Thanks for the Music

If there is one thing on which we can all agree, it is that there is little comfort or security in being poor. According to one census bureau study, almost twice as many Blacks live beneath the poverty line as the average U.S. citizen. Being poor anywhere means little access to counseling, therapy and other mental and emotional health services enjoyed by wealthier Americans. Could this be the reason African-Americans turn to music as a therapeutic alternative? Dr. Mark E. Williams, MD, in an article for Psychology Today, wrote “Because habits provide the shields and safeguards to anxiety by making the future more predictable and less uncertain, they can become the focus of anxiety.“ Hey! Music has helped me get through a lot.

There is something about a good song…something that sends the signal – “Everything is going to be alright.” One of the earliest memory I have of a Black songstress’s comforting voice dates back to the mid-80s. I was in 5th grade. It was me, Amir, Leslie, Quill and a few others…sitting in the office at Grove Park Elementary school. I don’t know how our parents would have felt if they knew we were listening to Shirley Murdock sing about awakening the next morning after sleeping with another man’s husband, but there we were. We were all just ten years old, huddled around a cassette-deck listening to “As We Lay”. That was 1986. I wanted to hold on to that moment and those friends forever. But, hey! I’ll always have the song. And, that sums up the power of music.

Okay! So, what is a discussion about music without a little controversy? My love for Black women in music really began with Lisa Lisa (Lisa Velez) of Lisa Lisa and Cult jam. The year was 1985. I was nine years old and we would sit on the porch and sing songs like “Head to Toe” and “Lost in Emotion” when they came on the radio. We were especially lucky to have Tom Joyner’s weekly radio show here in Baltimore where we could hear all three of her hit songs on Saturday morning. Some might argue that Lisa Lisa is Puerto Rican. And, while this is not the place to get into all of the cultural influences that contributed to Latin R&B and pop music of the 80s, it suffices to say that I thought she was Black and songs like “All Cried Out” will forever be part of my experience and the Black experience.

Some of my favorite memories are of my late mother twirling about the living-room in her spring dresses. Whether it was Whitney Houston or Anita Baker, her music brought her such joy. As she lay in the hospital dying of cancer, she told me “All I had in this world was my music and my children”. This is where the tears begin to flow, by the way – happy tears. Most of my good memories are anchored to music. And, the memory of my mother will be forever anchored to one of her favorites – Diane Reeves’ classic “Better Days”. She would hum some of the lyrics and sing some, but as she reached the chorus she would always belt out “You can’t get to know better days, unless you make it through the night. Oh, you will see those better days, but you’ve gotta’ be patient.”

The first time I really put a Black woman in song on repeat myself was in the year 1990. I had heard this amazing voice on the radio. I knew the song was destined for #1 and recorded it the next time it came on. In fact, it was one of the first R&B albums I purchased on cassette tape. I felt “People have to hear this unbelievably amazing voice.” So, I called Frank Ski at V-103 here in Baltimore. He’s in Atlanta now, but he had a segment on his prime-time radio show called the “Top Eight at 8”. He told me “There has never been an R&B song in the “Top Eight at 8” before. I said, “Well, this will be the first one.” And, it was. Mariah Carey’s “Visions of Love” would go on to spend four weeks at #1 on Billboard’s Top 100, just one of 18 hit-songs to reach #1.

I could write a book on all of the ways I have been influenced and inspired by Black women in music. Patti Labelle’s “When You’ve Been Blessed (Feels Like Heaven)” and Chrisette Michelle’s “A Couple of Forevers” water my soul each and every time there is a need. Shirley Caesar’s “Satan, We’re Gonna Tear Your Kingdom Down” and Angie Stone’s “Brother” are an inspiration to keep fighting the good fight. Destiny’s Child and Xscape help me to get in-touch with my sensual side. When my interests shifted from R&B to rap, MC Lyte, Yoyo and lauryn Hill were three of my favorites. As a young adult, the first rap album I purchased was Lil’ Kim’s “Hardcore”. From Billie Holiday to Beyonce, Black women in music have given me a sense of comfort and security in an increasingly less secure world. And, I am eternally thankful for the contribution of the musical talents of yesterday, today and days to come in getting me through this crazy thing called – life.