Jukin' to the Oldies....

I had insomnia something terrible last night. I mean, I went to sleep at 2, woke up at 3 and couldn't get back until 6. After I woke up, I realized that I wasn't going to get to sleep again for a while so I pulled out my Sam Cooke's Greatest Hits CD and sang almost every song on there. Man, I forgot how much I used to love Sam Cooke. My mother used to play him all the time in the house. I was singing "Chain Gang" before I knew what the song was about. I remember hearing "A Change is Gonna Come" around the house everytime the anniversaries of her sister's and brother's death came around. My mother would always hum the tunes and I would sit there and listen to every harmony, every lyric and every instrument in the songs. They are ingrained in me. I picked up my guitar last night and songs I haven't heard for years came to me like I was 7 and just heard them yesterday.

So today I go to WhuDat and see this clip of a young man named David Brown. Apparently, the ONE time I miss American Idol this season, they wanna have someone who can actually BLOW. (Yeah, I brought that word out of the crates, dusted it off and used it again, so what?) Homeboy tore up my Sam Cooke song "A Change is Gonna Come"...he is my pick so far. He seemed very polite, sincere and the brotha is talented. Plus, he has locs. And LAWD knows I love a brotha with some beautiful locs!! I can't wait to watch him this season because I know he will make it far.

Since I mentioned how my mother used to play Sam all the time and when she played certain songs, here are some oldies and what they remind me of:

1) "Reasons" - Earth, Wind and Fire.
This is my parent's song. They have been married for 26 years and I remember hearing this song every December 26th. And when I got old enough and that day hit, I would run to the record player (yes, we still had a record player...that's so classic) and put it on for them and watch them dance.

2) "Forever Your Girl", "Cold Hearted" & "Straight Up" - Paula Abdul.
These are some of the first songs I really learned to sing. I used to listen to the entire Forever Your Girl album front to back over and over when I was like 5.

3) "Angel" - Anita Baker
Anita is my daddy's girl. I didn't really have a full appreciation of her voice until I turned 17, but this song holds memories for me. My dad used to put this on and dance with me.

4) "I Swear" - All 4 One
Yep, sure did. I liked this song. It was the shiznit back then! Me and my friends would sing the HELL outta this song!!! In retrospect, it's not that great, but it's still not that bad either, so don't talk about me!!

*off to watch Season 1 of Chappelle's Show*