Friday, October 12, 2018

Boo'd Up

The following email was originally posted on August 31, 2018

While this week has been filled with Memorial Services (Aretha and McCain) and remembrances (Mother Teresa, Michael Jackson and Diana), I prefer to exit these somber times with something a bit more uplifting.  To that end, I commend to you a song and a singer featured in the latest edition (No. 67) of what I believe to be the United States version of Now That's What I Call Music!  Since I love music but have neither money to buy nor the space to store individual CDs, I rely upon the quarterly release of the Now compilations to keep me abreast of what is current. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Now_That%27s_What_I_Call_Music!

For the most part, there are usually only one or two songs that I really like amongst the 20 or so songs on any given Now CD.  And even amongst the one or two that I like, it is rare that a song will startle me enough to say "Wow!"  But, in this wonderful world, such a song was on the Now 67 CD that I received two weeks ago.  And with the singer (Ella Mai) singing with a voice that seemed to be a cross between Sade and Alicia Keys ... well let's just say that there is still much to look forward in this life ... and in this world.

This is what I first heard while sitting in my car after a long day at work


and this is what I heard and saw when I first saw the video for the song


I suppose that 204 million views may indicate that I am late for the party ... but, as they say, better late than never.

Hoping you all can have a Boo'd Up Labor Day Weekend

Peace,

Everett "Skip" Jenkins
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Michael at Wembley and Other Famous Encounters

The following email was originally posted on August 30, 2018

As I previously mentioned, after my post on June 25 regarding Michael Jackson and the videos including the one from the concert at Wembley Stadium in 1988, I received a very nice email from one of my classmates regarding his own encounter with Michael at that very same Wembley Stadium concert.   My classmate has graciously consented to allow me to share his email and so I have done so below.  Reading Gregory's email made me a bit envious and caused me to wonder what other notable encounters with the famous others may have had.  If any of you have had such encounters, please feel free to share.  Some of us are consigned to live vicariously through the lives of others, so please do share any encounters with the immortals that you feel comfortable in sharing and allow us mere mortals to live. 

Peace,

Everett "Skip" Jenkins
Class of 1975

P.S. My health is fine.  There are maintenance issues, as might be expected for a vehicle with this amount of mileage.  But, I am still on the Hinohara plan ... and it seems to be working. 

On Sunday, July 1, 2018, gregory speck wrote:

Dear Skip,

Thanks so much for sending the three videos of Michael Jackson, which I finally had a chance to watch just now.  I think the first one took place in Kuala Lumpur, which I toured as the guest of Malaysia in celebration of their 50th anniversary of leaving the British Empire.

The second one at Wembley Stadium outside London I actually attended on July 16, 1988 as invited press, and it was thrilling.  I took along the legendary agent Milton Goldman of ICM, who had never been to a rock concert until that evening.

After the spectacular show a few of us were invited to meet Michael in a little stage set of a medieval castle, where the King of Pop was so shy and bashful one could hardly believe he could create such a magnetic persona for his performances.

I happened to enter the city of Jackson, Mississippi while on a tour of New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Natchez, Vicksburg, Birmingham, Montgomery, Mobile, and Biloxi at the very moment of his death in Los Angeles, too.

I was sorry to hear of your medical problems, and hope that they can be treated and cured.  At this age many of us are having health problems, and in fact I had cataract surgeries in May, which thankfully restored my distance vision to perfection.

Best wishes,
Gregory Speck


On Monday, June 25, 2018 6:33 PM, Skip Jenkins wrote:




For some (Don McLean, for example), the Day the Music Died was when Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J. P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson were killed in a plane crash on February 3, 1959.  But for many of us the Day the Music Died was much more recently.  For many of us, the Day the Music Died was June 25, 2009 -- the day that Michael Jackson died.

In celebration of African American Music Appreciation Month and in remembrance of the best selling African American Music artist of all-time, I offer the following three videos.  The first was the one which electrified the television viewing audience in 1983 with a dance routine which seemed to defy physics


the second is a live performance from some 30 years ago that shows Michael at his peak


and the last is a montage of Michael performing the song that may be his most lasting message song


Enjoy, Remember, and Reflect.

Peace,

Everett "Skip" Jenkins
Class of 1975
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August 29: The Day the Music Was Born

The following email was originally posted on August 29, 2018

 With all that is going on in the world, it may seem strange to note the birthday of a music icon who passed away almost a decade ago.  However, strange as it may seem, I do pause to remember Michael Jackson's birthday since he would have turned 60 years old today.  Somehow that number just does not seem to fit the man who seemed to be the eternal Peter Pan.  But time does march on, whether we want it to or not.
In response to the email I sent in June, one of my classmates kindly wrote back and informed me that he was actually at the 1988 concert at Wembley Stadium in England that is depicted in the second video.  It was a most notable concert because not only was my classmate there but apparently so too were Princess Diana and Prince Charles.  It must have been a magical memory... one that seems to be too few in this life and this world.

On this day, I invite you to once again partake of the videos sent with my email in June and to also view two performances by Michael done for a previous administration when the world seemed to be a more hopeful place.  The first is a song whose message still resonates today


And the second is a song that was sung for another but which could also apply to Michael himself.

Peace,

Everett "Skip" Jenkins
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The Queen of Soul, R. I. P.

The following email was originally posted on August 16, 2018

By now, most have heard about the passing of Aretha Franklin, the woman called by many the "Queen of Soul". 


By now, most have also heard the accolades about how Aretha Franklin was a legendary R&B -- Soul -- singer who was the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame


However, for many of us, what made Aretha Franklin the "Queen of Soul" was not just the way she sang in concert halls but rather the way she sang in church.  When she sang in church, it would often send a shiver down one's spine and by the sheer force of her voice a spirit would move within.  It was the spirit rousing way that she sang that made Aretha the Queen of Soul not just in popular music but in gospel as well. 


Rest in Grace, Aretha.  You will be missed.

Peace,

Everett "Skip" Jenkins
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