Three Chord Story
Written By Neil Giraldo
One night as I was sipping bourbon in my studio with friends, the conversation naturally turned to music, sound and composition. We began to wonder how blending the “tones” of various whiskeys together could create a unique “harmony” of flavor.
We knew bourbon’s role in Americana music and the American dream. We knew we loved it. We knew that the blues and the “three chord” progression were a blank score that we could compose our own masterpiece with. Truth, heart, and integrity.
Neil Giraldo
Our Inspiration
Music. It's something that breaks down barriers, it's universal, it is our most ancient language, it is what brings us together.
Music is in the DNA of Three Chord Bourbon. It was created to celebrate music, the people who make it, and all of us who love it. It honors those who make music. The journeymen and women who create and play for the love of it.
Our founder, Neil Giraldo, is a musician raised by those who loved to play and perform. He is a prolific performer and producer, recently inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but at his core he is someone who respects and honors those who perform for the love of Music.
Three Chord Bourbon was designed to be a flavorful, easy drinking and mixing spirit, perfect for enjoying with friends. It’s made to remind those who drink it of the power of music to bring us together, and to appreciate the simple pleasure of a “great tune”. Those moments are worth treasuring. Three Chord Bourbon. Respect the Moment.
Neil Giraldo
Neil Giraldo, Founder, Creative Director & Chairman Of The Board
Neil is a professional musician, producer, and film composer with over four decades of experience. A songwriter with a back catalog of more than 100 songs and more than 45 million records sold, he has worked with some of the greatest artists in the music industry, including Rick Derringer, Pat Benatar, John Waite, Kenny Loggins, Steve Forbert, The Del Lords, and Beth Hart. His work has produced many Grammy-nominated and Grammy-winning hits, and he holds the distinction of being the first guitar player appearing on MTV. Today, he continues to expand his creative portfolio: in addition to writing new songs for stage and screen, he is writing screenplays for feature films, touring, and reaching out into the community to work with musicians young and old.
Read more about Neil Giraldo here.
Neil Giraldo Discography
– 1979 Rick Derringer Guitars and Women (Piano, Guitar)
– 1979 Pat Benatar In the Heat of the Night (Songwriter, Guitar, Keyboards, Vocals)
– 1980 Pat Benatar Crimes of Passion (Songwriter, Guitar, Keyboards, Vocals) *Grammy Winner
– 1981 Rick Springfield Working Class Dog, “Jessie’s Girl,” “I’ve Done Everything for You” (Producer, Guitars) *Grammy Winner
– 1981 Pat Benatar Precious Time (Producer, Songwriter, Guitar, Keyboards, Vocals) *Grammy Winner
– 1982 John Waite Ignition (Producer, Guitar, Keyboards)
– 1982 Pat Benatar Get Nervous (Producer, Songwriter, Guitar, Keyboards, Harmonica) *Grammy Winner
– 1982 Kenny Loggins Don’t Fight It (Arranger, Guitar) *Grammy Nominated
– 1983 Pat Benatar Live From Earth (Producer, Songwriter, Guitar, Keyboards) *Grammy Winner
– 1983 Steve Forbert Down in Flames (Producer)
– 1984 Pat Benatar Tropico (Producer, Songwriter, Guitar, Keyboards) *Grammy Nominated
– 1985 Pat Benatar Seven The Hard Way (Producer, Songwriter, Guitar, Keyboards) *Grammy Nominated
– 1985 Vision Quest Movie Soundtrack (Producer)
– 1986 The Del Lords When Johnny Comes Marching Home (Producer)
– 1988 Pat Benatar Wide Awake in Dreamland (Producer, Songwriter, Guitar, Keyboards) *Grammy Nominated
– 1988 The Del Lords Based on a True Story (Producer)
– 1991 Pat Benatar True Love (Producer, Songwriter, Guitar)
– 1993 Pat Benatar Gravity’s Rainbow (Producer, Songwriter, Guitar, Keyboards)
– 1997 The Coors Intimacy (Songwriter)
– 1997 Pat Benatar Inamorata (Producer, Songwriter, Guitar, Keyboards, Vocals)
– 1999 Pat Benatar Synchronistic Wanderings (Compilation, Producer)
– 2001 NAILED Original film score for the movie, starring Harvey Keitel (Film Composer)
– 2001 Beth Hart “California Dreamin” (Producer)
– 2001 Pat Benatar Summer Vacation Tour Live (Artist, Producer, Guitar, Songwriter, Vocals)
– 2002 Pat Benatar Live at Electric Ladyland (Producer, Guitar)
– 2003 Pat Benatar GO (Producer, Songwriter, Guitar, Keyboards, Vocal)
– 2004 SMILE Original film score for the movie, starring Linda Hamilton (Film Composer)
– 2015 Ray Lewis “Baltimore” (Artist, Producer, Songwriter, Guitar, Drums, Keyboards)
– 2015 Pat Benatar “One December Night” (Artist, Producer, Songwriter, Guitar, Keyboards)
– 2017 Pat Benatar “Shine” (Producer, Guitar, Keyboards, Drums)
– 2018 Pat Benatar “Dancin’ thru the Wreckage” Original Documentary Film (Songwriter)
Neil Giraldo, Expanded Bio
Neil Giraldo was born in 1955 in Cleveland, Ohio. Immersed in the culture of his beloved Sicilian ancestry, his parents Anthony and Angela Giraldo instilled the love of music at a young age, giving Neil his first guitar at the age of six, with the hopes that he and his sister, Priscilla, who played the accordion, could entertain family and friends with songs from the old country after church on Sundays. As Neil got older, his mentor, Uncle Tim, introduced him to revolutionary bands like The Yardbirds, The Kinks, The Rolling Stones, and all the other great guitar-driven rock ‘n’ roll bands of the 1960s. Finding new and innovative ways to shadow path his way into songs, Neil developed a discipline early on of not just playing along to his favorite artists but creating different parts for himself within those tracks. At the same time, the budding guitar artist also became proficient on piano by continuously practicing along to Chuck Berry (Johnnie Johnson), Fats Domino and Jerry Lee Lewis records. His interest in percussion instruments soon followed, practicing the drums to Simon & Garfunkel albums he explored how different rhythms could alter the complexion of songs. These practices and disciplines created the foundation for his future success as an innovative record producer and musician.
Giraldo began his professional career in 1978 as a key member of the Rick Derringer band after competing against 200 other guitarists for the position. It wasn’t long before Rick discovered Giraldo’s piano playing prowess and quickly put those skills to work in the studio for the recording Guitars and Women. In the spring of 1979, Mike Chapman introduced Giraldo to an up-and-coming singer named Pat Benatar who had recently signed to Chrysalis Records. While impressed with the young vocalist, Chapman felt she needed a musical partner who could facilitate the creation of a sound both identifiable and powerful. Over the years Neil has produced some of their biggest hits including “Love is a Battlefield” and “We Belong.”
With a back catalog of more than 100 songs written and more than 45 million records sold, Giraldo has written, produced, arranged, and recorded for Pat Benatar, John Waite, Rick Springfield, Kenny Loggins, Steve Forbert, The Del Lords, Beth Hart, The Coors, and others, which include many Grammy-nominated and Grammy-winning hits.
Today, Giraldo’s career is as dynamic and diverse as ever. He is in the process of completing two books – one an autobiographical novel, one a motivational book on the psychology of creating. He is further expanding his Bel Chiasso entertainment company, which is developing a variety of television and film projects. He is performing in a new band project with Scott Kempner from the Del Lords/Dictators and is putting together an all-star band.
And now Giraldo is bringing his creative energy and musical expertise to another project as the founder of Three Chord Bourbon, which uses a blending process to alter and enhance the molecular structure of bourbon, a process he calls Perfectly Tuned Taste. Inspired by music, enhanced by technology, Three Chord Blended Bourbon Whiskey embodies the spirit of creativity and innovation.
