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More about George, Kenny, Gino, and Al

As I pointed out the other day, my connection with these singers was entirely through their music. There was no going online in order to Google about their lives; there was no following them on social media. Anything I knew about them (or at least thought I knew about them) was through the words of their songs, the energy that came through their singing and/or playing, and their band’s overall consciousness or vibration (although I certainly wouldn’t have used those words at the time).

While revisiting this period of my “personal music history” I’ve needed to spend time remembering, looking up lyrics, and checking out videos. In the process I’ve been able to confirm what my intuition told me all those years ago, that each of these artists was — in their own unique way — channeling something positive and uplifting through their music!

More about George Benson
“Benson has been married to Johnnie Lee since 1965 and has seven children. Benson describes his music as focusing more on love and romance, and eschewing overt sexuality, due to his commitment to his family and religious practices, with Benson serving as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses.“

More about Kenny Loggins
“For Kenny Loggins, that connection to the spiritual has always been his ability to, as he put it, ‘Stop and listen to the song playing in my head.’ This for him was the light, the love, the sense of Interconnectedness of the world as a whole, and his songs are the records of what the Spirit imparted to him when he would allow himself to listen.“

More about Gino Vannelli
“Vannelli considers his spirituality to comprise at least 50 percent of his outlook, and he says the greatest lesson he’s learned is to maintain harmony between joy and sadness, to keep an even keel — and to live modestly, and be grateful.“

More about Al Jarreau
“…a desire to use his voice as an instrument of joyful healing. A statement on his web site says that music was only his second priority. His first … was healing or comforting anyone in need … He needed to see a warm, affirming smile where there had not been one before. Song was just his tool for making that happen.“

To close out this era of my “personal music history”, I’m going to leave you with the official, animated video that Al Jarreau created for his song Mornin’. I didn’t use it the other day because even I thought it might be a bit much. But, you know, this is who this man truly was and I want to honor that.

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Lights out

We’re without wireless due to the power outage, which means I’m having to write today’s blog post using my phone. Needless to say, it’s going to be a short one!

But that’s okay. I’ve once again been slowly backsliding into later and later bedtimes, so maybe by keeping this short I can turn that around.

Good night!

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Music history 103 (part 3)

So many of the late Al Jarreau’s songs touched and healed my heart; his music had a tremendous impact on me during that time of my life. It’s interesting to realize that this was all happening long before the Internet. There was no “googling” to get information about an artist, no going on line to look up the lyrics. I knew Al Jarreau through his music and that was enough for me. And, my goodness, what positive music it was!

Mornin’
Mornin’ Mr. Radio
Mornin’ little Cheerios
Mornin’ sister Oriole
Did I tell you everything is fine
In my mind
Mornin’ Mr. Shoe Shine Man
Shine ’em bright in white and tan
My baby said she loves me and
Need I tell you that
Everything here is just fine
In my mind
‘Scuse me if I sing
My heart has found its wings
Searchin’ high and low
And now at last I know
Mornin’ Mr. Golden Gate
I should walk but I can’t wait
I can’t wait to set it straight
I was shakin’ but now I am
Makin’ it fine
Here in my mind
My heart will soar
With love that’s rare and real
My smiling face will feel every cloud
Then higher still
Beyond the blue until
I know I can
Like any man
Reach out my hand
And touch the face of GOD

Alonzo
And when I think of Alonzo-
He was king around the bay
He’d come sporting and flashing
Hearts would drift away
Could be-he had a dream-
Came upon the scene where the
Lamb and lion play
How could he start to school her
Or rule her with feet of sand and clay
Alonzo declared that he must
“Reach to heaven-for heaven”

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Music history 103 (part 2)

Before I explain how I was introduced to these next two recording artists, you have to understand that I was not a big purchaser of albums while growing up. I didn’t have a big collection of music and wasn’t familiar with many singers or bands.

But Divine Mother knew what I needed and arranged for me to access two pivotal albums through one of my party buddies: and they were/are Keep the Fire by Kenny Loggins and Gino Vannelli’s Brother to Brother (belated thanks to Scott Berlin, who never did get his albums back!).

I loved pretty much every song on these LP’s, both of which are chock full of amazing dance grooves (which fully supported my regular “dance therapy”). It’s really hard to narrow my sharing down to only one track per album, but I did it…

First is the title track from Kenny Loggins’ LP, Keep the Fire. Tuning into the lyrics now, I can totally understand why they struck a chord in me back then; they speak of embarking on one’s journey, holding to one’s vision, and having faith! (I also find it interesting that the cover artwork shows Kenny offering up a ball of light!) 🙂

Keep the Fire
There’s a river in
Evening ember glow
And you’re wishing you could see
How far it flows
Rolling on to an endless sea
You’d be well on your way
If you could only set sail.
But dreams can drift away
And sails can fill with doubt
Where’s your vision
If the embers flicker out?
Don’t let it slip from view
The horizons are waiting
Your river is fading
So keep the fire burning tonight
See just what comes into sight
Don’t take forever
Take it through the night
And believe the sun
Will rise with the dawn
That’s all you need to go on
But for tonight
Just keep the fire burning bright

With Gino Vannelli, I could offer a number of songs whose lyrics showcase his positive — dare I say, “spiritual”? — perspective (such as Seek and You Will Find or I Believe!). But, again, the title track of Brother to Brother is just so profoundly satisfying to me that I have to share it (and the words are uplifting, too)!

Brother to Brother
Brother to brother
Now we must join our hearts and hands
Yeah, if we love one another
We hold the key to the promised land
Think of all that we’ve been through
The shucks and jives and royal blues
Let us pray our time will come
When this world will live as one
Brother to brother
Now don’t let the devil get you down
Oh ’cause it’s bread and it’s butter
That makes this whole damn world
Go round and round
Do you know where we went wrong
Tell me why the lines are drawn?
And let us break our bound’ries down
And live our lives on common ground
Oh mothers and fathers
Where will tomorrow’s children be?
Oh brother, my brother
Let us live our lives in peace
Brother to brother

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Music history 103 (part 1)

My years of teenage angst were comparatively mild, really. It wasn’t until my mid-twenties that I truly broke out of the “good girl” mold and proceeded to make a pretty good mess of my life.

A bad breakup had left my heart broken and my confidence in shreds. I had dropped out of college and wasn’t doing anything musically at all. Working in bars and restaurants provided superficial fun but the party atmosphere was taking its toll. I began to suspect I had lost my way but hadn’t a clue as to how to get back on the right track.

This was the beginning of a beautiful period in my personal music history, when music — literally — came to my rescue!

Through a miraculous combination of intuition and divine grace, I started to be drawn to music that blended a positive message with an energy-raising beat. It was music that tapped into my vague inner yearning; it made me feel hopeful; it inspired me to move…which in its turn helped me raise the energy in my spine and — bit-by-bit — I crawled out of the hole I had thrown myself into and took back my life.

There were four artists in particular who were key to my turnaround. Today I’m featuring George Benson. The two songs of his that I listened to over and over and over again are The Greatest Love of All (which I wrote about in a previous blog post) and Down Here On the Ground.

Down Here on the Ground
Down here on the ground
ain’t no place for living
Down here on the ground
Watching sparrows fly
I watch the birds
As they make their way
They’re flying kind of free
And I wish it were me
Down here on the ground
Wanting something better
Down here on the ground
Wanting something more
One morning sure
You will find
I got wings on my mind
Wings to take me high
So if you hear a sound
From down here on the ground
Don’t you know?
My friends it’s only me
It’s only me trying to fly

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A preparatory pause

I had planned to move right into the next phase of my “personal music history”, but found I wanted to take a few preliminary steps first. That includes revisiting memories of that period of my life, remembering the music that really spoke to me then, then tuning into the “why”.

And I might as well admit right out of the box: I don’t really expect anyone to be all that interested in this little historical music analysis I’m doing. But it’s a very interesting process for me.

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Music history 102

When I hit adolescence I entered the “dysfunctional love songs” period of my personal music history. These were songs with beautiful melodies and catchy lyrics that just happened to emphasize doom, gloom, loss, and heartbreak — all of which my angst-filled teen-aged self completely resonated with (of course)!

I started off with this song by the Gershwins…
They’re writing songs of love
But not for me
A lucky star’s above
But not for me

This depressing verse has been stuck in my head since freshman year in high school…
Talkin’ to myself and feelin’ old
Sometimes I’d like to quit
Nothin’ ever seems to fit
Hangin’ around
Nothin’ to do but frown
Rainy days and Mondays always get me down

Here’s a section from one of my favorite songs of the time…
It seems to me that there are more hearts
Broken in the world that can’t be mended
Left unattended
What do we do? What do we do?
Alone again, naturally

I remember singing this one non-stop the summer I was learning to drive…
Where is the love,
You said was mine all mine, till the end of time
Was it just a lie
Where is the love?

And finally…Dionne Warwick has got to be the queen of dysfunctional love songs (“Walk on By”, “Who Can I Turn to”, “In Between the Heartaches”, etc); but I think this one tops them all…
I just don’t know what to do with myself
I’m so used to doing everything with you
Learning everything for two
And now that we’re through
I just don’t know what to do with my time
I’m so lonesome for you, it’s a crime
Going to a movie only makes me sad
Parties make me feel as bad
When I’m not with you, I just don’t know what to do
Oh baby, if your new love ever turns you down
Come on back, I will be around
Just waiting for you, I don’t know what else to do.

Considering how many of these sentiments I completely absorbed into my consciousness, it’s a wonder I ever had a healthy relationship! Listening to them now I just shake my head…and thank my lucky stars that this musical period didn’t last forever!

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Filled to the brim

We spent the evening with yet another amazing group of Living Disciples…singing and laughing and going deep into a number of our children’s songs (all composed by Swami Kriyananda).

Just for fun I’m listing my favorite two lines from each song that we sang. It’s a fairly random selection of phrases from a variety of simple children’s songs and yet…these simple lyrics are filled to the brim with enough wisdom and truth to last a lifetime!

Sing in the meadows and ev’rywhere:
Sing out a blessing to ev’ryone!

All the world is my friend
When I learn how to share my love…

Teach me all my friends to bless,
Hold them in Thy light.

Move, all you mountains that stand in my way,
Nothing can stop my progress!

Lightly I fly when I live in laughter,
Lightly I fly when my heart sings.

Serve Him with thought, with hand and limb;
Love Him without any reason.

All the world should be dancing,
For God made us all!

What a gift for children to have their consciousness filled with thoughts like these throughout their childhood.

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More remembering

Found myself thinking more about the musicals I grew up with and felt inspired to revisit some of my favorite lyrics (a few are excerpted below)…

From “South Pacific”
Happy talk keep talkin’ happy talk
Talk about things you’d like to do.
You gotta have a dream
if you don’t have a dream
How you gonna have a dream come true?
👉 THE TAKE AWAY: Focus on the positive and dream your dream!

From “The King & I”
I whistle a happy tune
And ev’ry single time
The happiness in the tune
Convinces me that I’m not afraid.
Make believe you’re brave
And the trick will take you far.
You may be as brave
As you make believe you are.
👉 THE TAKE AWAY: Acting “as if” really can help!

From “The Sound of Music”
I have confidence in sunshine,
I have confidence in rain.
I have confidence that spring will come again!
Besides what you see I have confidence in me.
Strength doesn’t lie in numbers.
Strength doesn’t lie in wealth,
Strength lies in nights of peaceful slumbers,
When you wake up, wake up!
It’s healthy!
All I trust I give my heart to,
All I trust becomes my own!
I have confidence in confidence alone!
Besides, which you see, I have confidence in me!
👉 THE TAKE AWAY: Believe in yourself and know the true source of your strength!

From “Camelot”
Camelot! Camelot!
I know it gives a person pause,
But in Camelot, Camelot!
Those are the legal laws.
The snow may never slush upon the hillside.
By nine p.m. the moonlight must appear.
In short, there’s simply not
A more congenial spot
For happily-ever-aftering than here
In Camelot.
👉 THE TAKE AWAY: In retrospect I wonder if this song didn’t reawaken samskars or astral memories. I loved the idea of that special, perfect, magical spot, but now I’m thinking that the perfection is never just about the physical reality; it come from being surrounded by harmonious vibrations and people of high consciousness…also known as spiritual community!

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Music history 101

I had many music history classes in college, memorizing lots of composers’ birth/death dates (most of which I’ve long forgotten, not that it matters even a little bit, thanks to the internet). But tonight I’m reflecting on my personal history of music and realizing that music impacted me in a wide variety of ways during the different “eras” of my life.

I grew up on musicals. That’s the first music that I was consciously aware of. The first time my family went to an indoor theater (as opposed to a drive-in movie) was to see My Fair Lady, with Audrey Hepburn and Rex Harrison.

And I can still picture the light blue sweater and blue/yellow plaid skirt I wore on an elementary school field trip to see The Sound of Music at the Century 21 theater in San Jose. That was a defining moment of my young life.

The Music Man. Camelot. The King and I. Oliver. Oklahoma. West Side Story. Flower Drum Song. Fiddler on the Roof. South Pacific. The list goes on and on. These movies were the soundtrack of my childhood. We had recordings of most of them and I spent hours singing along and memorizing the lyrics. (I would sometimes dance along as well; such as when I was around twelve and would go home, put on my red net petticoat, and dance my little heart out to “Shipoopi, shipoopi, shipoopi, the girl who’s hard to get…” from The Music Man!) 😂

I absolutely loved the clever use of words, the intricate rhythms, and the beautiful melodies. But many of these movies had either a positive message, or at least a few positive songs, or else upbeat tunes which raised my energy regardless of the lyrics. So I think I owe them a debt of gratitude for helping me develop into a pretty darn positive and optimistic person.