It’s Saturday night in a pandemic affected United States. I am at home instead of chasing or producing some live music adventure tonight. Earlier I had some interesting phone conversations with some well known guitar players and afterwards I had some dinner. It wasn’t long before I had a flashback to a song that soon became the evening ear worm. The O’Jays were singing in my ear and I had to go crank up some funk and soul. So I headed to my studio to find a remedy. I found it on You Tube from one of my favorite “shows” “Live at Daryl’s House” which is something I started watching a long time ago. Before I go any further I want to say this is one great channel that you should subscribe to and watch when you can. I could go on and on about the talent that finds itself on this channel. We are fortunate that this music video is out there especially while live music is mostly on a hiatus. I’ll get back to that in a moment.
So back to my early years many of which were spent all over the state of Mississippi from the delta to the eastern central part of the state. Back then you would see traveling carnivals come through town mostly landing in shopping center parking lots or vacant fields. When you were young carnivals were an attraction if only to get the junk food from cotton candy to most any fried carbohydrate you can imagine. I mostly gravitated to two rides which were my favorites.
What does all of this carnival ride talk have to do with the O’Jays? Well when you went to a carnival the mono speakers were blasting all the sounds from Detroit and beyond. Motown, Funk, and Soul music, Smokey Robinson, the Jackson 5, and for sure hits by the O’Jays. I learned every O’Jay hit on the Tilt-A-Whirl and the Scrambler. Later I would go home and cruise the radio to hear these hits that were finding their way to 45 RPM vinyl records in my collection. As I listen and watch tonight on “Live at Daryl’s House” I see the greatest of every player in the room and the amazing sounds of these vocals. What a great show and what long lasting memories from these songs! Music when it was new and music when it is immortal. As I quote Keith Richards frequently and smile “It’s good to be here, it’s good to be anywhere” but most of all I am fortunate that I have lived in some very prolific musical times.
The Players in the “Live From Daryl’s House” video:
Daryl Hall – vocals, guitar, keyboards
The O’Jays (Eddie Levert, Walter Williams, Eric Nolan Grant) – vocals
Shane Theriot – guitar, musical director
Brian Dunne – drums
Eliot Lewis – keyboards
Dennis “Doc” Williams – keyboards
Klyde Jones – bass
Porter Carroll Jr. – percussion
Charlie Dechant – saxophone, flute
Barry Danielian – trumpet
The songs:
Love Train
Backstabbers
I Love Music
For The Love Of Money
Use Ta Be My Girl
I Want To Know You For A Long Time
I Can’t Go For That (No Can Do)
That’s all for now…until next time I’ll see you, down the road.
Oh, oh, oh
Get it on, get it on
Get it on, get it on
Get it on, get it on, yeah I love music
Any kind of music
I love music, just as
Long as it’s grooving
Makes me laugh
Makes me smile all the while
Whenever I’m with you, girl
While we dance, make romance
I’m enchanted by the
Things that you do Oh, oh, oh I love music
Sweet, sweet music
Long as it’s swinging
All the joy that it’s bringing
I’m so happy to be
In complete harmony
I love you, girl
And to hold you
So close in my arms
I’m so glad that
You’re mine, all mine
Nothing can be better
Than a sweet love song
So sweet, so sweet
So mellow, mellow
When you got the girl
That you love in your arms
Honey, I love you
I love you, yeah
Music is the healing
Force of the world
It’s understood by every man
Woman, boy and girl