Summer is here!  With the Fourth of July . . . and concerts in the park . . . and with that in mind, here is an old, 1973 video of Robert Lamm's song, "Saturday in the Park," performed by him and his bandmates.  They are in a park, and it looks like the people listening there are enjoying this concert in typical casual summer park fashion. 

I'm learning (very slowly -- it may take a few years . . . but I'm actually making pretty good progress) how to play this song on the piano.  The chords in the intro are so much fun, and you can see in the video that the band's audience thinks they are, too. 

This song was #3 on Billboard Hot 100 in 1972.  It was written in 1971, after Robert Lamm went for a walk in Central Park in New York City on a summer day.  There were musicians and other entertainers there, and after absorbing all the hubbub, he wrote a song about it.

The band playing the song is Chicago, a rock and jazz fusion group. Besides guitars, drum, and keyboard, there is also a trumpet, trombone, and saxophone.  The sound is exciting; it is full of energy and life, but the music also carries the listener right along with it-- it is pleasant and not overpowering.

The song "Saturday in the Park"  was on Chicago's 1972 album,  Chicago V.

Trivia about "Saturday in the Park" -- did you know it is played for Saturday afternoon baseball games at three different large city stadiums? (Chicago, New York, Denver)

Have you made plans yet for going to summer park concerts?  There are event schedules -- probably already out -- for city parks that host them; this is one of the very best venues for listening (outside, in the park).

When I was in first grade, I heard black soul music every Sunday morning at the church my family attended . . . complete with hand clapping and a little bit of dancing in the aisles (it was a Pentecostal church).

This was a far cry from the Lutheran church we had previously attended, that had a quiet liturgical service.  My parents were adventurous, and they were excited about this new worship style.  Me?  Well, it was a bit confusing and unsettling to have such a radical change . . . but I carry in my heart some wonderful memories from this Pentecostal church with lots of African Americans and lots of hippies (it was the 60's after all . . .)  My favorite thing about this church, when I look back, is "the music."  That's also my favorite thing about the liturgical Lutheran service -- lol!

So in the 70's when Stevie Wonder hit the music scene full force with his own blend of blues and jazz, there was a familiar ring to his sound, to me.  I bought his album, Songs in the Key of Life, in the early '80's and sometimes would turn it on in my cassette player.  My very favorite song from this album is one that was also a favorite for LOTS of people-- it was #1 in the US Billboard Hot 100 songs chart for 14 (nonconsecutive) weeks in 1977. That song was a tribute to some influential giants of jazz-- Count Basie, Glenn Miller, Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, and one he called "the king"-- Duke Ellington.

Wonder is not Stevie's real name;  Stevie isn't, either-- his name is "Stevland Morris."  His first stage name was "Little Stevie Wonder"-- and he was truly a wonder;  an amazing harmonica player and singer, he was signed as an artist with Motown Records at age 11.  Little Stevie Wonder was the youngest artist in history to take first place in the Billboard Hot 100-- at age 13, with his song "Fingertips" (1963).  If you'd like to see and hear a short video of this incredible song, see this YouTube video:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3ubgVjp3CY

The song I'd like to feature here was recorded 14 years and 22 albums later . . . "Sir Duke."

A few months ago, I had the privilege of helping with refreshments at a jazz concert at my daughter's college, and got to hear an instrumental version of this song.  You could see people all over the room moving to the music and toe-tapping (including me).  After they finished the piece, the director said, "If that song doesn't make you happy, you need to check your pulse."  And he was right.  So, for your listening happiness, here is a video with
"Sir Duke."  This one has no images-- just the words to the song (the video was created by Kieran Heatley-- thanks, Kieran!)  I found it interesting to follow along while listening; when I've heard it before I haven't understood all the words.  Also, since Stevie Wonder has been blind since just after birth, maybe this is more how he would experience the song (just a dark background-- he wouldn't read the words, but he already knows them ) . . .

Let's go back to 1972. Watergate is percolating in Washington D.C., and guess who's sitting at a fountain near the White House, making a music video? 

He's wearing silver platform shoes, and it looks like he's really
enjoying the bright sunny weather.  Did you guess?  It's pop singer Johnny Nash. 

Don't let his name confuse you; his style wasn't anything like the country legend Johnny Cash.  But he wrote one of my all-time favorite pop songs.  It hit number one on the Billboard hot 100 chart, and stayed there for four weeks, in fall of 1972.

The song is, "I Can See Clearly Now," also known to many as "Sunshiny Day."  It's just a warm, all-around good-feeling kind of song, with a story about the sun coming through after the grey clouds and rain have gone.

The rhythm heard in this song was unique at the time-- reggae music was a brand new music form.  Johnny, a Texan, had spent some time in Jamaica a few years earlier, and had helped to finance and produce some of Bob Marley's early reggae recordings.  He wanted to introduce this rhythm pattern to pop music, and did so very successfully with this song.

For a small slice of American cultural and music history, see this 1972 video: http://vimeo.com/45062930