Soul Man

Hey Barry White Fans . . .
It's now autumn, and we are all faced with the daily grind of life again . . . no more vacations and long, sun-filled days lolling about at the beach. It's reality, most of us are not independantly wealthy, capable of doing nothing each day. Now's the time we must harken back to our youth, our carefree days . . remembering what it felt like to spend many hours doing whatever we darn well felt like doing. I can remember endless hours with the record player turning, spinning out the songs of my youth . . . any number of artists voices carrying out from those magic discs . . . unfortunately for me, I hadn't discovered Barry White then. I had heard of him, but I hadn't listened effectively to his wonderful voice, his melodies and compositions so intricate and soulful. Sometimes I really regret that I missed his heydey, the period of life when he was alive and giving us those songs, one after the other. How quickly the lights of life can dim if we aren't paying attention. It reminds me that life's most precious moments are those we get to spend doing just as we please in youthful pursuit . . when time is standing still and we eagerly accept the nothingness for we don't know what lies ahead. In remembrance of Barry White and my youth, I encourage all of you to take a moment to enjoy something carefree . . . do nothing but whatever it is you enjoy doing! That's what Barry got to do all of his life, what he loved! Celebrate the eternal youth of this masterful musician.

Take care,
Cheryl

At the Home . . .

of the #1 fan of Barry White right now . . . around me are the many albums, cds, dvds, and assorted photos and other items in this man's memorabilia. I could say that possibly he has everything, but I know this is not the case! There are so many more things out there in the world which pertain to Barry, left from concerts, or perhaps gathered by adoring fans just like him. But he likes to say, he is the #1 fan, because he has spent his lifetime in adoration of Barry! I hear him sing along to songs I am not even so familiar with, knowing every lyric, every note, every place where Barry worked his magic with composing . . . . each song is his favorite, each melody starts a flood of memories and emotions flowing. Can you compare your personal history to his? I think there are many such fans worldwide who adored Barry White, not to mention those who were actually conceived during one of his marathon recordings. Hmmm, to say BW touched the world is an understatement for sure. Lots of love to all those of you who are right now lost in dreams of another time, a time filled with the delectable sounds of the maestro as he delighted you with endless love and beautiful music!

Another Reference

again today, in an episode of a tv show from the 90's I think . . . I didn't watch the show back when it first aired, but in seeing it's reincarnation on cable today, I was reminded of Barry White's influence yet again. There I was, only "sort of" watching as the comedic cast did their best to entertain . . . I'm not sure of the title even of the show, just remembering the tragic circumstance of the actual cast member who was shot to death unexpectedly by his wife of all people while the show was still in production. His name was Phil Hartman, and he was one of the big stars of this ensemble cast. Anyway, today as he performed his lines, he was doing a deep voice at one moment, and actually pretended to be Barry White. It was charming. I'm wondering how many times Barry was mentioned or imitated by someone in movies or in television programs, or in song lyrics, or how many times he participated in broadcasts which aired during his lifetime. His career was so prolific, how could anyone have kept track of all his appearances much less the times he was given a nod, or a mention within a show??

Ah, Barry, you had so much influence and you were so iconic, everyone seems to have known you. It's sometimes strange how you live on so, beyond the physical limitation of your abbreviated life, just like the actor who pretended to be you in this show. It was sort of ironic . . . time has a way of equalizing us all that way, doesn't it?? We all become memories, but those icons amongst us get to live on through film and video, iconic immortality, thankfully!

A Big Memorial

for Michael Jackson reminds us of the many icons we have loved and lost in recent years . . . even those from not so recent years, like Elvis. If the artist is the one who influenced your musical preferences the most over your lifetime, it is a shock to your system to lose them prematurely. Many people are able to mark specific life events to music from these great performers. Things like when they conceived their child, to what song they played at their wedding, all the way to which is their all-time favorite song ever! These are remarkable feats from our musical icons, things which touch us so deeply. Now multiply that out by thousands perhaps millions of people all over the world and imagine how these geniuses touched and impacted their lives and continue to do so for the future. It's astonishing! Their brilliance is truly great, as their influence upon humanity as a whole is incredible. Let's celebrate all these icons of love, as Barry would have surely called them.

Have a great new day, listen to someone you love, Cheryl

Filled With Memories

and playing his songs . . . we all spent a moment basking in the glow of Barry White this 4th of July, didn't we? It is an honor to remember someone so talented, but the very act of this reverence to a master is still not easy to facilitate. It's as if we still find it hard to believe he is gone. I am certain his #1 fan, a man I know quite well, was moved to spend parts of the day longing for another chance to experience Barry White's greatness . . . but not in album or cd form, but rather through a concert. Ah, if only there could be another chance to see him perform, as those who did see him live cannot seem to let the memory of that experience diminish. He must have surely been a tremendous force of nature out on the stage. I ponder the "what ifs" of my life, among the many volumes of things . . .wondering if I had just gotten the chance to see him, just once . . . but unfortunately, some of life's offerings to us have time deadlines, most of which we never consider until they are upon us. Then we lament the lost cause, the missed chance . . the restlessness building as we consider the opportunity that will never be. I probably could have had the opportunity once upon a time, but I was a different person inside then, favoring other performers during those years of Barry White's predominance. I missed the chance to pull the "golden ring" from the merry-go-round . . . just a few years too late with my admiration for this masterful musician to see him perform live.

Believing

in miracles . . . wanting to find the rainbow's end . . . looking towards the stars . . . these are the phrases which occur to us when we are searching for our dreams. I believe that Barry White was a dreamer, a really big dreamer . . he never tired of finding a way, making the dreams become realities. I know this because I read his history, his story . . in his own words. He shared his soulful journey out of Watts in Los Angeles, CA. to the big time! He made it, just by walking out. Nothing but bravery and heroics allows for a man in such a troubled place, with so many opportunities to fail and fall around him, to elevate his status in life, to lift his dreams to a new reality. That's exactly what he did, he overcame the worst things life can throw at a young person of color. He even lost his brother to the life he purposefully overcame through struggle and his bravado. He gave back in every way possible to the people who helped him through those years of hardship, including his beloved Mother. She was his inspiration, keeping him from falling into the traps a youth in the tough neighborhood of Watts can fall into. She showed Barry the pathway, through hard work and perseverance, through spirituality and benevolence. He learned to help many people along his journey, even offering counseling to young couples as they learned to adapt to marriage and life as a couple. He never failed at reinventing himself to suit himself first, then if his corporate partners failed to support him, he made himself stronger with new partners and new methods. Barry White was iconic and incredibly talented, but his greatest legacy is what actually is the greatest enigma for his fans . . . how could someone so "large" in life just leave so quickly without much made of his passing, in other words, his fans are left to wonder, how could he have left so early when he had so much power in his soul? Surely he fought through many other travails and easily became the victor, so why was he taken so prematurely from us? He surely had many more intended victories and many more memorable achievements to reach . . . like all the greats who leave us quite young, we are left to ponder their immortality in our hearts, wishing they could be the one who someone made it through the greatest challenge they ever faced, death. Oh why Barry, why??

It Ain't Lovin' . . .

until you live it . . it ain't lovin' until you give it . . ahh, those words, that melody, the tempo which gets me through those minutes on the treadmill or the elliptical machine. I love his energy . . . Barry White exuded raw and unfettered energy, in every way, even his ballads. Why I do believe most of his arrangements lengthened a song which might have only been 2 minutes in duration to about 20 minutes! He wasn't shy about filling his listeners up with emotion and then taking his sweet old time to wring it back out of them . . . exhausting their emotions until they are spent. It's his process . . . he gave all, but in that process, he takes all too . . . you sway, you rock, you move, you sing, you hum, you slap your hands to the tempo . . . you are carried away with the rhythms, until you are spent.

What a tremendous gift Barry White gave us all . . . the endless array of arrangements and songs, each grasped by some recording artist, or producer or television production company to be used as a signature piece. Listen to all the places BW's music pops up, in the least likely places . . . I even found his songs as recordings inside chocolate candy heart boxes this last Valentine's Day. His reach is enormous, his expanse unrivaled. There are snippets and blips on the "radar
screen" of life everywhere from BW's influence in the musical world.

Take some time to feel your groove . . Cheryl