else this performance by christina aguilera would have been wholly disgraceful.
and it's not just that she didn't know the words to our national anthem - in trying to put her own spin on the song, she came up with something that wasn't quite right - no meter, no passion, no awe, no joy.
compare ca's version from today, to whitney's version from 1991:
admittedly wh's voice isn't, today, what it used to be. however, she did a beautiful job and i believed then - as i do now - that she loves this country with her whole heart and soul.
at what point does the star who's singing become more important than the song he or she is singing?
by now i'm sure that everyone knows that yesterday afternoon isaac hayes - he of the voice of god - was found dead next to his treadmill by his his young son, his current wife and her cousin.
in 1969 hayes released the amazing and ground breaking album "hot buttered soul". his style was completely different from everything else out there at the time. he was behind soul moving from the over-the-top performances by the likes of little richard to emotional, heart wrenching and melodic songs with lavish arrangements.
in 1971 he wrote the entire score for the movie "shaft" (starring richard roundtree) and the rest was history. in 1972 he performed shaft live at the academy awards and later t.v. guide named it number 18 in it's top 25 t.v. moments of all times.
prior to getting his own record deal, the self-taught musician was part of a crack songwriting team with don porter. with don he wrote several songs including "soul man".
yeah, yeah, yeah, you all know all this already. but i wanted to share some of my own memories that are entwined with isaac hayes' music and the music that came after it.
growing up in small southern town, u.s.a. where the first year i was in school was the first year the schools were de-segregated there was, as i'm certain y'all can imagine, quite a bit of tension. my parents were listening to the beatles and patsy cline and the rolling stones and, well you get the picture. but the radio from the nearest big city was pumping out soul and rythm and blues. well at least my radio was.
i remember my father asking me why i liked "that music" so much - he said the beat did nothing but make and keep people angry. maybe so (i tend to think the same thing about rap now-a-days) but i was hooked.
when i was a kid we used to go to the naval base to swim and that was about 2 miles from our house. we'd hook our transistor radios to the handlebars of our bikes ride up to the pool. it was on one such trip that i heard 'shaft' and i was hooked.
a few years later i heard 'stormy monday blues', but compared to 'shaft' this was something altogether different - it was the blues. still my favorite type of music, bar none.
isaac hayes laid the ground work for disco for which i have forgiven him. he also paved the way for the likes of barry white, teddy pendergrass and others.
what a great sentiment. i snagged this from goat and although it's not part three of my latest series i believe it ties right in.
one of his readers wrote this song and taught it to her church's childrens' choir. it's a beautiful tribute not only to our troops but to all of us who stand against tyranny every day.
be certain to have some tissues ready before hitting play - don't say i didn't warn you!
as i told goat, we need to make this one go viral. it is all the more beautiful for the beautiful children pouring their heart and soul into.
there are not enough words to say how incredible the woman is who wrote this song - i wish i had a talent such as this.
