Tag: Music

Cee’s Black & White Photo Challenge – Cute Factor

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This post inspired by Cee’s B&W Photo Challenge. The topic: Cute Factor

Cute Factor! How could I resist this challenge? Absolutely impossible.

 
As soon as my daughter became mobile, she’d crawl…and eventually run…to the front door when she heard her daddy come home from work.
Carrying his guitar. After a long day teaching teenagers how to play notes and chords and…eventually…What Shall We Do With The Drunken Sailor.

She was ever curious about this guitar which was so often in her daddy’s lap. Capturing his attention. As he practiced and made music. While he sang. To himself. To her.

At times – apparently deciding that enough was enough – she’d toddle over to wherever he was strumming. Press her fingers on the strings…silence the music…and demand, as only a tiny child can…No tar daddy!
Daddy would take a short break.

When he left the guitar case propped open next to the living room wall…
our little girl often made use of this just-the-right-size-for-a-toddler seat.

guitarcase call

 

Song Lyric Sunday – Record/Jukebox/DJ/Radio

~ oneletterup ~ 17 Comments

My contribution to this week’s Song Lyric Sunday (prompt: Record/Jukebox/DJ/Radio).

 

At the age of 17, I discovered Joni Mitchell when I first dropped the needle on her album Blue. Thanks to new friends at my summer job. One of those friends and I were lucky enough to see her in concert together. Three years later. The Music Hall in Boston. High up in the balcony.

Joni Mitchell is a Canadian singer/songwriter. The winner of 9 Grammy awards. Music that ranges from folk to pop to rock to jazz. Lyrics that reach out and grab you tight…especially when you’re 17.

You Turn Me On I’m A Radio was Mitchell’s first Top 40 hit as an artist in America. Lighter and brighter than her more serious musings on Blue, it was released in 1972 on the For the Roses album (her 5th). Written from the point of view of a radio station, it moved more towards the pop genre.

I now get a kick out of the references to dials and transistors…as I remember my first radio. A gift from my grandparents when I was in the 5th grade. A black Sony transistor radio (with a case!). And a dial…which picked up my favorite AM station: 77WABC

I’ll bet Joni Mitchell performed this song that night in Boston…

 

 

 

You Turn Me On I’m a Radio

by Joni Mitchell

If you’re driving into town
With a dark cloud above you
Dial in the number
Who’s bound to love you
Oh honey you turn me on
I’m a radio
I’m a country station
I’m a little bit corny
I’m a wildwood flower
Waving for you
I’m a broadcasting tower
Waving for you
And I’m sending you out
This signal here
I hope you can pick it up
Loud and clear
I know you don’t like weak women
You get bored so quick
And you don’t like strong women
‘Cause they’re hip to your tricks
It’s been dirty for dirty
Down the line
But you know I come when you whistle
When you’re loving and kind
But if you’ve got too many doubts
If there’s no good reception for me
Then tune me out, ’cause honey
Who needs the static
It hurts the head
And you wind up cracking
And the day goes dismal
From “Breakfast Barney”
To the sign-off prayer
What a sorry face you get to wear
I’m going to tell you again now
If you’re still listening there
If you’re driving into town
With a dark cloud above you
Dial in the number
Who’s bound to love you
If you’re lying on the beach
With the transistor going
Kick off the sandflies honey
The love’s still flowing
If your head says forget it
But your heart’s still smoking
Call me at the station
The lines are open

 

 

 

 

Song Lyric Sunday – Minutes/Hours/Days/Weeks/Months

~ oneletterup ~ 12 Comments

My contribution to this week’s Song Lyric Sunday (prompt: Minutes/Hours/Days/Weeks/Months)

 

At the age of 17, I discovered Carole King – a prolific American singer-songwriter – via her Tapestry album.
She was not, however, a one-hit wonder for me.

I collected her albums over the years, their dust jackets now worn and faded. I devoured each and every one…most likely wearing out the phonograph needle in the process.

Carole King’s 4th album Rhymes & Reasons was released in 1972. It climbed to the No. 2 spot on the Billboard 200 chart.

One of the songs on this album – Gotta Get Through Another Day – still resonates all these years later…although from an entirely different perspective….

 

 

Gotta Get Through Another Day

 

by Carole King

It’s a gray, gray gloomy day
A strange and moody blues day
Gotta get through, gotta get through another day

Corn yellow silk and golden sunlight I remember
As we walked together, you and I
Love like a sweet flaming glow inside
Now has been denied
And I’ve cried till I can’t remember why

I gotta get through, gotta get through some way
Gotta get through, gotta get through another day

Will Tuesday be “good news” day
Or another “paying dues” day
It’s a strange and moody blues day
Anyway

Some say that time brings a better understanding
Of the rhyme and reason to it all
Still the flame keeps burning through the lonely night
It’s just not all right
And I wonder if I’ll make it till you call

I gotta get through, gotta get through some way
It’s a gray, gray gloomy day
A strange and moody blues day
Gotta get through, gotta get through another day
I gotta get through another day.

 

 

 

 

Song Lyric Sunday – School/Books/Learning

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My contribution to this week’s Song Lyric Sunday (prompt: School/Books/Learning) will focus on the learning…

Beth Nielsen Chapman, an American singer/songwriter, wrote Life Holds On for her self titled album released in 1990. I discovered her music by chance – often hearing it on the radio. It remains on my list of all time favorite albums!

She plays both guitar and piano throughout this album; keyboards only on Life Holds On.

Many of her songs have been recorded by artists such as Mary Chapin Carpenter, Tanya Tucker, Trisha Yearwood and Martina McBride. She co-wrote This Kiss with Faith Hill, who recorded it as well. Elton John began performed her song Sand and Water in 1997. Her most recent album Hearts of Glass was released in 2018.

 

 

Life Holds On

 

by Beth Nielsen Chapman

I was swinging on the swings when I was a little girl
Trying to get a handle on the big, wide world
When I noticed all the grass in the cracks in the concrete
I said, “Where there’s a will, there’s a way around anything”

Life holds on
Given the slightest chance
For the weak and the strong
Life holds on

There was a third grade boy that we knew in school
He was found face down in a swimming pool
And as they worked on that kid every minute was an hour
And when his eyes fluttered open we could feel that power

Life holds on
Given the slightest chance
For the weak and the strong
Life holds on
Life holds on
Life holds on

Sirens screaming down my street
Fading as they go
Whining somewhere far away
To someone I don’t know
Still, I say a little prayer
There’s always hope
Life holds on.

Through the window in the kitchen I can see outside
My kids taking turns coming down the slide
I try not to worry as they grow a little every day
No, I’ve just got to believe they’re gonna find their way.

Life holds on
Given the slightest chance
For the weak and the strong
Life holds on
Life holds on
Life holds on
Life holds on

 

 

Song Lyric Sunday – Occupation

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My contribution to this weeks’s Song Lyric Sunday (prompt: Occupation):

I recently discovered Woman’s Work, a song written and performed by Tracy Chapman…from her third album “Matters of the Heart” released in 1992.

She sang this song at the Farm Aid concert in Texas that same year; the only woman and the only black musician to perform.

Below is a video which serves as a backdrop illustration of this powerful song.
As relevant today – over 20 years later – as it was then.

 

Woman’s Work

by Tracy Chapman

Early in the morning she rises
The woman’s work is never done
And it’s not because she doesn’t try
She’s fighting a battle with no one on her side

She rises up in the morning
And she works ’til way past dusk
The woman better slow down
Or she’s gonna come down hard

Early in the morning she rises
The woman’s work is never done

Song Lyric Sunday – Music Memories

~ oneletterup ~ 2 Comments

Tonight is the 91st Academy Awards. My ballot is printed. Ready to be filled in.

Full disclosure: I love the Oscars. I write the date on my calendar as soon as it is announced. Back in the days of 3 networks, I was glued to the TV screen for the entire broadcast. I remember watching when “The Sound of Music” won; being also impressed I had managed to stay awake until 12:30 AM!

There may have been a few years I missed it, away at college with no television. Or later, ensconced in early parenthood fatigue and exhaustion. But not many.

My contribution to this week’s Song Lyric Sunday (prompt: Harmony/Melody/Music) honors the 1973 Academy Award winner for Best Song.

“The Way We Were” performed by Barbra Streisand – the ultimate professional of harmony, melody and music. It was the title song from the movie of the same name.

The Way We Were

Lyrics by Alan and Marilyn Bergman
Music by Marvin Hamlisch

Memories light the corners of my mind
Misty water-colored memories of the way we were
Scattered pictures of the smiles we left behind
Smiles we gave to one another for the way we were

Can it be that it was all so simple then
Or has time rewritten every line
If we had the chance to do it all again
Tell me, would we?
Could we?

Memories may be beautiful and yet
What’s too painful to remember
We simply choose to forget
So it’s the laughter we will remember
Whenever we remember
The way we were
The way we were

 

 

Song Lyric Sunday …rivers each day…

~ oneletterup ~ 7 Comments

...it’s too late, baby, now it’s too late…

Say what? I’m picking out bananas at the grocery store. My ears pick up the overhead piped in music. I squint upwards into the fluorescent lights as if looking for the source.
Seriously?

And then again the next week…

…you just call out my name…

…while wheeling my cart to the checkout line. I freeze. Not knowing whether to laugh, cry, protest or just sing along. Hard to wrap my head around the fact that Carole King is now muzak. I sigh, feel my age and start tapping my foot. Damn.

Forty eight years ago today – February 10, 1971 – Carole King released Tapestry. The day after her 29th birthday.

The 61st Grammy awards air tonight. In 1972, during the 14th Grammy awards, Tapestry won 4 awards:

Record of the Year: “It’s Too Late”
Album of the Year: “Tapestry”
Song of the Year: “You’ve Got a Friend”
Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female: Carole King for “Tapestry”

I memorized Tapestry. Every word. Every note. I can even sing every song. My untrained voice somehow able to follow hers. Never mind that it is one of the best selling albums of all time. Never mind about that. She was there right beside me. And millions of young people like me.  She knew us. Heard us. Understood us. Gave voice to what we perhaps were unable to articulate…yet.

12 songs. A young woman. A piano. Accompanists.
Simple songs of friendship, longing, loss, hope, love and joy.

I was 17. Seventeen is not easy. Ain’t it good to know you’ve got a friend?

That summer, 3 special girlfriends  – Patty, Wendy and Eleanor – and I played that album hundreds of times. Sang. Danced. Laughed. It wove the confusing emotions of our lives into lyrics we could understand. And often be comforted by.

Alone in my room, I’d drop the needle belting out the lyrics one song after the other. Knowing beforehand what came next.

When the title song fades out….He’s come to take me back… I’m poised for…Looking out on the morning rain….

Flip back to side one. …That you’re beautiful as you feel…wait for it…Way over yonder…

[Song lyric Sunday’s theme today is River/Stream/Crook/Brook]

Way Over Yonder (from Tapestry)
Words and music by: Carole King

Way over yonder is a place that I know
Where I can find shelter from hunger and cold
And the sweet tasting good life is easily found
Way over yonder — that’s where I’m bound

I know when I get there, the first thing I’ll see
Is the sun shining golden — shining right down on me
Then trouble’s gonna lose me — worry leave me behind
And I’ll stand up proudly in true peace of mind

Way over yonder is a place I have seen
In a garden of wisdom from some long ago dream 

Maybe tomorrow I’ll find my way
To the land where the honey runs in rivers each day
And the sweet tasting good life is so easily found
Way over yonder — that’s where I’m bound
Way over yonder — that’s where I’m bound

Almost 50 years later.
Still fresh.
Still relevant.

Still a great song.

Still a great album.

Song Lyric Sunday – No Way

~ oneletterup ~ 8 Comments

This post is inspired by Song Lyric Sunday

This week, the prompt is “no.”

Which brings to mind one of my favorite singer/songwriter/musicians…
Bonnie Raitt…who I have had the privilege of seeing perform several times over the years. Always amazing.

She did not write the following song, but did record a memorable version on her Nine Lives album, released in 1986.

It is also included on “The Bonnie Raitt Collection” which I own.
In the liner notes she describes “No Way To Treat A Lady”…

“As a Bryan Adams fan, I was really glad when I got a hold of this song. I sing a lot of songs for women who’ve ‘had it,’ and this is a powerful dose of that feeling. Michael Landau’s guitar playing has been the secret punch to a lot of great records and he really makes this one for me.”

The song was written by Bryan Adams and Jim Vallance.

 

Lyrics:

You can please me
You can sweet talk and lead me on
But believe me
Won’t be long till I’m catchin’ on
Now you left me here with nothing
And you put my love on hold
Well there must be something behind your eyes
Because I believe every lie you told

That ain’t no way to treat a lady
That ain’t no way to treat a woman in love
That ain’t no way to treat a lady
I could of sworn that you’d had enough

So you leave me
Well I’m lonely and in despair
It intrigues me
How you don’t really seem to care
Well I ain’t here for nothing
And my love doesn’t come that cheap
I’ll hold you to all your promises baby
If I could find one you meant to keep

That ain’t no way to treat a lady
That ain’t no way to treat a woman in love
That ain’t no way to treat your baby
That ain’t no way to treat, to treat a woman in love

You can tease me
You can sweet talk and lead me on
But believe me
Won’t be long till I’m catchin’ on
Well I ain’t here for nothing
And my love doesn’t come that cheap
I’ll hold you to all your promises
If I could find one you meant to keep

That ain’t no way to treat a lady
That ain’t no way to treat a woman in love
That ain’t no way to treat your baby
That ain’t no way to treat a woman in love
A woman in love

Holiday Music

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I hear it almost everywhere I go – ever since the stores have been decked out for the holidays. The music from “A Charlie Brown Christmas.” I do remember the television show – in 1965 – and was entranced by it then. The soundtrack now iconic.

It is also a mood changer.

Last December I arrived on a late flight at Logan Airport. My plane had been delayed. I was tired. Achy from the cramped seat. Walking into the gate waiting area, I heard the Linus and Lucy theme on the musical loop. Vince Guaraldi’s piano playing couldn’t help but make me smile. And relax. What a perfect choice for a busy airport full of travelers from all over the world…shouldering all kinds of burdens. Also tired. Achy. Anxious to get safely…somewhere.

I also hear this song in the grocery store. The local card store. In the mall.
I never get tired of it.
No matter what time of year it is.

 

~~~~~

Happy Holidays
and 
Merry Christmas
to all…

 

IMG_1583

Play

~ oneletterup ~ 6 Comments

This post inspired by Ragtag Daily Prompt: Play

Playing music was always front and center in our home.
Whether it be playing a record, a tape or, as years went by, a CD.

But the best playing happened in person.

At the end of one oppressively hot September day in 1988, we huddled around our only air conditioner for an impromptu concert. After a long day of yard work.

The 6 year old playing my old guitar from childhood.
The 10 month old plucking strings on his daddy’s guitar.
And the daddy playing, singing and offering advice on note fingering.

Keeping cool…

guitar trio 1988012
This trio played together many times over the years.
Guitar. Flute. Recorder. Clarinet.
Such fun.