Jody was born in Key West - his father was a shrimper and a boat owner, as was his grandfather. Jody had three older sisters and the family lived on Caroline Street when baby Jody was born. (Yes, THAT Caroline Street!) His father was gone most of the time, shrimping offshore, but whenever home, he always took Jody to the shrimp docks to show him off to the other shrimpers. Before Jody was two years old, the family moved to a trailer park on Stock Island, the first island across the first bridge from Key West. They lived on the water with a private dock and Jody's father built this "Key West Boy" a seven foot skiff. Jody spent all of his time in his boat on the water; growing, exploring and learning about life in Key West. It was only later that he realized he'd grown up in paradise.

The summer Jody turned 9 there was a new baby boy in the house (Martin) and Jody started working on his dad's shrimp boat. That first summer he made thirty-six dollars - just enough to buy his first bicycle - a "spider" bike with a banana seat and butterfly handlebars. He worked on the boat every summer from then on, shrimping off Key West, lobstering in the Bahamas and commercial fishing up and down the whole east coast. His song, "Living Among Sailor Men" is about this time of his life. Surrounded by shrimpers, the ocean and new experiences, he grew up a commercial fisherman.

One summer, Jody's father, mother, (Miss Daphne) Jody and Martin worked the boat as a family. They worked at night, offshore of Port Canaveral, Florida, towing nets in deep water for rock shrimp. The nights were long and hard, and the days short, but the experience brought them closer together as a family and as workmates. They relied upon one another knowing that their lives could hang in the balance. What a great summer!

As the shrimping played out in the Keys Capt Carroll, Jody's father, took his newer, larger boat, the Miss Louise (and Jody) northward, first to Cocoa Beach then all the way up the east coast to the Outer Banks of North Carolina and, eventually, scalloping off Long Island, NY. They followed the migrating shrimp (or whatever fish or crustacean happened into their nets) and lived a nomadic life, unloading their catch in whatever little port was closest to the fishing ground. Meanwhile, "the women" (Jody's grandmother, mother and sisters) stayed home and lived a relatively normal life - except that they lived with the constant knowledge that "the men" were out on the ocean on boats, through all sorts of weather and often with their lives in peril. The sea and the weather, long hours, little rest, heavy equipment and a moving platform all contribute to an extremely dangerous work environment for commercial fishermen.

When Jody was eighteen his dad had minor surgery and Jody took his place as captain for the first time. That's when he fully realized the heavy weight of responsibility his father seemed to carry so easily. The lives of everyone on board, the boat and family business were all on the captain's shoulders. Despite the stress, he loved the challenge and grew to love being captain. From here on, Captain Carroll and Jody took turns running the boat, into Jody's early 20's.

Meanwhile Jody's brother-in-law, Greg, joined the crew and learned the fishing trade. Together, Jody and Greg swordfished, flounder fished, shrimped, crabbed and scalloped up and down the east coast. They were brothers. Between trips, while living together on the boat, Greg taught Jody his first chords on a guitar.

Greg didn't really play "songs" but he enjoyed noodling around on the guitar by himself and was pretty good at it. But he didn't teach Jody any real songs. Jody couldn't help humming along as he played simple chords and soon he was singing. Without really meaning to, Jody wrote his first song, "Aeroplane," about the freedom of flying in a small plane. This was followed by "Goin' Back" about going "straight back to the island" of Key West. One song followed another, almost without Jody's volition, and he kept a spiral bound notebook of original songs that constituted his entire repertoire. He usually wrote while sitting in the cabin of the shrimp boat or sometimes while sitting on deck surrounded by nets and cables. He still sings some of his early songs during live shows.

In fact, one of Jody's signature songs, "Blown Away" was written in the cabin of the Miss Louise, in the little port of Ocracoke, on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, while waiting for clear weather. The wind was "blowin' a gale" and the crews from several boats got together, pooled their money and got blown away on cheap beer and a "goin' home" bottle of whiskey. That occurence took place, and that song was written, over 40 years ago and still stands as an audience favorite. (You can stream it live from the Jody's Music Page page of this website and it's on the first CD, Key West Boy.)

After a motorcycle accident messed up one of his knees, Jody had to go thru a knee reconstruction surgery. After the surgery, Jody's right hand was paralyzed and he spent several months in rehab in New York City, regaining the ability to walk and to use his hand. His occupational therapist, Margaret, helped him recover and to use the hand to play guitar again. She made him a special splint that allowed him to strum the strings - this was before he could even move his thumb or fingers. He immediately wrote a song for her, "I Want You For Your Money." She and the other staff and patients thought it was hilarious. After his discharge from rehab, Jody flew home, packed a few things and drove back to the big apple. He and Margaret have been together ever since - over 40 years.

In his twenties, after leaving the commercial fishing industry for good, Jody captained weeklong liveaboard sailboat charters from Miami Beach to the Bahamas aboard 57' to 65' sailboats with 18 to 30 crew and passengers. He would tentatively (at first) break out the guitar and play some Jimmy Buffett, some Belafonte Calypso and some originals and people responded positively. This was his first experience playing for audiences - on a boat quietly waltzing thru the tropics, with stars on the water and the trade winds filling the sails. Predictably, the charter guests enjoyed the setting and helped Jody feel confident that singing songs about shrimping, boats and Caribbean destinations was a fun and effective way to make lasting friends. Turns out, it still is...

Margaret worked with Jody on the sailboat charters until she accomplished her goal - she passed her Coast Guard license exam and she too became a captain. They bought their own sailboat, a Morgan 28, and lived aboard for several years. While much of the time was spent in marinas, they also sailed down the west coast of Florida to Key West. After living (back) in Key West for awhile they sailed on to the Bahamas, going further and deeper into the island chain than they'd ever been able to explore on the weeklong sailboat charters.

Skip ahead and Jody is a retired occupational therapist himself. He's back to song writing, playing and singing - and Margaret is still his biggest fan. They've co-written songs but she's not interested in being on stage. They've lived in half a dozen states and visited the Keys many times - sometimes taking their open water fishing boat with them. They enjoy time on (and in) the water fishing, diving for lobster and spearfishing - and, of course, time in the restaurants, bars and honky tonks of Key West. Sometimes they just take the boat to a quiet sandbar, pour a margarita, get in the water and watch the sunset.