Straight down to business! Here listening to the story of Billy Paul on You Tube, on the series UNSUNG. I have enjoyed these series on You Tube as one is provided an insight to the background of a lot of artistes, who I will confess, were not known till their hits put them in the public lime light. In 1972, “Me and Mrs Jones” earned Billy Paul a No 1 spot on the charts and a Grammy Award. He was born in December 1934 up the road in Philadelphia and sadly passed away on April 24, 2016 in New Jersey. He was 82 years old. Take the time to listen to his story.
Reminds me of a time in either 1996 or 1997, at the annual St. Kitts Music Festival, I was honored to see the legendary Kool and The Gang live in concert. These guys, apart from being good musicians, put on a show. They had so much fun with the audience, and went way over their allotted time, but who cared? All were having fun, dancing to hit songs from the 1970’s and 1980’s.
Music cuts across generations and culture. At Lovefield Airport here in Dallas, on some days, live music is provided in the departure area, between Alaska Airlines and Southwest check in desks. It is so comforting to see persons dancing or moving to the music, as they deal with their travel protocol.
So, what is new at my end? Nothing much. I am now eventually giving in to the wish of my family to own a dog once again. I know who the work will fall on, once the novelty of a pet wears off. In Beltsville we had been through fish, turtles and a dog. You can guess who had to clean out the fish tank every week… (not smiling at my end).
I look forward to visiting Beltsville, later in the year, God sparing my life. I get very nostalgic when I speak with my friends there. It is a journey of 1330 miles and I have done the trip in 18 hours, making three stops for gas and a 47-minute nap after 10 hours of driving. Road trips are a lot of fun. My route is very scenic, passing through Little Rock, Arkansas, on to Memphis, Nashville and then into Virginia, coming up I 81 through Charlottesville, New Market seeing the Blue Ridge mountains provide a lovely sea of green. I look forward to doing a few other road trips. So much to see on the road, and so much to take in – food, drink, local culture among others. Reminds me of when in Beltsville, I would drive to Toronto overnight, 12 hours to go hang with my cousins or my wife’s siblings and then return to Beltsville on Sunday to play volleyball at 6 pm in Beltsville. Volleyball was my passion at the time. Highlight was when my Beltsville Team won the PG County League Title in 2013.
Well my dear reader, let me start to round up. Next month, I am going to feature an interview with a movie director, Bolanle Austen-Peters, BAP, who directed a movie that has just been released on Netflix. It is called, “Man of God” and literally shows how a Pastor was a hard disciplinarian on his first son, and eventually the son left home and turned his back on the family, but eventually became a Pastor himself. His past catches up to him and he eventually has to return to his father, who at this point has forgiven the son. I will warn that some of the language used is not too pleasant, but it reflects the reality of the streets in life. So we will meet BAP, who has transformed the performing arts sector in Nigeria. Hopefully you get a look into how a Director thinks and tries to tell a story. I cannot act to save my life. I respect those who do this.
On a final note, do have a great Mother’s Day when it comes. Mothers do a lot for all of us.We love our mothers, but let us do something special for them this year…instead of sending flowers on one day in May, let us give them other flowers all year round. An easy affordable way is to go to the website, www.bestimony.com and send a special affirmation to a loved mother. Give the flowers to our loved ones while they are alive. That’s the Jive!