Sunday, March 18, 2018

I Am Sure With You


First, I loved 60s pop. Absolutely loved it. I listened to AM radio every day, and I could have listened all day -- and during the summer I often did, even often putting a little radio on a long extension cord by the driveway goalpost at the Spring Mill Road house as I shot baskets. I even remember tuning in a transistor (whose, I don’t know – it was a Zenith) late at night in my room -- the sound all tinny, but my mind filling in all the fullness of the recordings.

I loved it all.



But even considering the Beatles, Stones, Beach Boys, Kinks, Byrds, Hollies, Spoonful, Motown groups and singles....

...my favorite was the Rascals.

And when I watch this video and see Kate Taylor's reaction to the magical opening notes pour out of Brigati's mouth, I can see she must have felt at least nearly the same way. How could any group have had TWO such superlative voices as Brigati's and Cavaliere's, not to mention such a winsome catalog?

I remember a few years ago when I was back home with my HUGE family (a good 25-30 in the huge meeting room of an Indianapolis Hotel) for Christmas. At such gatherings my brother, Geoff, and I often picked up guitars and played. The family says they loved to hear us, I know that’s true, though the din of a gathering never lessened just because we were playing. And we were playing for each other – we wouldn’t have wanted the room to quiet as though we were “entertaining” them.

And this holiday gathering wasn't any different from any other. Geoff and I picked up our guitars and played some songs -- basically to each other.

But then I started playing "How Can I Be Sure" (in drop D, for you guitar players!). Brigati's vocal range is probably 2 1/2 times mine and I was REALLY straining to hit the high notes. Additionally, I was sort of concentrating on the changes -- the guitar part being new to me at the time.

Well, it suddenly dawned on me that something was different. As I started in on "Whenever I, whenever I am away from you...." I realized that everyone in the room was singing along with me at the tops of their voices. We finished the song that way, half shouting it out together. It was absolutely horriible sounding......and it was one of the best musical memories of my life.

Thanks you Rascals, you.


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