June 25: The Day the Music Died

The following email was originally posted on June 25, 2018

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

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lvsBBNV-U4

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

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujDSiL600nc

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

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HnJaf-9fZjc

Enjoy, Remember, and Reflect.

Peace,

Everett "Skip" Jenkins

A Dance With My Father

June is African American Music Appreciation Month

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African-American_Music_Appreciation_Month

and this weekend we celebrate Father's Day

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Father%27s_Day_(United_States)

In recognition of both occasions, I commend the following for this Friday's musical offering

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmDxJrggie8

Happy Father's Day, Everyone!

Peace,

Everett "Skip" Jenkins

The Blind Boys of Alabama

I had to catch a plane last Friday so I was not able to tell you about the passing of Clarence Fountain, one of the leaders of the Blind Boys of Alabama

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/06/obituaries/clarence-fountain-88-dies-led-the-blind-boys-of-alabama.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fobituaries&action=click&contentCollection=obituaries®ion=rank&module=package&version=highlights&contentPlacement=1&pgtype=sectionfront

I also was not able to tell you that one of the more memorable concerts I have attended in the last five years was the appearance of the Blind Boys of Alabama at Napa's Uptown Theater a few years ago.  I seem to recall telling someone, at the time, how remarkable it was to see a group of men in their 70's and 80's perform with such electric energy that it put most contemporary artists to shame.  And I did so want to tell you about it last week.

Well, I missed that opportunity, but today is a new day and I am able to make some amends.  And so, while it is difficult to convey the electricity generated by the Blind Boys of Alabama, I think this video comes close

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fA17BmsklFA

And now, before I go out for my evening walk, allow me to say Rest In Joy Clarence Fountain, and thank you for sharing the energy with us for so many, many years.

Peace,

Everett "Skip" Jenkins

Can You Surry?

May was unusually chilly here in the Bay Area.  However, today was warm and there are more warm days on the way.  Soon Summer will be here.  The most pressing question then will be "Can you surry?"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgPGDRc7_kM

Peace,

Everett "Skip" Jenkins

Class of 1975

Can you surry,
Can you picnic?
Can you surry,
Can you picnic?
Surry down to a stoned soul picnic
Surry down to a stoned soul picnic
There'll be lots of time and wine
Red yellow honey
Sassafras and moonshine
Stoned Soul

Surry down to a stoned soul picnic
Surry down to a stoned soul picnic
Rain and sun come in akin
And from the sky
Come the lord and the lightning
Stoned Soul

There'll be trains of blossoms
There'll be trains of music
There'll be trains of trust
Trains of gold and dust
Sweet trains of thought
Can you surry?

Surry down to a stoned soul picnic
Surry down to a stoned soul picnic
There'll be lots of time and wine
Red yellow honey
Sassafras and moonshine
Stoned soul

Memorial Day and a Day of Memories

The following email was originally posted on May 25, 2018

In a few minutes, I will be leaving to catch a plane.  I will be heading south for a Memorial Day weekend involving family and friends.  Part of the weekend will involve a drive to Victorville to visit my brother and to see, one more time, the pink painted cement block house in the euphemistically titled Bell View Heights subdivision where I was raised and for many years called home.  Being back in the town and especially in the house my parents bought some sixty years ago will bring back a lot of memories  ... and there will be a great appreciation for what was instilled in me during my years there ... and which in so many ways is with me still

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQYNM6SjD_o

Wherever you may be, have a safe journey home and please do have a memorable Memorial Day.

Peace,

Everett "Skip" Jenkins

The Song of Bernadette: Multiple Versions

Jennifer Warnes on recording

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f96WymmAJAs

Jennifer Warnes on television

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZIFavgLd38

Judy Collins in concert

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZIFavgLd38

Aaron Neville and Linda Ronstadt in concert

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ys0H1CMpJSo

Anne Murray on television

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhTHNEztLT8

Bette Midler on recording

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nG1AoAGAP_g

The Song of Bernadette

The following e-mail was originally posted on February 9, 2018

Last Sunday, after watching the Young Jedi lead Philadelphia to victory over Darth Vader and the Death Star crew in Super Bowl LII, and after abandoning This Is Us after learning of the demise of Jack but before all the tears could flow, I scrolled down the guide for something else to watch.  During the scroll, I came across a listing for TCM showing the 1943 movie The Song of Bernadette.  As Wikipedia describes it

The Song of Bernadette is a 1943 biographical drama film based on the 1941 novel of the same name by Franz Werfel. It stars Jennifer Jones in the title role, which tells the story of Bernadette Soubirous (later canonized Saint Bernadette) who, from February to July 1858 in Lourdes, France, reported eighteen visions of the Blessed Virgin Mary. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Song_of_Bernadette_(film)

However, this is not quite true.  The visions were of a lady who would later identify herself as the Immaculate Conception, but the theological complexity associated with such a self-identification are not significant for this story.  What is significant is that The Song of Bernadette has always been a favorite movie of mine ever since when I saw it for the first time in 1963 (when I was 10 years old) and it inspired me to become a more "saintly" person in hopes that I could see something miraculous as well. 

As events occurred, my attempts to become a saint did not last too long.  Not long after seeing the movie, the base commander (I was on Glasgow Air Force Base, Glasgow, Montana at the time), decided to relieve the tedium of the base by opening a youth center where I soon could be found learning games of war (Chess and Risk), honing my gaming skills (bumper pool and shuffleboard), and mingling with teenagers who were fond of listening to that radical new group, The Beatles.

Nevertheless, over the years, I have watched The Song of Bernadette many times and I have often wondered what would have happened if I had continued to pursue the saintly path.  

Last Sunday night, I again paused to see the movie and to reflect on life.  While doing so, I noticed that one of the newspapers highlighted in the movie indicated that the church investigation into Bernadette began in March 1858.  The date prompted me to look up Bernadette Soubirous on Wikipedia where I learned that Bernadette's visions actually began on February 11, 1858  ... 160 years ago this weekend.  

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernadette_Soubirous

In reading about Bernadette Soubirous, I also learned, for the first time, that there is now an actual song titled "Song of Bernadette" that was composed by Jennifer Warnes and Leonard Cohen. Intrigued by this new development, I found this website 

https://franciscanizedworld.fscc-calledtobe.org/2012/02/franciscan-hymn-song-of-bernadette-by-jennifer-warnes-and-leonard-cohen/

which provides Jennifer Warnes' explanation for the composition of the song

I was given the name Bernadette at birth. But my siblings preferred the name “Jennifer” so my name was changed one week later. In 1979, on tour in the south of France with Leonard Cohen, I began writing a series of letters between the “Bernadette” I almost was, and “Jennifer”–two energies within me. One innocent, and the other who had fallen for the world.

I showed Leonard my letters to which he replied, “There’s a song in here…just start at the beginning…”There was a child named Bernadette, I heard the story long ago…and then keep going….”

So the song arose in a bus nearby Lourdes. I was admiring Bernadette’s countryside from the bus window, thinking about the great Saint who held her ground so well, and was not swayed from what she knew to be true.

But the song is also about me longing to return to a place that was more pure, honest and true. I still long for this, and I think others do too.The letters were just an experiment: “Dear Bernadette, I’m so lost right now.” “Hello dear Jennifer, don’t worry, I’m here, and it’s gonna be okay.”

I suppose I was struck by the timing of my rediscovery of the movie The Song of Bernadette and of my new discovery of the song "Song of Bernadette".  I was also struck by the coincidence that two women named Jennifer (Jennifer Jones and Jennifer Warnes) were connected to Bernadette in very intimate ways. However, most importantly, I was struck by the fact that more than a century after her death, the story of Bernadette Soubirous continues to provide healing both physically and mentally and that the miracles still occur.  And now, for many, the healing associated with Bernadette Soubirous can be ministered through the beautiful sound of a song

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZIFavgLd38&index=5&list=PLC97F44FA2A8E3412

I hope all of you have a blessed weekend filled with miracles great and small.

Peace,

Everett "Skip" Jenkins

 Song Of Bernadette Lyrics

There was a child named Bernadette
I heard the story long ago
She saw the queen of heaven once
And kept the vision in her soul
No one believed what she had seen
No one believed what she heard
But there were sorrows to be healed
And mercy, mercy in this world

So many hearts I find, broke like yours and mine
Torn by what we have done and can't undo
I just want to hold you, won't you let me hold you
Like Bernadette would do

We've been around, we fall, we fly
We mostly fall, we mostly run
And every now and then we try
To mend the damage that we've done
Tonight, tonight I just can't rest
I've got this joy in my breast
To Think that I did not forget that child
That song of Bernadette

So many hearts I find, broke like yours and mine
Torn by what we've done and can't undo
I just want to hold you, won't you let me hold you
Like Bernadette would do