Music is More than Just Notes I hear
A few albums from my listening party
Music is More than Just Notes I hear
One day when I arrived home from work, a song was in my head. I needed to hear it. I was alone so it was the perfect time to crank it up! The song was In the Stone by Earth, Wind, and Fire. A digital version was not desired. The sound of vinyl is what I yearned for. Thankful for my record collection, I found the album, I Am, and played side one. In the Stone is the first song and yes, the horns are everything. If you are familiar with hearing any HBCU Marching Bands, you have likely heard this song before.
Over the next two hours, I played more albums. Memories kept me company with each song. Hearing each note, scratch, and melody transported me back to my childhood home.
Growing up, my parents always played music. We listened to jazz, R&B, and the blues all the time. At house parties, barbeques, or just sitting outside on a summer night, music can be heard in the background with each of my brothers or sisters shouting a request of what to play next. On weekday mornings, as we ate breakfast before heading to school, we listened to WKRC, which at the time was a pop station. Their genre ranged from soft rock like The Carpenters, to the soul of groups like The Manhattans. On Saturday mornings, we would awaken to the sound of my mother vacuuming at the bottom of the steps and maybe some Al Jarreau. That was her way to wake us up to do our chores.
I am the youngest of six siblings and a child of the 70’s. I listened to much of the same music my two eldest siblings listened to. Serious funk! This is the sound of Earth, Wind, and Fire; Parliament/Funkadelic; Stevie Wonder; Rufus and Chaka Khan; Steely Dan; and more. This set the groove foundation that is alive in me today.
In junior high school, I was an R&B fan, but Hip Hop was my love! Run DMC; LL Cool J; Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam; Janet Jackson; Prince; Michael Jackson; Dream Team; Kraftwerk, to highlight a few. I also loved some rock groups: Ambrosia, Rolling Stones, The Eagles, Queen, Joan Jett, and Santana. In the late 80’s, Kenny G’s release of Duotones got me interested in the growing smooth jazz genre
I can’t leave out all the hymns and gospel songs I remember too. Songs like Rise up and Walk; Just a Closer Walk with Thee; Holy, Holy, Holy; and many more all have their place in my faith journey.
My parents unknowingly nurtured an appreciation in me for classic R&B and jazz: Jackie Wilson, Barry White, Lou Rawls, Isaac Hayes, George Shearing, Count Basie, The Crusaders, Joe Sample, David Sanborn, Louis Jordan, Faye Adams, James Brown, Ray Charles, Roberta Flack, and Donnie Hathaway. I can go on and on.
In my life, music has awakened, inspired, nurtured, soothed, relaxed, and healed me on various occasions. Every pivotal moment in my life, there is a song supplying the soundtrack. When my father died, I coped by creating a playlist of songs he listened to and loved. Baby Workout by Jackie Wilson; You’re the First, The Last, My Everything by Barry White; Got to Give it Up by Marvin Gaye; and Ray’s Rockhouse by Ray Charles are all included on the playlist to remind me of the wonderful times gone by.
After hours of playing albums, I was back to present time and space, leaving the visuals, the smells, and the emotions of my past. I smile.
As you can see, music has generously weaved itself throughout my life leaving behind gifts of precious memories, so that I will never forget the feelings I felt in those gone forever moments. Because of all this, I am grateful for music.
