The last few days I have been thinking about the many influences we have in our Life! - of course our Parents and Family, I never heard either my Mom or Dad ever raise their voices or argue and of course have to use bad language. Then my Faith and my strong Belief has been a big influence, yes seeds planted by my parents, but what I will always appreciate most in life was how they give me morals and standards then set me free, but what did become clear as an influence is Music!
I was sharing with a special friend this week, how when I was around two Mom would sing to me, I would be sat on a very small wooden stool and she would sing and teach me what we know as Sunday school choruses, using hand and arm movements, I will never forget the first she taught me J - O - Y J - O - Y surely that must be JESUS First, yourself last and Others In-Between! - that has been a path of life I have remained on. With music being so important I wish I could play an instrument, I would love to play piano, at Sunday School I was in the Young People's Band and I played cornet, 2nd cornet in fact, which meant you did not play the melody which I hated! anyway to be truthful I never picked up how to read music and I used to have to write in pencil under the notes on the music which keys on the instrument to play.
My only brother was 12 years older than me, so he was always playing music, then Tamla Motown as it was known in the UK, the music of Detroit USA Motown, so while all my mates started to get into rock music and then punk! for me it was Soul and also Gospel. My own era was Philly music, but I always loved my Motown. My first single I bought was the FOUR TOPS when I was 12, and the first live concert was also the FOUR TOPS. I will never forget telling Mom a little white lie, we often played rugby games away and that would meant it would be the middle of the evening when I returned home, so I told Mom we had an away game. I then told school I had to go to the dentist, instead I ran to the railway station, instead of my rugby kit in my Adidas bag was jeans and a top, so I changed into them and went on my own to Liverpool, 28 miles on the train, the first time on my own and to a major city, the only other time I had been was to see Father Christmas at one of the big department stores. I have now every FOUR TOPS Album CD ever released, that's what they mean to me and there are some collector's items. LEVI STUBBS as a vocalist is amazing, he could sing the telephone directory for me, unfortunately LEVI does now not appear live with THE FOUR TOPS due to ill health, two members Obie and Renaldo have sadly died leaving just Duke now. I was asked if I would consider writing the Four Tops biography, but there are more talented writers than me, I write too much from the "heart"
Never did I think I would get to play the music I loved as a Radio DJ and interview the artists and get to know many as friends and still to this day. My careers teachers told me I stood any chance of being a radio DJ, but I kept applying and told no one even when I got to interview stage until I got my letter of appointment.
I have added a music player to my "Blogger" and of course the FOUR TOPS are the first track, I have been limited in choice as not all tracks are featured to select from, lead singer LEVI STUBBS means as I told you lot to me, his voice and his range, "Ask The Lonely" is my all time favourite but here is "Still Waters" which says a lot.
Next is a young very talented Vocalist & Song Writer I keep telling you all about DAVID L. OSMOND. Yes his father Alan is one of The Osmond's. David has been lead singer with his Brothers in a group they called "2nd Generation" since he was a real youngster. David has appeared in musicals and also covered and taken over from his Uncle, Donny Osmond in many major productions. Currently David features as guest artist as a solo singer on many album collections and he is working on his debut solo album, something I am determined to see happen . The track featured is from a musical "Power in is Touch", it is funny how in life we cross paths with people. When David first appeared in this musical I contacted the writer and producer COLLETTE CALL and we started to correspond a lot, what True Lady she is. Sadly I have still not seen the musical, but when the album was released it became a firm favourite and still is, I have been able to introduce it to so many friends, some of them in the US where able to go and see it.
My first radio show was so important what was going to be the first record I played? well for me it had to say something and I choose - The Intruders a Philly record called "I'll Always Love My Mama" - Yes she was listening at home, the words say so much about any Mama, most important, "You Only Get One" and that is so true, the lyrics also say "Mama used to go out and clean someone else's house, just to buy me a new pair of shoes" well she did for my school uniform etc. We never went without, good home cooked food and two weeks holiday a year and everything bought was always paid for cash, Dad was so strong about that, but when Mom died I found my first radio station pay slip attached to my Dad's for that week, his was for £17 and mine a teenager was £36, what a lesson that was.
THE TRAMMPS "Hold Back The Night" was one of the tracks I used to talk over on the radio and also to open and close the show, the same when out on the road doing Disco's, but on the flip was the instrumental which I used.
BOYZ II MEN - I have always loved close vocal harmony work and on my first visit to Philadelphia in the early 90's the group had just started and I thought they where great and still do.
EDWIN STARR - S - O -S - what an entertainer and a real gentleman, at the radio station we worked wit him a lot and the audiences always loved him, we where promoting a concert one night and he was support act, the top act had been delayed due to traffic on the motorway, Edwin went back on stage a second time and never asked for an extra penny, he just loved what he did and it upset me when he sadly died so early. I have been fortunate to meet and interview all my Motown hero's, Junior Walker and Diana Ross to name a few, I never washed my hand for a few days after Diana kissed it!
YOU ARE SO BEAUTIFUL TO ME - JOE COCKER - A guy born in Sheffield, Yorkshire UK and for me with ballads real soul in his voice, recently watched a movie and this was used and it has tears in my eyes.
Wish I could feature the Boy Band that I managed for four year from Liverpool, called ATLANTA, two brothers and their friends, they approached me when I was still in radio and it was a Gift to get to manage them, the group should have been BIG! but that is another story and involves Simon Cowell, American Idol, X Factor and Britain's Got Talent. The lead singer was so talented, ask him to write a letter no chance, but when it came to song writing! some of the songs he would bring to me and ask if we could record them I would cry when I heard them, yes we had fights as we did not always agree, but that is music, he went on to write a Number One UK Single and Worldwide Hit for the Opera/Classical Singer Russell Watson "Someone Like You" - the Group achieved so much, but did not get the major success they richly deserved.
Well you can see how Music can Influence Life, or how it has in my case and I have only scratched the surface so far, I have also added and finished with ONE REPUBLIC - APOLIGIZE - this sums up modern music today for me, lead singer and writer of the track RYAN TEDDER has talent.
A WARM WELCOME TO THIS WORLD TO BOSTON
