Tag Archives: death

♫ Ain’t That A Shame ♫

Posted on by under music

I read yesterday of the death of Dave Bartholomew at age 100.  Dave Bartholomew was a musician, bandleader, composer, arranger and record producer. He was prominent in the music of New Orleans throughout the second half of the 20th century. Originally a trumpeter, he was active in many musical genres, including rhythm and blues, big band, swing music, rock and roll, New Orleans jazz and Dixieland.  Best known for songs like Walking to New Orleans, I Hear You Knocking, Blue Monday, One Night, and many others.

Dave-Bartholomew-2013.jpg

Dave Bartholomew – 2013

Many musicians have recorded Bartholomew’s songs, but his partnership with Fats Domino produced some of his greatest successes. In the mid-1950s they wrote more than forty hits for Imperial Records, including this song, the Billboard R&B number one chart hit Ain’t That a Shame.

He was a member of the Songwriters Hall of Fame, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame.  If you’re interested in more, NPR has a nice, short write-up about Dave Bartholomew.Dave-Bartholomew

R.I.P. Dave Bartholomew … Ain’t That A Shame … 😢

Ain’t That a Shame
Fats Domino

You made me cry when you said goodbye
Ain’t that a shame
My tears fell like rain
Ain’t that a shame
You’re the one to blame

You broke my heart when you said we’ll part
Ain’t that a shame
My tears fell like rain
Ain’t that a shame
You’re the one to blame

Oh well goodbye
Although I’ll cry
Ain’t that a shame
My tears fell like rain
Ain’t that a shame
You’re the one to blame

You made me cry when you said goodbye
Ain’t that a shame
My tears fell like rain
Ain’t that a shame
You’re the one to blame

Oh well goodbye
Although I’ll cry
Ain’t that a shame
My tears fell like rain
Ain’t that a shame
You’re the one to blame

Songwriters: Antoine Domino / Dave Bartholomew
Ain’t That a Shame lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

Float Like a Butterfly, Sting Like a Bee …

Posted on by under Social commentary

This morning I turned on CNN to catch a few news tidbits as I was going about my first-of-the-morning routine, and for the first time in nearly a year, I did not see a single political clip for a full 45 minutes!  It was like a breath of fresh air, though the reason is not a happy one.  “Muhammad Ali – dead at age 74″, read the banner across the bottom of the screen.

ali4Ali, of course, is best known for his boxing career that spanned some 21 years, but he was much more than just a boxer.  He was an entertainer, a civil rights activist, a humanitarian, a larger-than-life figure.  His life is, perhaps, best summed by what he said after winning his first heavyweight title, “I don’t have to be who you want me to be; I’m free to be who I want.”  And that is exactly what he did for the rest of his 74 years.

 

No less than five books have been written about Ali’s life, and today the media is filled with stories detailing his career, his life, his persona, so I will not write what others have already written.  Instead, I will let Mr. Ali speak for himself:

  • “The man who views the world at 50 the same as he did at 20 has wasted 30 years of his life.”
  • “Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth.” 
  • “Don’t count the days; make the days count.” 
  • “It isn’t the mountains ahead to climb that wear you out; it’s the pebble in your shoe.” 
  • “Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they’ve been given than to explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is not a fact. It’s an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It’s a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing.” 
  • “A man who has no imagination has no wings.”
  • “Hating people because of their color is wrong. And it doesn’t matter which color does the hating. It’s just plain wrong.”
  • “Live everyday as if it were your last because someday you’re going to be right.”

 

The death of Muhammad Ali is sad, as are most deaths, but the greater tragedy is that since 1984 he had been battling Parkinson’s disease and for the last several years, his mobility and ability to speak were so severely hampered that he was kept from doing the things he most enjoyed … being with people, entertaining.

ali-mlk

And so, once again we say ‘goodbye’ to a legend, a bigger than life persona. Neither I nor anyone else could offer a greater tribute than Mr. Ali himself, who said: “I’d like to be remembered as a black man who won the heavyweight title and who was humorous and who treated everyone right. As a man who never looked down on those who looked up to him and who helped as many of his people as he could — financially and also in their fight for freedom, justice and equality.”  And so you shall, Muhammad Ali.  Rest in Peace.

Prince and 140,000 Others Died on April 21st.

Posted on by under Global Issues, Random, Social commentary

This is just a sampling of the headlines in this week’s news from the Washington Post World and U.S. sections, and the New York Times:

  1. 500 Migrants May Have Died in Sinking of Boat in Mediterranean, U.N. Says
  2. Israel Names Palestinian as Bomber in Jerusalem Bus Attack
  3. Toll in Blast at Pemex Plant in Mexico Rises to 13; Workers Missing
  4. Earthquake Leaves a Trail of Destruction in Ecuador
  5. Abducted Nigerian Girls Have Not Been Abandoned, U.S. Says
  6. Burundi Is Torturing Prisoners in Crackdown on Dissent, United Nations Says
  7. Deadly Attacks in Ethiopia Leave Victims Wondering Why
  8. Prince, an Artist Who Defied Genre, Is Dead at 57
  9. 7 Police Officers Guarding Vaccination Team in Pakistan Are Shot Dead
  10. 15 Ambulances and Hundreds of Victims: Kabul Attack Gives Service Grim Test

 

eiffelTwo days ago, a musician named “Prince” died.  I had heard of Prince, of course, as I had children during the ‘70s and ‘80s who listened to his music.  I was not a fan, because his style did not match my taste in music.  It has been years since I have so much as heard his name, and yet, for the past two days there has been an outpouring of grief, reminiscing, and the like for this musician.  The last pop star whose death caused as much commotion was Elvis Presley, or possibly Michael Jackson.  Across the globe, monuments were lit in purple for this entertainer, from the Superdome in New Orleans to the Eiffel Tower in Paris.  Quite a tribute for an entertainer.  Better than any that I can recall.  Many of his fans are grieving his untimely death.  But …

… where is the grief for the 500 refugees who drowned when their boat sank in the Mediterranean last week?  Where is the grief for the 646 who died in the earthquake in Ecuador on April 16th?  Do we really care more about an entertainment icon than we do common people who are just simply trying to survive and raise their families in safety?

In fact, I do not think we care more about one musician than hundreds of victims of natural disasters, war and famine.  But I do think, and I have made this point before, that the media directs our interest, tells us what to care about, what is important.  And in so doing, they are doing us a great disservice.  I watched CNN for exactly 40 minutes yesterday morning, during which time I saw precisely two news stories, each with about 60-90 seconds of coverage.  One of those stories happened to be about 8 people murdered in a town near my home on Friday, and the other about North Korea firing a missile from a submarine. Both stories, I think, deserved more coverage than they received. The rest of the 40 minutes?  Coverage of various tributes and memorials to Prince, interviews with people who knew (and some who didn’t) Prince, who had worked with him over the years.  They even interviewed Beyoncé’s father.  Repeatedly we saw the various monuments aglow in purple.  Many Facebook icons were changed to reflect Prince.  All of which is well and fine, but I think it is overdone to the point that it becomes shallow and meaningless.

I did not know Prince and neither did 99.9% of the people who pretend his death is the end of an era. Over 140,000 other people died that day. Their lives were just as important as Prince’s.  They just aren’t in your iPod. Yes, Prince was obviously a talented entertainer, but he also lived life on the edge, from what I have read.  Entertainers tend to die young … think Elvis, Michael Jackson, Whitney Huston, Karen Carpenter and so many more. So be sad that he is dead at such a young age.  Be sad that there will be no more new music from him.  Listen to his music and savor the memories it brings.  Then move on.