David LaFlamme plays San Rafael

Rock violinist David LaFlamme turned 70 on Wednesday, but his fans still want to hear a song he recorded 42 years ago.

That song is "White Bird," co-written by LaFlamme and recorded by his band, It's a Beautiful Day, in 1969.

So when LaFlamme and the current incarnation of It's a Beautiful Day celebrate his birthday Saturday with a performance at George's Nightclub in San Rafael, you can bet that "White Bird" will be on the playlist.

The list of probable guest musicians includes Barry Melton of Country Joe and the Fish, Peter Albin of Big Brother and the Holding Company, Lester Chambers of the Chamber Brothers, and blues singer-songwriter Nick Gravenites.

People never seem to tire of hearing "White Bird," but they often ask LaFlamme if he's weary of playing it.

"I used to make a joke about it," La Flamme recalled. "The joke went: "To be honest with you, I get a little tired of doing it sometimes, of course, but I always say to myself, hey, you could have written 'In a Gadda da Vida.' "

But one night the jest back-fired.

"I made that joke at Whiskey A Go Go in Los Angeles, and I didn't realize my friends from Iron Butterfly were sitting in the audience," LaFlamme said of the band that made the song famous -- or infamous.

Another question LaFlamme has had to answer repeatedly over the years is what inspired him to write "White Bird."

"I had one really serious interviewer ask me what 'White Bird' was all about, and I told him it was a song about a chicken. I told him it was delicious," LaFlamme said.

The true story is that during the winter of 1967, he and the band went from their home base in San Francisco to Seattle to play a gig, and didn't have enough money to make it back home. LaFlamme and his first wife holed up for several weeks in the attic of an old rundown house.

"There was a little window with a window seat. The lyrics of the song tell what we were observing as we looked out that window," LaFlamme said.

"When you have lyrics that go, 'The leaves blow across the long black road to the darkened sky,' that's exactly what we were seeing."

Born in New Britain, Conn., and raised in Salt Lake City, Utah, LaFlamme moved to the Bay Area in 1962 and joined It's a Beautiful Day in 1967. He moved to Sebastopol in 1970, and the band followed.

In 1973, the year he left the band, LaFlamme met singer Linda Baker, and they married in 1980.

After six years in Sebastopol, LaFlamme moved to Berkeley, Salt Lake City and Los Angeles before coming north to settle in Santa Rosa five years ago.

David and Linda LaFlamme acquired the rights to the band name, It's a Beautiful Day, right before moving to Santa Rosa. The copyright had been held for years by a record company owner, who had let it lapse, David said.

"Actually, the copyright is in Linda's name now," he added.

The current lineup of the band is: David on violin and vocals; Linda on vocals; original drummer Val Fuentes; Toby Gray, bass; Rob Espinosa, guitar; Gary Thomas, keyboards.

"We've been a team, doing 'White Bird' and a lot of the old songs, as well as a lot of other songs," LaFlamme said.

He also performs roughly once a month with mandolinist Phil Lawrence's band, playing and singing swing music and standards.

"Last year, I did maybe 40 performances. That's pretty active for an old guy like me," LaFlamme joked.

Also last year, he and Linda played a club tour in England. This summer, they'll play the Isle of Wight Festival in the U.K., and they hope to tour Europe in the fall.

"Last time I played the Isle of Wight Festival, I was on the bill with Jimi Hendrix, in 1970. Now I'm returning, finally," LaFlamme said.

For the past six years, LaFlamme's music has been marketed on itsaboutmusic.com.

"It's a been a very successful downloading company, especially for 'White Bird,' because thousands and thousands of people will download that song every month," LaFlamme said.

"I keep thinking everyone must have it by now, but it doesn't seem so, because they keep downloading it."

You can reach Staff Writer Dan Taylor at 521-5243 or dan.taylor@pressdemocrat.com. See his ARTS blog at http://arts.blogs.pressdemocrat.com.