Author Archives: Michele at Lilacs & Rust

Let’s Take A Moment Day 426

Posted in Music by

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?

May blog 2021

(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.

Today’s song hit the #1 spot on the chart today in 1964 where it would stay for two consecutive weeks. It is by the beautiful elegant Queen Of Motown, Mary Wells. She was born May 13, 1943 in Michigan and started singing in her church choir. She auditioned for Berry Gordy in 1960 when he was 17 years old.

He had her work with Smokey Robinson who wrote many of her hits, including her first three released in 1962: “The One Who Really Loves You”, “You Beat Me To The Punch” & “Two Lovers”. But 1964 was the biggest year of her career thanks to today’s song, her duet album with Marvin Gaye entitled Together & her role as the first Motown performer to play in the United Kingdom when she was invited to open for The Beatles on that leg of their tour.

But Wells became displeased with the way Motown operated and despite alleged attempts by Gordy to renegotiate the deal she signed when she was 17, Wells was released from her contract per her request. However, that arrangement meant she could not receive any royalties from her former label.

She had some minor success after leaving Motown but decided to retire in 1974 to raise her four children. But she suffered from many afflictions including depression. a suicide attempt and drug use. In 1990 she was diagnosed with laryngeal cancer which led to her death at age 49 in 1992. Her old collaborator Smokey Robinson delivered the eulogy for the woman most fans remember as The First Lady Of Motown.

“As a matter of opinion I think he’s tops
My opinion is he’s the cream of the crop
As a matter of taste to be exact
He’s my ideal as a matter of fact“.

Mary_Wells_1965

Mary Wells circa 1965. (Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

Mary Wells: “My Guy” (1964, written by William “Smokey” Robinson Jr.).

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

Stay well.

Let’s Take A Moment Day 425

Posted in Music by

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?

May blog 2021

(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.

Ritchie Valens was just 17 years old when he died with Buddy Holly & J.P. Richardson a/k/a The Big Bopper” on “The Day The Music Died” in February 1959. So it is hard to believe this year marked Valens’ 80th birth anniversary. He was born Richard Steven Valenzuela on May 13, 1941 in California. By high school he utilized his self taught musical skills to play for his classmates & eventually joined a local band,

However, it was his solo reputation that caught the attention of Bob Keane, the owner of a small record label. He signed Valens in May 1958 & started his career with today’s song followed by “Donna” and “La Bamba” (Day 324). Less than a year later, Valens died in the infamous plane crash in Clear Lake, Iowa. His legacy as one of rock & roll’s early pioneers stands more than 60 years later.

“I love you so, dear
And I’ll never let you go
Come on, baby, so
Oh pretty baby, I-I love you so“.

Valens

Ritchie Valens circa 1958. (Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

Ritchie Valens: “Come On Let’s Go” (1958, written by Ritchie Valens).

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

Stay well.

Let’s Take A Moment Day 424

Posted in Music by

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?

May blog 2021

(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.

Today’s song has one of the most recognizable opening guitar riffs in music history. And it was written & played by my great musical love, Eric Clapton, when he was in the band, Cream. But it was the group’s bassist, Jack Bruce, who wrote the majority of their music while the lyrics were written by poet & lyricist Pete Brown. Bruce, born 78 years ago on May 14, 1943 in Scotland, came from a musical family. When he was a teenager he attended the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (n/k/a Royal Conservatoire of Scotland) on a scholarship to study musical composition & the cello.

By the mid 1960’s he met both Clapton & percussionist Ginger Baker and the three men formed Cream in 1966. Because all three came from other successful groups (Baker from The Graham Bond Organisation where he met Bruce who was in John Mayhall & The Bluesbreakers where he met Clapton who was in The Yardbirds), Cream was hailed as the first supergroup. They released four albums in the less than four years they were together, but their music changed live performances & improvisational jam sessions forever. It was also where Clapton developed his voice under the mentorship of Bruce.

The band broke up in 1969 as Clapton wanted to go in a different more streamlined form of music but also because the incessant fighting between Bruce & Baker got to be too much. They reunited in 1993 for their Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame induction ceremony & again in 2005 for seven shows-four at The Royal Albert Hall in England & three at Madison Square Garden in NYC. Bruce passed away in 2014 due to liver disease despite receiving a transplant about a decade earlier. Baker died in 2019, but both men remain musical legends for their time in Cream & their other contributions to rock history.

“I’m with you my love
The light’s shining through on you
Yes, I’m with you my love
It’s the morning and just we two“.

Cream 1967

Cream

Top: Cream circa 1968 (L-R): Jack Bruce, Ginger Baker and Eric Clapton. Bottom: Cream circa 1993: Clapton, Baker and Bruce. (Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

Cream: “Sunshine Of Your Love” (1967, written by Pete Brown, Jack Bruce and Eric Clapton).

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

Stay well.

Let’s Take A Moment Day 423

Posted in Music by

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?

May blog 2021

(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.

Time for a Motown break. This one is in celebration of Stevie Wonder who turns 71 years young today. Born May 13, 1950 in Michigan, he rose to fame as a teenage prodigy at the label in the 1960’s with his early records. In the 1970’s he scored hit after hit with album after album and Grammy after Grammy.

Today’s song went to #3 in 1970. A year later when Wonder turned 21, he received the sum of $1 million from the $30 million he accumulated as an artist for the label. He also signed a new contract in his own name since he was finally a legal adult in charge of his own career. “Little” Stevie Wonder was gone & the man in his place became one of the greatest artists of all time. Happiest of birthdays to this Motown legend.

“I’ve done a lot of foolish things
That I really didn’t mean
I could be a broken man
But here I am“.

Stevie Wonder

Stevie Wonder circa 1971. (Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

Stevie Wonder: “Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I’m Yours)” (1970, written by Lee Garrett, Lula Mae Hardaway, Stevie Wonder & Syreeta Wright).

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

Stay well.

Let’s Take A Moment Day 422

Posted in Music by

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?

May blog 2021

(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.

The May music birthdays continue and today’s is a big one. One of the world’s greatest composers, Burt Bacharach, turns 92 years young today. Born May 12, 1929 in Missouri, he & lyricist Hal David have written some of the 20th century’s most popular songs including “This Guy’s In Love With You” (Day 133), “Walk On By” (Day 29), “I’ll Never Fall In Love Again”, “Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head” and “Close To You”, amongst others. In the 1980’s Bacharach co-wrote a few songs with his then wife, Carole Bayer Sager including “Arthur’s Theme (Best That You Can Do)” & “That’s What Friends Are For”.

When the 1990’s came around another Bacharach fan, musician Elvis Costello, co-wrote a song with him for the 1996 movie, “Grace Of My Heart”. Two years later, the two musicians released an album together, Painted From Memory, which included their version of today’s song. Costello’s vocal is impressive and there is no mistaking the signature Bacharach touch featuring a fabulous trumpet & string arrangement. Living in a world with a talent like Bacharach is an absolute privilege. Happy birthday & continued love, health & happiness to this master musician.

“Since I lost the power to pretend
That there could ever be a happy ending
That song is sung out
This bell is rung out“.

Burt and Elvis

Burt Bacharach and Elvis Costello circa 1996. (Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

Burt Bacharach and Elvis Costello: “God Give Me Strength” (1998, written by Burt Bacharach and Elvis Costello).

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

Stay well.

Let’s Take A Moment Day 421

Posted in Music by

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?

May blog 2021

(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.

In April 1967 four musicians formed the band Traffic: Jim Capaldi, Dave Mason, Steve Winwood & Chris Wood. They only stayed together for two years but reformed in 1970. A year later Mason quit & the band folded for good by the end of that decade. Two of the four members are celebrating birthdays this week. Mason, born May 10, 1946 in England, turned 75 yesterday. Fellow Englishman Winwood, born May 12, 1948 turns 73 tomorrow.

He continues to tour and play with an array of musicians live including his daughter, Lilly. Mason also plays shows around the world & supports a variety of charities & music education programs. He also co-owns an electric guitar company. Today’s song, from Traffic’s debut album, spotlights Winwood’s intense vocal style & Mason’s rhythmic turn as the bass guitarist. It is my favorite track on the record.

“You are the one who can make us all laugh
But doing that you break out in tears
Please don’t be sad if it was a straight mind you had
We wouldn’t have known you all these years“.

TRAFFIC-early-foto-traffic

Traffic circa 1968 (L-R): Jim Capaldi, Chris Wood, Dave Mason and Steve Winwood (front). (Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

Traffic: “Dear Mr. Fantasy” (1967, written by Jim Capaldi, Steve Winwood and Chris Wood).

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

Stay well.

Let’s Take A Moment Day 420

Posted in Music by

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?

May blog 2021

(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.

Happy birthday to the man born Paul Hewson who we call Bono. He was born May 10, 1960 in Ireland & conquered the world as a humanitarian and as the lead singer of the iconic rock band, U2. I must admit I was not a fan right away when the group’s first album came out in 1980. Their music was a hybrid of punk, new wave, rock & politics, leaving me a tad confused & wary.

But I kept listening to U2’s songs on the radio and watching their videos to see how they evolved. Finally in 1987 I was swayed to their fan base with the release of “The Joshua Tree” album. Since then I have enjoyed most of their songs & watched them take their rightful place in music history as one of the best bands of all time. But more importantly all four original members have stayed together for 45 years. And that makes them rock & roll royalty. Happy birthday, Bono.

“Home hard to know what it is
If you’ve never had one
Home I can’t say where it is
But I know I’m going home“.

u2

U2 at their Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame induction ceremony in 2005 (L-R: Larry Mullens Jr, Adam Clayton, Bono & The Edge. (Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

U2: “Walk On” (2000, written by U2: Bono, Adam Clayton, The Edge and Larry Mullen Jr).

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

Stay well.

Let’s Take A Moment Day 419

Posted in Holidays, Music by

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?

mothers day

(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.

My mother loved Elvis Presley. And my paternal grandmother who was the strongest woman I ever knew, was brought to her knees every time she heard “In The Ghetto”. It was written by Mac Davis, another singer my mother enjoyed. So on this second Sunday of May, I offer this song for the two women who raised me. And because there is never a bad time to listen to The King as the other mother figure in my life-my dad-used to say.

Happy Mothers Day to all.

“Memories, pressed between the pages of my mind
Memories, sweetened through the ages just like wine
Quiet thought come floating down
And settle softly to the ground“.

Elvis

The King circa 1957. (Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

Elvis Presley: “Memories” (1968, written by Mac Davis and Billy Strange).

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

Stay well.

Let’s Take A Moment Day 418

Posted in Music by

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?

May blog 2021

(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.

Another rock & roll birthday celebration is upon us. Michigan’s own Bob Seger was born on May 6, 1945. He was the Midwest’s premier voice in the 1970’s & 1980’s. His songs told tales that ranged from teenage lust, life on the road, lost youth and everything in between. Seger’s voice remains one of the best to come out of the classic rock era and his deeply personal songs still ring true.

Today’s song makes me weep from the moment I hear the opening notes, but it was not always like that. I heard it nearly every where I went when I was in high school & back then it just made me wonder how I would look back on the roads I chose to take in the years ahead of me. But then suddenly I was the person in the song, 20 years old one minute and 40 years old the next, wondering how I got from there to here.

The first time I heard this song as an adult it hit me how quickly that time went, how ill prepared I was for the roads I took and probably even for the ones I didn’t. And just like the person in today’s song, “I wish I didn’t know now what I didn’t know then”. A lot of songs deal with teenage angst. But not too many deal with what happens two decades later. That is part of what I love about Bob Seger. And why it has taken me 418 days to feature this song. For those of you still searching for shelter, I hope you find it.

“The years rolled slowly past
And I found myself alone
Surrounded by strangers I thought were my friends
I found myself further and further from my home and I

Guess I lost my way
There were oh-so-many roads
I was living to run and running to live
Never worried about paying or even how much I owe“.

Bob Seger 1975

Bob Seger circa 1975. (Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

Bob Seger: “Against The Wind” (1980, written by Bob Seger).

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

Stay well.

Let’s Take A Moment Day 417

Posted in Music by

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?

May blog 2021

(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.

If you love Motown and hear the name Ruffin, you probably think of David from The Temptations. But he had an older brother, Jimmy, who was also on the label. He was born on May 7, 1936 in Mississippi and was originally chosen to join the group in 1964. But then they heard David sing and chose him instead. Two years later, Jimmy had a Top Ten hit with today’s song. It is his best known record and has always been one of my favorites.

“I walk in shadows searching for light
Cold and alone no comfort in sight
Hoping and praying for someone to care
Always moving and going nowhere“.

Ruffin

Jimmy Ruffin (L) and younger brother, David circa 1972. (Images found online.  Original sources unknown.)

Jimmy Ruffin: “What Becomes Of The Brokenhearted” (1966, written by James Anthony Dean, Paul Riser and William Weatherspoon).

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

Stay well.