Was she a horse thief and a preacher's daughter? Did she actually serve under General George Custer? The truth and myth are difficult to separate in the wild life of Calamity Jane. An independent spirit, she never stayed in one place for long.

ACE O'DIAMONDS IS (NEARLY) HERE! Shipping mid-January… at last, the first ever release for Melanie’s early 1980s musical Ace o’Diamonds. Telling the story of Janey, daughter of wild west legends Calamity Jane and Wild Bill Hickok, Ace o’Diamonds was sadly destined never to enter full production. And while a handful of the 30+ songs that Melanie wrote for the show would see release over the years, the majority exist only as rough demos, out-takes, cast demo recordings and live performances recorded at one of the play’s read throughs. And some were never recorded in any form. Pieced togeher over the course of a year spent delving into some very deep vaults, Ace o’Diamonds features, across 2 CDs, every song Melanie wrote for the play. Drawing upon every available source, disc one is based upon a 1981 copy of the script, and includes not only the songs, but also key pieces of dialogue, performed by Melanie in 1981, and Beau Jarred and Leilah earlier this year. Disc two then rounds up the best of the alternate versions, plus a number of songs that drifted in and out of the play as Melanie and writer Ed Kelleher saw fit.

ACE O'DIAMONDS IS (NEARLY) HERE! Shipping mid-January… at last, the first ever release for Melanie’s early 1980s musical Ace o’Diamonds. Telling the story of Janey, daughter of wild west legends Calamity Jane and Wild Bill Hickok, Ace o’Diamonds was sadly destined never to enter full production. And while a handful of the 30+ songs that Melanie wrote for the show would see release over the years, the majority exist only as rough demos, out-takes, cast demo recordings and live performances recorded at one of the play’s read throughs. And some were never recorded in any form. Pieced togeher over the course of a year spent delving into some very deep vaults, Ace o’Diamonds features, across 2 CDs, every song Melanie wrote for the play. Drawing upon every available source, disc one is based upon a 1981 copy of the script, and includes not only the songs, but also key pieces of dialogue, performed by Melanie in 1981, and Beau Jarred and Leilah earlier this year. Disc two then rounds up the best of the alternate versions, plus a number of songs that drifted in and out of the play as Melanie and writer Ed Kelleher saw fit.

In a letter to her daughter back East, Martha Jane is not shy about her own importance: "Martha Jane – better known as Calamity – is just one of the handful of aging legends who travel to London as part of Buffalo Bill Cody's Wild West Show in Buffalo Girls." As he describes the insatiable curiosity of Calamity's Indian friend No Ears, Annie Oakley's shooting match with Lord Windhouveren, and other highlights of the tour, McMurtry turns the story of a band of hardy, irrepressible survivors into an unforgettable portrait of love, fellowship, dreams, and heartbreak.