Song of the Day: The One You Love

There’s a very beautiful song that I would like to share with you today. It was written by Gary Burr and Terri Clark, and originally appeared on Terri’s 2003 Pain To Kill CD. The song describes the helplessness and pain we can feel when watching a loved one go through a painful situation, be it health, emotional or otherwise.

Listening to the second verse, in particular, I thought of a family I know going through a similar situation to the one the song describes. A few years back, we worshipped with Dave and Melissa Mallicoat at a church in Nashville. We also attended a married couples’ Bible class with them, and Melissa’s mom Theresa taught our daughter in the Cradle Roll class. Dave had an ATV accident back in the spring, suffering severe head trauma, and has been in a coma since then.  Melissa has set up a CaringBridge website, which she updates frequently. I try and follow the updates and pray for the family. I can’t imagine what kind of pain and emotions they are feeling, waiting for a breakthrough to come.

Terri Clark has recorded this song twice. There is the 2003 version, that appeared on Pain to Kill, and that version was good. Then she re-recorded the song (with Vince Gill), and it appeared on her excellent 2009 album, Long Way Home. The 2009 version is superior to my ears, not only because of the beautiful harmony from Gill, but also because of the simpler production, which lets her vocal shine.

Terri Clark is a very honest writer and singer. Pain to Kill was one of the first mainstream, modern Country CDs I ever bought. What a unique voice and style. She is still making great music today, and I hope you will check this song out, and maybe think of those that are hurting, for whatever reason.

Terri Clark - The One You Love

Disclaimer: There is a brief, mild profanity used in the first line of this song. It's very much in context of the lyric, but if you are concerned for yourself, or have little ones listening, you may want to keep the volume down for the first few seconds.  

Need for Normalcy

A week or two ago, I had an interesting coversation with a good friend of mine. We were discussing what it was like to travel with a person who is "always on, all the time". Or as my friend so aptly put it, "someone who does not have an off-switch"! Well, I have been in that situation in the past, and it is not an easy thing at all. Constant joking, pranks, or just general rambling by someone trying to be cute and entertaining, becomes very grating after endlesss hours trapped on a tour bus. Don't get me wrong, it can also be hard to travel with a moody person who never talks, or barely cracks a smile.

Which brings me to an observation about some of our most successful entertainers. Most of them have a completely different off-stage persona than their on-stage persona would lead you to believe.  People have even been disappointed in the past after meeting their favorite entertainer, perhaps because they didn't encounter the larger-than-life personality they saw on the screen or stage.Take Lucille Ball for instance. She was not known for being a funny person off-stage. The writers came up with the jokes and the gags, and she played them brilliantly, of course, but she was not someone with a natural talent for being off-the-cuff funny.

People I have performed with in the past, have remarked that I become a different person when I'm onstage. One person said it was like a switch flipped, and I came alive. But I almost always found a way to turn that switch off when the show was over. I had a drive to entertain, and be noticed. The desire for that kind of recognition has diminished somewhat in the last few years. But even at my most gregarious, I had a need for normalcy. There are just times when you need a break from it. From having to be "ON". Time to discuss something normal.

Most professional musicians and actors I've been around don't talk shop that much. They have hobbies and interest not business related - golfing, hunting, clothing, sports, kids, etc. I have never had that many hobbies, but I can relate.  With all the miles I have traveled, I am really a homebody at heart. I crave the comforts of family and familiarity. That probably kept me back from going a little farther than I could have, if I'd been a little more willing to put myself out there. But more likely, I just would've gotten myself in a lot more trouble!
So to sum it up, if you don't have an OFF switch, you might find your bulb burning out a lot faster!

Randomness.

For some very unknown reason, male country-pop singers of the 60s and 70s with the name Bobby have been popping in my head today. Bobby Goldsboro, Bobby Russell, Bobby Bare. They kind of run together for me.

Bobby Russell wrote "Honey", but Bobby Goldsboro had the hit with it. There was also Bobby Vinton, Bobby Darin and Bobby Vee - but they were a different style of pop/rock.

Then you have the females (Bobby is usually spelled differently). For instance, Bobbie Gentry and Bobbi Martin! Then my mother's name is Bobbie! Oh my!!

I know I must be missing someone!

The Acting Years: Epilogue

This week, I heard a quote from former child actor Mara Wilson, responding to the question, "are you still acting"?

"The celebrity aspect is nothing short of ridiculous, and auditioning is brutal and dehumanizing. Every time I see a pretty young girl on the subway reading sides for an audition, my only thought it is, 'Man, am I glad I'm not doing that anymore.' I never feel nostalgia, just relief."

Sums up my feelings quite well. Though I never experienced anything that came close to her fame (she appeared in Mrs. Doubtfire, Matilda, etc.), she is spot on about the audition process. For a child, the rejection, and the self-consciousness it causes, are just too intense.

I am very thankful for the friends, and some of the experiences. But I am so relieved I don't have to do it anymore!

You can read her entire blog here:

http://marawilsonwritesstuff.com/are-you-still-acting/

Billboard magazine July 1972

40 years ago this month, in Billboard magazine:

Stereo was out, quadraphonic was in. AM Radio was losing ground to FM Radio. Cassettes were gaining ground to 8-tracks.The Federal District Court in Miami, Florida was dealing with an anti-piracy suit (the more things change...). In Dallas, Texas the Campus Crusade for Christ had their big rock festival, which came to be known as Explo72.

The Rolling Stones (now celebrating their 50th anniversary), had a new single: "Happy", featuring guitarist Keith Richards, and Elvis Presley had just released "As Recorded Live at Madison Square Garden". Bill Withers topped the Hot 100 with "Lean On Me", and Hank Williams Jr. topped the Country Singles with Eleven Roses.

All in all, not a bad time for music at all. If you'd like to have a look for yourself, please do so!

Billboard July 8, 1972

Song for our Dads - I Still Can't Say Goodbye

While we are talking about fathers, and this is The Trevor Haley MUSIC place, I’d like to share this beautiful song, by the one and only Chet Akins that means so much to me.

While I am holding in memory this weekend the 15^th anniversary of my father’s passing, it will be the 16^th anniversary of the passing of my wife’s father on July 14^th. It is an irony that our fathers died one year and one day apart, years before our families knew each other.

I would’ve loved to have known my father-in-law. I think we would have had a lot in common. He certainly has a wonderful daughter! I am loving, and praying for his family today.

15 years: What You Left Behind

The anniversary of my Father's death will be coming up in a few days, and I wrote something in his honor I'd like to share with you:

I drove through a neighborhood today that is not on my usual route, but it’s a neighborhood I remember you working in. I had not been through there in a long time.

Somehow, I still felt you there. The trees that you planted are still there. The bushes and flowers you placed are still there. The dirt you moved still remains part of the ground. And somehow, your presence remained.

This is the time of year that you loved. You didn’t seem to mind the heat, or the humidity. You were outside - busy, laughing. Being yourself. Someone we all loved being around. Someone who made us all feel stronger, and safer.

And then this time every year, the anniversary of your passing comes around. The memories come back, and it still feels like you went away yesterday.

You are still missed and remembered by those who love you. I look around and I wonder…so many things have changed. There have been additions to our family through marriages, and births. People whom you loved are gone now. But your memory remains.

When I hear others discuss their parents, I realize how lucky I am, because they don’t always have the fond memories to look back on. I know you had faults, but time seems to have erased those from my mind. I hope that I can leave my daughter with those types of memories of me when I’m gone.

It’s been fifteen years since you left this earth, and that is a long time. But I am so grateful to have known you, and to know you left a little bit of yourself behind.

Today's technology

Conversations with an old-timer

I thought I would take this opportunity to discuss some of the new technology today, and how it has changed music. This subject came up during a conversation with a friend of mine. He was talking about ancient recording technologies, used back when dinosaurs roamed the earth.

This man is very old, and according to him, there were these long strips of fiber, wound around a wheel, that when turning could actually capture a musical performance. Very hard to believe. I was not even sure if I believed him, until I found this antique picture on the web. And of course, if you can find it online, it's true.

I can't imagine the hours put into a recording during the time, because no pitch-correction or ProTools existed (remember, this was in ancient times). The performer was actually expected to sing the song until it was reasonably in tune and time! No wonder so few of these creatures exist anymore - they wore themselves out! No one can POSSIBLY reach that kind of perfection without some help!

Not only that, but when the final mixdown was completed, it was not mixed for optimum MP3 sound quality, but someone the music was placed inside this strange looking, pancake shaped disc:

It's very strange, and unbelievable, I know, but some of these remaining cavemen and women still find these devices preferable sounding to the miracle of today's technology!

If you don't want to take my word for it, please seek this individual out and talk to him yourself. Somehow, he has learned to operate a computer and has a blog you can find at:

 http://audiorestorationguy.blogspot.com

Gotcha Brian! Everyone have a great weekend!