You know, it is tough to find good music. When was the last time you were serenaded by a professional artist? Yesterday, my beautiful bride surprised me with a serenade at the Golden State Theater over in Monterey. The star of the show was a young lady named Amy Grant. Amy is well known by my bride, but then she knows lots of terrific singers and has a wonderful voice all her own. In fact, it was music that brought us together.
I had my gun shop on the 100 block of Main Street and she was working at a Bistro on the corner of Gabilan and Main Street in Salinas. She worked as a server during the day, but after work and on the weekend she was the entertainment for the customers and their dates. It was during one of those weekend days where she entertained the customers that she caught my eye, not to mention being the prettiest girl in the place. She could make anyone feel better just by listening to her voice.
I had stopped by after I closed the gun shop to listen to her and to make it well known that I wanted to be a little closer to her. Lorraine might have thought that I was a little older than her, but she and I found that we both loved all types of music. Of course, I was a little partial to rock music and she loves show tunes and knows the words to the entire musical families that played at local venues. She was always singing and even had professional voice coaches to help her get past difficult stanzas. I was just hoping that she would see me as an artist that thought she sounded like an angel. I mean, she was an angel to me. She studied music and I just hummed along to keep her company.
I had always wanted to be a singer. After all, I was born when Elvis was the King. As a young man, I would be happy to memorize all the words that were sung by Little Richard, Elvis, Chubby Checker and Jerry Lee Lewis. These singers that I liked so much were not the type of music artists like Lorraine sang in church. Oh! She knew all about that type of music, it was just that she had a formal education and almost majored in music in college. She studied all sorts of music and even treated her voice as an instrument. I never thought of the voice as its very own instrument, but Lorraine thought a lot about the method of her singing. She just wanted to add a little love to everything she did with music.
You take last night. She and I had seats where we had the best acoustics. Amy Grant seemed to be singing directly to us. I’ll be honest and admit that I love rock and roll, the blues and even some country. However, seeing an artist live always adds a beat that makes me think of the stars that started rock and roll. As I sat there in The Golden State, I was reminded of the very first song I ever heard in a theater, it was The Wasco Theater. Elvis Presley sang in the first movie to allow the public to sing along with the music. Of course, because it was in Wasco they had ushers walking up and down the aisles to make sure we weren’t doing anything scandalous, like kissing a girl. I wasn’t old enough to kiss a girl in public and was asked twice to quit trying to kiss the girl I was sitting with.
Last night, as we sat waiting for the show to start, I kept remembering those days and the crazy feeling one felt when the girl they were with went ahead and let me kiss her. I got to kiss Lorraine last night and it was as thrilling as those kisses I remember. Back when Elvis was singing about a house that had a leaky roof and a hole in the floor. If you ever get a chance to listen to “This Old House” by Elvis, make sure you have a girlfriend with you.
The acoustics in The Golden State were very good. Amy Grant sang quite a few songs and I was sure there was an angel in the theater. The music may not be the kind of music I would choose, but it was beautiful and I cannot complain as the tickets were given to us by someone who knew we could use the time together. I hope there will be a time where we can repay this family. We are already making plans to take them out to some place for dinner. It’s always a good feeling to make someone feel good when they are not expecting it. Somehow the good times are almost always associated with music.
As I finish up, I’m reminded of my kids and how music is such an important part of who we are. When Austin was a baby and we couldn’t get him to quit crying, “Only You” by the Platters was the only song that would calm him down. To this day, he still loves that old song. “You Are My Sunshine” connects Tara and I, and “Anything Like Me” by Brad Paisley makes me think of Reed with a big old grin.
Those are just a few songs that bring a smile to my face and I owe so much of it to Lorraine. She gave us all a love for music and it always warms my heart when she says, “George, come listen to this song that one of the kids sent.” It’s usually something that they know she will love too. Take some time and go listen to something that will bring a smile to your face. As for me, I’m going to go listen to some Elvis.
God Bless.
