The Grammy

I was not that impressed with the Grammies this year. I hope I'm not one of those "they were so much better when I was younger" kind of guys. . . maybe!

I still remember the looks of disdain as the Beatles (In ties and jackets, no less!) took my generation by storm but had many of our parents shaking their heads . . . and not because they were singing “Yeah, yeah, yeah!”

And was it really that long ago when Inez and Charlie Foxx rocked our world with “Mockingbird" . . . later to be kicked up a notch with another great rendition by Carly Simon and James Taylor. Then, too, how delightful to watch and listen to Tony Bennett re-invent himself with his smash Duets II album and concert tour. Preceded, of course, by Rod Stewart’s new career putting out yet another great sound track of our lives with his Great American Songbook series.  I also loved “Maggie Mae” and his rocker years . . . love his revisiting some of the greatest, most romantic songs ever written. I must say Paul is no Rod.

I've been lucky enough to have seen the likes of Billy Joel. . . Aretha Franklin. . . Elton John. . . Frank Sinatra. . . Harry Belafonte. . . The Four Seasons. . . Ella Fitzgerald. . . The Letter Men. . . Diana Ross and more. Some of the greatest of the great. I don't think there were two “special effects” between them all. . . no pyrotechnics, no mocking the Church, no blue hair. Okay, to be fair, Elton did sport a few more sequins than, say Frank. But they just came out and captivated their audiences for 2+ hours. And we weren’t slightly deaf after their concerts.

You just know they’ll be doing covers of Etta James long after the Foo Fighters are a slight footnote in music history books. . . talk about noise.

I'm sure that the kids of today will simply read this and think that time has past me by. Maybe. But at least the ringing in my ears is the memory of simply delicious melodies and harmonies. . . not a sign of premature deafness from hours of over-amped, electronic wizardry passing itself off as music with fire works in the background.

“You must remember this
A kiss is just a kiss,
a sigh is just a sigh.
The fundamental things apply
As time goes by”.