Hi everyone.  Hope you are all well and continue to stay that way during this global health crisis we are facing.  But in addition to protecting your physical wellness, what are you doing to stay mentally healthy today?

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

I know we are still facing a serious situation but a new year gives us hope for the new days, seasons, opportunities & moments ahead. Still, music is something that will never change for me. It is my refuge, the most comforting part of my life & the one thing I consistently count on. So until a more normal semblance of life returns, I am going to share a song I listen to that helps me escape the current state of things, if only for a few minutes each day. And if this helps anyone else, even better.

Back in 1910 a man named John Hammond was born in NYC. He worked at various music related jobs including critic, record producer and talent scout for Columbia Records. He was the one responsible for signing Aretha Franklin & Bob Dylan to the label in the early 1960’s. If that was all Hammond did in his life, what a contribution that was.

But then a decade later he met a guy named Bruce Springsteen & invited him to audition for the label as well. That took place on May 2, 1972. A fifteen minute meeting turned into a two hour session & the next day Springsteen recorded a fourteen song demo. Even after all that, it took five more weeks before the label signed him. But they did & Springsteen has spent his nearly five decade career with that record company which is now owned by Sony Music Entertainment.

His music has touched my heart a thousand different times in a thousand different ways. In the process, he became one of the greatest friends I have known in my life. His three to four hour live shows have been the highlight of every year I have been lucky enough to see him. And a few years ago he conquered Broadway with a stunning one-man show about the songs that shaped his career. All the roads of his career lead back to his meeting with John Hammond & that audition nearly 50 years ago today.

“All my life I fought the fight
The fight that you can’t ever win
Every day it just gets harder to live
The dream you’re believing in“.

Bruce Springsteen (L) and John Hammond (R) circa 1972. (Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

Bruce Springsteen: “The Promise” (1999, written by Bruce Springsteen).

I do not own the rights to anything.  I am just sharing what I love and how I am coping with you.

Stay well.