The Harvills and Sadlers got together last night at our place for some homemade pizza and long-overdue hang time. The natural conversational divide after dinner occurs when Brenda and Debra move with their coffee into the living room and Gary and I move up to the studio and talk guitars, music and whatever else.

Gary suggested we look at a website featuring new music from the young artist Alyssa Bonagura. I was so blown away by this new song and singer that I wanted to share it with you. This incredible artistry represents what is largely missing in music today. “Killing Me” is just the tip of the iceberg for this talented lady, who has a new pop release coming out in 2012. I am a big fan of the simple musical treatment that she and co-writer/ co-performer Tyler Wilkinson use in this video.

Alyssa plays most of these instruments, engineers the recording and even does the final mix. She’s in her early twenties, for goodness sake!

Enjoy.

The first time I saw a professional songwriter at work was in the 1961 Disney animated feature, The 101 Dalmatians. Most likely I saw it at our local Fox Fullerton theater a few years after it’s original run. I watched Roger Radcliffe, the aspiring song-smith and male lead of the movie, pounding-out ideas on the upright piano in his London bachelor flat. “Could a person really make money by writing songs?” I wondered. My answer would come some thirty years later with my first published song, Ancient of Days.

(L to R) Robert, Richard and Walt

My childhood was filled with Disney music from movies like Mary Poppins, The Parent Trap and The Jungle Book. Many years later I learned that the guys behind the tunes in these three movies, as well as the indelible It’s A Small World, were brothers, Robert and Richard Sherman.

Robert, two and one-half years older than Richard, grew up the polar opposite of his brother: Richard was outgoing and Robert, very much reserved. Their push-pull personalities served them well as a creative duo, but less so when not working. I found out much more about the brothers by watching an excellent documentary, The Boys: the Sherman Brothers’ Story. I was surprised to learn that they are basically strangers these days–Richard lives in Hollywood, and Robert resides in England. Sadly, as displayed throughout the documentary, they have little in common. Other than song writing and being born to the same parents, they don’t seem to enjoy one another. As a cinematic voyeur,  one gazes through the window of this movie, never to witness a genuine exchange of warmth between the two.

The documentary starts with the Sherman boyhood days in New York City, then to their eventual re-location to Los Angeles. Richard takes the viewer on a present-day tour of a backyard garage, once owned by the family, where their collaboration started. He also scouts some of their early stomping grounds around Hollywood.

In 1958, they wrote a song called Tall Paul for Mouseketeer Judy Harriet. The song was then covered by another Mouseketeer, the popular teen sensation Annette Funicello. This caught the attention of Walt Disney. The Sherman Brothers were promptly signed as Disney staff writers. Subsequently, their first song with Disney was The Strummin’ Song. Robert and Richard quickly became a staple in the company’s movie production machine.

Walt Disney’s favorite Sherman Brothers song was Feed the Birds from the movie  Mary Poppins. Walt asked them to perform it often at his office piano, leaving their boss misty-eyed most every time. Robert and Richard also had success away from the Disney Studios with music from movies like Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

With numerous awards between them, Robert and Richard Sherman continue to inspire new generations with their songs. I am grateful for their influence in my own songwriting. My prayer is that someday they make peace with each other. Fame and fortune pale in comparison to the importance of brotherhood and family.

In May of 2011 I left the position of worship leader at a church–a job I was blessed to have for almost seven years. For a year-and-a-half before that, I played guitar there as a hired gun almost every weekend. So altogether, I was blessed with over eight years at the church.

It was my decision to end it. Some smarter folks than I would probably stay-on because of the security factor, but I needed to close the curtain when the show was over. I was tired and uninspired. The drive was 40 minutes each way. Some weekends I had to travel 320 miles to complete the schedule of services, and then I was back in my cubicle on Monday morning to start it all over again. After eight years, I was thankful for the opportunity to serve these saints–to learn so much about managing a large congregation (7,000 attendees) and the resultant weekly ministry responsibilities. But I knew my position there had run it’s course, so I put in my resignation.

The tricky part was: I didn’t have any clue what was next. My greatest concern was that I get back to balance again and go from there. Because of some savings and income from songwriting and production, Brenda and I could make it through financially without the church income… for a few months, anyway. Little did we know that several months later we would still be praying for the next chapter to open up.

In the mean time, we visited churches all over the greater Nashville area, giving little thought to anything close to home. One Sunday in July, we decided to visit a church around the corner from our neighborhood. We had seen the growth of that little church from it’s inception–meeting in a high school–to it’s full-blown campus, beautifully crafted out of an empty Kroger grocery store. We walked in, loved the folks, the pastor, the worship, the vibe, and were generally blown away. Could a wonderful place like this be so close to home?

Since that day, Brenda, my dad and I have called The People’s Church of Spring Hill home. Like all ministers, I needed a break and, for months, sat with the congregation to regain my strength. Just a month-or-so ago I started playing and singing on the worship team. I feel refreshed and energized, and am grateful to be back in the game!

Every minister needs a break. It’s dangerous for our families, churches and our health to keep plodding-through without a time of refreshing. I am thankful for the break I’ve had, and I’m excited about 2012 and all that God is doing.

A string of R&B hits by such artists as Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett and Clarence Carter were recorded in Muscle Shoals, Alabama in the early 1960s, and helped launch a phenomenon that would become the “Muscle Shoals sound.” Detroit had  Motown, Nashville had country, Memphis had Stax, L.A. and New York had their signature sounds, but Muscle Shoals had a rock, R&B and soul-sound all of it’s own.

Among those drawn to the Shoals was Paul Simon, who came in search of the band behind the recording that many call the essence of the Muscle Shoals sound: “I’ll Take You There” by the Staple Singers. Simon’s collaboration with the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section produced the hits “Kodachrome” and “Loves Me Like a Rock.”*

I was recording a project with my friend Lenny LeBlanc several years ago in his studio, just outside of Muscle Shoals. Between sessions, the late-great Ava Aldridge, writer of Dr. Hook’s “Sharing the Night Together”–who was also singing on the session–took me on a tour of the Shoals in her great-big Cadillac. I saw the studios like FAME and Muscle Shoals Sound, where great misc was made–and still is to this day. She then drove me to a small, nondescript store-front, with no more than 800 feet of space inside, and told me that the Rolling Stones recorded “Brown Sugar” and “Wild Horses” for the Sticky Fingers album there in December of 1969. As we peeped through the dusty window into the shadows of the abandoned store, she pointed to the back restroom area. There, Ava told me, the signatures and notes of many famous artists most likely still cover the walls. Wow–I had to stop for a moment to take it all in!

The Osmonds recorded “One Bad Apple” in  Muscle Shoals. Mac Davis recorded “Baby, Don’t Get Hooked on Me” and Percy Sledge’s “When A Man Loves a Woman” was recorded there, too.

When I think back to that little impromptu tour Ava gave me more than twenty years ago, I am amazed that so few people know about the city of Muscle Shoals. Just like Bethlehem–considered insignificant, yet chosen as the birthplace of the King of Kings–Muscle Shoals, though diminutive in stature. was chosen to give birth to incredible music; it’s greatness is profound.

Rest in peace, Ava Aldridge. Although you’ve been gone for several years now, your influence will be felt for generations to come.

*Excerpts from an article by Debbie Elliott: The Legendary Muscle Shoals Sound.

For goodness sake, are you as tired of all the name changing going on as I am? Just this week the governor of Rhode Island, Lincoln Chafee, called the Statehouse Christmas tree a “Holiday Tree”,  and he’s catching a lot of flack for it. What’s next?

My nephew Jonathan, an avid Disney aficionado, Tweeted this week that the Walt Disney Company has been slowly taking father Walt’s name out of several corporate logos, to simply read–Disney. The Muppets movie, now in theaters, is conspicuously missing “Walt” in the castle logo at the beginning of the film, leaving just the founder’s last name. Other Disney logos have changed over the past year as well, including Disney’s California Adventure Park changed to Disney California Adventure. The names of several shops in both North American Magic Kingdoms have changed over the years as sponsorships come and go. Has this changed the perception of Disney? Does a moniker really make the product?

The Disney name game doesn’t compare to the  “Christmas Tree” versus “Holiday Tree” ballyhoo. I think the tree fiasco is a game the governor of Rhode Island has already lost to the overwhelming majority. You see, no matter what one wants to call this season, everyone knows what it’s all about: BABY JESUS! I think it’s pretty silly that a politician would try and lessen it’s importance by instituting a name change. Isn’t “holiday” a contraction of “Holy Day”? The joke’s on you, Mr. Chafee!