Saturday Inspiration with Stevie

Lots of history here. Baby boomers are going to love this.

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Glenn Frey ~ You Better Let Somebody Love You ....

The Eagles framed the soundtrack to my high school years.

They took me down highways and through musical doors that seared into my psyche, influenced my musical choices, helped me form an appreciation for phrasing and lyricism that lasted my whole life.
My friends and I used to sing "Desperado" with the radio on the way home from school. We added harmonies and passionate joy that only comes when teenagers invade the back of a Volkswagen Beetle drinking glass-bottled cokes popping peanuts inside.

I was a freshman and my boyfriend had a car. It was a yellow 1966 Ford Mustang convertible with a stick shift and I loved to drive it. We sang "Peaceful Easy Feeling" (1972) .... "Take It Easy" (1972)..."Lyin' Eyes" (1975 Don Henley/Frey)...so many times in my friend's Volkswagen or in my yellow love bug machine flying down back country roads fifteen minutes past my eleven o'clock curfew. Turning down the music was always the best option when trying to sneak in the driveway unnoticed. It didn't help that the headlights would always shine directly into my parents' bedroom window.   Why is it that his music always brings back memories of carefree high school days with friends....when all that mattered was which song was on the radio?

The music was loud in my generation. But this man's musical soul was gentle. 

His was the voice of soft rock. And we will miss him.

Of all their songs the melody and lyrics that belong to "Desperado" hits me hardest at this time in my life. Don Henley (I adore him!) began writing parts of it in the late '60s but it wasn't arranged until he collaborated with his songwriting teammate Glenn Frey. It was the first of many they co-wrote through the years.

Eagles 1973

Henley explained in the liner notes for The Very Best of the Eagles: "Glenn came over to write one day, and I showed him this unfinished tune that I had been holding for so many years. I said, 'When I play it and sing it, I think of Ray Charles - Ray Charles and Stephen Foster. It's really a Southern gothic thing, but we can easily make it more Western.'  Glenn leapt right on it - filled in the blanks and brought structure. And that was the beginning of our songwriting partnership - that's when we became a team."

These lyrics are timeless. And they speak to me strongly on this day in 2016. The Mustang and the boyfriend long gone. But the message ever poignant to me -

"Your prison is walking through this world all alone.... You better let somebody love you before it's too late."  

 Desperado, why don't you come to your senses?
Come down from your fences, open the gate
It may be rainin', but there's a rainbow above you
You better let somebody love you (let somebody love you)
You better let somebody love you before it's too late
 Full lyrics HERE

We will miss the stories in your songs and the music in your soul.

Rest well. Sing on.

#GlennFrey

Posted by Mimi Lenox on Monday, January 18, 2016

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We're Too Small To Stop The Rain

 I have always loved this voice. 

Gary LeVox, the Ohio born singer for the trio Rascal Flatts, never ever ever fails to move me with his vocals. He is seen here performing for the troops in Bagdhad in 2007. For me, it's not about the genre but the talent, musicianship and lyrics. I enjoy everything from Prince to Mahler  - even the unlikely American country southern titled band of  Rascal Flatts.
Much music is on my brain this week. Performances, rehearsals, time at the piano and a million details to distract me. But nothing can take me out of myself and my troubles like a simple and brilliantly written melody line. And there is no one on earth who can deliver a ballad like this group or this voice.

People are in such need right now. My corner of the world is being inundated with wind and rain and floods. Ice and snow and frigid temperatures. Strange and dangerous weather all over the country and world. People stumbling in rubble and watching their homes sink into murky graves. Elderly people with no hope of ever rebuilding and sleeping in corners of school gymnasiums on the floor. Babies ripped out of the arms of mothers in epic tornadoes. I don't know what is happening in the world right now but it feels like upheaval, transition, revolution all around ...even in the earth.

So they sing.
And it helps me heal a little and remember to count my blessings.
 

I will stand by you

I will help you through

When you’ve done all you can do

And you can't cope
I will dry your eyes
I will fight your fight
                                                   I will hold you tight
And I won't let go
  

Everyone needs someone who won't let go.

6am Light

Photography Mimi Lenox

and a video to start your day

Caution Children Playing by MadelineWoe

Created by MadelineWoe. We thank! Please share this.

**Warning: Images are graphic**

My Reason #12 to Blog4Peace ~ The children of the world should have no fear of play.

  Join us for BlogBlast For Peace Nov 4

#blog4peace #blogblast4peace

2011 Official BlogBlast4Peace Video

Somewhere in the northern lands of Newfoundland Canada, a peace blogger managed to create a video for this year's BlogBlast4Peace that is not only visually stunning but as moving a piece as I've ever seen. Using Enya's "May It Be" from Lord of the Rings as musical inspiration, she forces us all to look at the darkness of war in starkly personal terms. In doing so we are inspired once again to believe that our only battle on this side of the conflict - is one to be waged for peace.  May it be.

 Thank you, photographer and poet Dawn Drover, for creating this year's official video...and for not shying away from the truth that needed to be told. Pacem.

Join us for BlogBlast For Peace Nov 4

Welcome To Our YouTube Channel

 Click the image to see it Live.

 I am working hard trying to cover all the bases for BlogBlast this year. Great things are happening.
If you've ever made a video for one of your peace posts in the past, it should be on this channel. If it isn't, let me know and I will add it. We're off to a fantastic start with beautiful promos being made already. Feeling creative? Go to Picasa and view my public albums here. Pick out the peace globes you'd like to include and make your own video. Find your own! Include your friends. Be creative. Add music. Or not. Send it to me and I'll put it on the channel.

Happy a lovely Wednesday.
Join us November 4th

I Made A Movie. Anyone have Spielberg's number?

GoAnimate.com: Blog For Peace ~ Do you have your peace globe? by BlogBlast4Peace

Like it? Create your own at GoAnimate.com. It's free and fun!

Join us for BlogBlast For Peace Nov 4, 2011.

Amazing new BlogBlast 2011 video by Canadian peace blogger Wanda Dawn Gilbert Drover

This video beautifully touches the heart of peace globes. It is but one corner of the globe in conflict but we know each ripple of awareness goes a long way towards them all.

Many thanks for her amazing work, talent and dedication to the movement.

  UnBeautiful (heartstrings and imaginings) is the title of Dawn's first book and is available through Blurb. You can also find stunning original photography and poetry on her blog called "I Don't Know Much About Photography."  I beg to differ. 




Join us for BlogBlast For Peace Nov 4, 2011.

I Need A Laugh ~ Don't You?

I Slept With A Polar Bear

He was so cute atop the Christmas ball on the bed. He reminded me of the singing Bear A Tones. I asked him if he knew who they were and he said "Why, of course! They sing for peace with John Lennon on the internet."

Duh.

Everybody knows that.

But alas, our torrid chilly affair ended when I reminded him that we were polar opposites. MEN!

*hat tip* Jamie White @ Durward Discussion and her awesome BlogBlast For Peace post

New Video! Blogger Dawn from Canada asks, "Is this the world you want?"

Dawn at Twisted Sister in Newfoundland, Canada has created a moving piece about world peace on YouTube for the 2010 BlogBlast For Peace. Please watch this short and to-the-point clip that brings a dose of reality.

Thank you, Dawn!

Wait A Minute! Do I Hear Bears Singing?

So I'm sitting here minding my own business this Sunday afternoon when suddenly I hear....Lennon? Yes. It was definitely Lennon. I looked up to see a team of polar bears, one wearing sunglasses, singing "Give Peace A Chance" on YouTube!  It was incredible. They were in tune and everything!

Seems that they have joined the Dona Nobis Pacem crowd!

Who knew bears could be peace activists?

They're cute.

I hope they stay warm.

Thank you Jamie and Colorado Bob!

Video for BlogBlast For Peace 2010 (aka Mimi re-makes a movie)

Want one? Grab the code below.

<div> <embed flashvars="&p=c60acb2ce5c74ce2c6fe32&skin_id=1008&host=http://www.onetruemedia.com&autoPlay=1" height="317" name="FLVPlayer" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" quality="high" salign="LT" scale="noscale" src="http://www.onetruemedia.com/share_view_player?p=c60acb2ce5c74ce2c6fe32" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="388" wmode="transparent"></embed><div style="font: 12px/20px verdana,arial,sans-serif; margin: 0px; padding-bottom: 15px; text-align: center; width: 388px;"> <a href="http://www.onetruemedia.com/landing?&utm_source=emplay&utm_medium=txt4" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Make an on-line slideshow at <span style="text-decoration: underline;">www.OneTrueMedia.com</span></a></div> </div>

Share it!
Please.

Monday Mimisms ~ Videos from Mimi Silly Skirt

This is Mimi making a movie.
Be prepared.
The content is stirring.

Take One (silly)

Take 2 (sillier)

Take 3 (silliest)

Take your pick.
Oh what the beach has done to my silly bone.

Photography © Mimi Lenox

Five On Friday ~ Eva Cassidy

I can never get enough of this voice.
She left us too young, too soon, and never received the recognition she so richly deserved. I think my favorite performance is this acoustic live version of her signature arrangement of Somewhere Over The Rainbow. It was filmed at Blues Alley with a camcorder as were most of the following.

Birth name Eva Marie Cassidy
Born February 2, 1963 Washington, DC
Died November 2, 1996 (aged 33) Bowie, Maryland

Wiki credit: After having a potential contract with Apollo Records collapse when the label went bankrupt, Biondo and Dale decided that she should release her own live album. In January 1996, the material for Live at Blues Alley was recorded over a two-day period at Blues Alley, Washington, D.C. Due to a technical glitch on the first night of recording, only the second night's recording was usable. Unhappy with the way she sounded due to a cold, she was reluctant to release the album. She eventually relented, on the condition that the studio track "Oh, Had I a Golden Thread", Cassidy's favorite song, would be included in the release, and that they start working on a follow-up studio album. Her apprehension appeared unfounded as local reviewers and the public responded positively. In one of the first published news articles on Eva Cassidy, The Washington Post commented that "she could sing anything — folk, blues, pop, jazz, R&B, gospel — and make it sound like it was the only music that mattered." The subsequent studio album she worked on was released as Eva by Heart posthumously in 1997. In the liner notes of Eva by Heart, critic Joel E. Siegel described Cassidy as "one of the greatest voices of her generation."

2. Autumn Leaves Sultry. Pure. Innocent vocals. There's a difference when a singer can pull off all three in the same song and they are intertwined perfectly.

3. Fields of Gold. Chills. Every.Time. I featured it in this post "Serenading the Moon and Clouds" after my Baby Boy lost someone very important in his life.

"In his arms she fell as her hair came down".....pure magic.

4. Songbird ~ "For you, they'll be no crying. For you, the sun will be shining. For I feel that when I'm with you, it's alright. I know it's right. And the songbirds get singing...and I love you I love you I love you like never before."

Wiki credit: After Cassidy's death, local folk singer Grace Griffith introduced the Blues Alley recording to Bill Straw from her label, Blix Street Records. Straw approached the Cassidy family to put together a new album. In 1998, a compilation of tracks from Cassidy's three released recordings was assembled into the CD Songbird. This CD lingered in relative obscurity for two years until being given airplay by Terry Wogan on his wide-reaching BBC Radio 2 show Wake Up to Wogan, following recommendation by his producer Paul Walters. The album sold more than 100,000 copies in the following months. The New York Times spoke of her "silken soprano voice with a wide and seemingly effortless range, unerring pitch and a gift for phrasing that at times was heart-stoppingly eloquent."

 
 Got 5 tunes you'd like to share? Play along! Thanks Travis for a great Friday meme. 1. Grab the banner, make your post title Five on Friday, and be sure to link back here. 2. Go to Playlist.com to make your play list of five songs. You may choose a particular theme to share with us, or post random tunes if that's your vibe for the day. You can simply post the play list, or you can add a little summary about what you are sharing. 2a. Don't feel restricted by the tracks listed on Playlist.com. And don't be discouraged if the Embed code won't work. You're welcome to use any type of media to share your Sets. 3. Be sure to sign Mr Linky so everyone can visit your Set. 4. No tags, but feel free to invite your friends to play along if they need a post topic on a Friday.

The Song Lyrics Meme ~ I Kid You Nut

Welcome to The Queen's Meme #46.
The subject is music.

*sorry this meme is a tad late. I was quite literally under a tree. Details on my blog later*

I had lunch last week with bloggers Ferd and Gail. It was lovely! (details forthcoming) He described a game his kids played recently while they were visiting in which a word was given and the players had to come up with a song title using that word and then sing the song. I said, "What a great idea for Monday's Queen's Meme!" sans the singing (unless you want to make a video and that would be extra bonus points with the Queen!!!) ...and possibly no dungeon for the rest of your blog life.
So Song Lyrics it is. Thanks to Ferd and his happy family.

I used a random word generator to find the words.
Your job is to find a song that uses this word either in the title or lyrics. Give us the title or part of the lyric that fits and the artist. Then say a little something about the tune and why you chose it. Posting a YouTube video of the song would be great! (but not required)
Here we go.

A website called "Who Does That Song?" might help.
Just type in the word and your choices are endless.

I decided to answer these with the most outrageous titles I could find. I'd never heard of any of these except the last one. What people will do... Prepare to get an education.

1. Want

"I Want You Dead" by Brooke Valentine
I would not listen to a song called "I Want You Dead" but to each his own. I have not read the lyrics but I am assuming she means she wants all the bad things in the world dead and gone. That's what I'll believe. Next.











2. hell
1997 ~ The Squirrel Nut Zippers ~ Yes. Really.
I kid you nut.
"In the afterlife
You could be headed for the serious strife
Now you make the scene all day
But tomorrow there'll be Hell to pay"



3. smack
2006 ~ Akon Featuring Eminem "Smack That"

Smack what?
That's what I want to know. It's from the album Konvicted, so I ain't askin'. Next!
**Too late. I listened to a 30 second clip. Ooooohhhh....**


4. ugly
1963 ~ Burl Ives ~ "Ugly Bug Ball""Then our caterpillar saw a pretty queen
she was beautiful in yellow, black and green
he said, "Would you care to dance?"
their dancing led to romance.

and she sat upon his caterpillar knees
and he gave his caterpillar queen a squeeze
soon they'll honeymoon
build a big cocoon
thanks to the ugly bug ball"

Eureka!! I knew I picked the right song!

5. Beast

Beasts In Cages by The Monks! What day is complete without a Gregorian Chant?
It's my lucky day. Ahh....that's better. Something soothing. Calm. 1999. Written by Cassidy, Ford & Hudson.

And then I saw one of their album covers. Intriguing!
But quite possibly the wrong genre.
Whew. That music degree came in handy on this meme. I hope Baby Boy does not find this meme.
Wouldn't want him to get any bad habits.


6. Romeo

Thank goodness The Transformed Man (my hero) shows up. It's William Shatner with "Romeo and Juliet/How Insensitive" in 1968. Shakespeare and Shatner. Unbeatable.
"What light thru yonder window shakes....."
Isn't that how it goes? Pure depressing poetry.



7. God

Billie Holiday. 1941/1950 "God Bless The Child". Finally! A song with some sense. One of my favorites. Her real name was Elinore Harris and she was known as LadyDay, Queen of Song.

"Them that's got shall get
Them that's not shall lose
So the Bible said and it still is news
Mama may have, Papa may have
But God bless the child that's got his own"

I'm going back to The Ugly Bug Ball. It made me laugh. I might find a sympathetic beetle or a lonely caterpillar just my speed. Wanna dance?

Five On Friday with Travis #1 ~ Even When The Rain Falls

I'm in a Gospel funk today. NeedToBreathe's "Washed By The Water" is just what I need to hear.

From Seneca, South Carolina, the Rinehart brothers never fail to stir my soul with their southern gospel rock. Here are the lyrics along with a stripped down acoustics version that I LOVE which really shows the heart and soul in Bear Rinehart's edgy voice. Turn it up. It is based on a true story of their father's very personal trial and how he dealt with injustice, gossip, and unfair public scrutiny. My favorite lyric is...."Those people have long since gone - my father never fell."

The band's song "More Time" was featured in the soundtrack of the 2007 film P.S. I Love You, and numerous Needtobreathe songs have been used on television coverage and for movies. ESPN used the song "Streets of Gold" from The Heat during the network's coverage of the 2007 Ford 400. The show The Hills used "We Could Run Away". Fox TV promoted its Monday night lineup for the shows Prison Break and K-Ville with the song "Nothing Left to Lose". Fox Sports used "Don't Wait for Daylight" during their coverage of the 2006 World Series. The song "Shine On" has seen the most uses, having been played on the MTV show Newport Harbor; Oprah's Big Give; the movie Employee of the Month; the movie To Save a Life; and in 2008, the song featured in the WWE Tribute to the Troops special. In August 2009, the song "These Hard Times" from the band's album The Outsiders was featured in promos for a new NBC show, Mercy. Their song "Nothing Left to Lose" was featured in trailers for the movie Extraordinary Measures released January 2010. In addition, their song "Something Beautiful" is featured in the soundtrack of the film When In Rome and on the 21st episode of the first season of Cougar Town.

Band members

* Bear Rinehart – lead vocals, guitar, piano, organ, harmonica * Bo Rinehart – lead guitar, banjo, synthesizer, backing vocals * Seth Bolt – bass, mandolin, backing vocals * Joe Stillwell – drums, backing vocals * Toby Friesen (touring member) – keyboards, guitar On March 26, 2009, David Leonard (formerly of Jackson Waters) was announced as the newest (touring) member of Needtobreathe. He joined their live touring band on keyboard and backing vocals. In the summer of 2010, David left life on the road and was succeeded by Toby Friesen (also formerly of Jackson Waters). **Credit: Wikipedia** Do you have 5 songs to share on Friday? Play along with us! Here's how: Travis made these rules!! 1. Grab the banner, make your post title Five on Friday, and be sure to link back here. 2. Go to Playlist.com to make your play list of five songs. You may choose a particular theme to share with us, or post random tunes if that's your vibe for the day. You can simply post the play list, or you can add a little summary about what you are sharing. 2a. Don't feel restricted by the tracks listed on Playlist.com. And don't be discouraged if the Embed code won't work. You're welcome to use any type of media to share your Sets. 3. Be sure to sign Mr Linky so everyone can visit your Set. 4. No tags, but feel free to invite your friends to play along if they need a post topic on a Friday. Go forth and enjoy music!

Tides of Joy

When the world under my hat

gets dark

and I find no peace
or direction

I will remember this walkwhen my soul tangled through rain and seaweed

in the strength of wood and night

and know that tomorrow will bring

tides of joy

and light

Video uploading slowly...
*Photography credit: Mimi Lenox*