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God Life Money Music People Radio

My Fantastic Journey: It’s In The Lyrics

This week on ‘My Fantastic Journey’ I present Christian hip hop and rap star John Reuben out of Columbus Ohio. This is his 3RD appearance on the ‘Journey’, and he’s gonna have a lot more on here in the future as long as he continues to crank out the positive and poignant hits.

This time around it’s “Make Money Money” from his ENORMOUS 2007 album “Word Of Mouth”. It’s all about that mighty ‘dolla dolla’ – the bucks – the greenbacks – the Benjamins. We used to struggle to make it, and then once we had it we saved it and stretched it for as long as we could. Nowadays we’ve got rich spoiled children that spend lots of money just to look sloppy and broke. They call it fashionable. I call it fake. Be real. It’s in the lyrics:

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History Home Life Music Radio

Saturday Night Retro

This week on the ‘Retro’ it’s a TOP 10 pop smash that I consider to be one of the greatest written songs of the rock and roll era. It’s a song by Andrew Gold who worked behind the scenes with Linda Ronstadt at the time. In fact she returned the favour in this song by providing backing vocals.

As the story goes this kid who was born ‘on a summer day – 1951’ (such as Andrew himself) was thrown to the side and neglected and abandoned by his parents when his sibling was born ‘in the summer of ’53’ (such as Andrew’s sister). He was once an only son who was the only one. He was a lovely boy that then became a lonely boy. At the age of 18 ‘on a winter day – 1969’ that lonely boy left home to find the love that he had lost. We’re not sure if he ever found it, but his sister went on to live happily ever after.

By substituting the years 1951, 1953, and 1969 with 1967, 1975, and 1985 this song can be the lyrics of my childhood. I take this song very personal because unfortunately I can totally relate to it. If I elabourate any further on this I will get way too emotional, so I’ll just leave it at that.

All is well in 2010, but it’s been a slow and struggling recovery for me over the past 35 years. I AM living happily ever after.

Parents – love your children forever, and never neglect or abandon them.

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History Life Music News Radio

The Major’s Friday Night Disco Party

FLASHBACK with me to the Summer of 1978. It’s when Garfield made his debut in the comics section of daily newspapers everywhere. It’s when the world’s first test tube baby was born in England. It’s when Pope Paul VI died at the age of 80, and was succeeded by Pope John Paul I who died just a month later.

I turned 11-years-old on June 05TH 1978, and I successfully completed the 5TH grade at Magnolia Elementary School in Lanham Maryland. After all of these years it’s the 5TH grade that stands out above all of the rest as the most memorable of them all. It was memorable in a positive way – great teachers – great classes – great classmates. I really believe that the latter half of my grade school years (4TH, 5TH, and 6TH grades) were more influential and more valuable in molding my later adult life than the subsequent Junior High and Senior High school years. My writing skills today were conceived and developed during those latter grade school years.

On the radio during the Summer of 1978 Disco ruled, as it crossed-over in a big way from the big city nightclubs to mainstream pop, rock, and soul radio nationwide. The Bee Gees‘ younger brother Andy Gibb was only 20-years-old at the time, but he was one of the hottest solo acts in the world. Here’s his memorable Disco smash that spent most of June and all of July of 1978 at the very top of the national pop chart. It went on to become the # 1 song of the entire year here in the U.S. – as well as one of the biggest songs in American chart music history. Here’s “Shadow Dancing” on the ‘Disco Party’:

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Blogging God Life Music People

My Fantastic Journey: It’s In The Lyrics

Despite the fact that this weekly blog series may offend some of you of this world that may stumble across it on the vast Internet landscape – as well as a few of you who actually follow this blog on a regular basis – I vow to continue this series each and every Wednesday night. If you don’t believe in God or follow Him intently then that’s certainly your business. Feel free to share that aspect of your life with the world as you wish. Talk about it. Write about it. Blog about it. Just like I do about my belief – an intense belief, trust, adoration, and love for my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ – the Christ that gave me a second chance at Life some 42 months ago when I least expected it. Some of you reading this may wish for me to keep my ‘religious beliefs’ to myself so that I don’t offend anyone reading it. To that I say that I live in a free nation where I am free to speak my mind – particularly right here on my own blog. Not a day goes by where I am not deeply offended by the actions of the world today, but I am also respectful and loving of all of God’s Creations – including those who mock and those who hate. I will be loud, proud, bold, and intentional about my beliefs. If you care to hear me then I am here to share my Life with you. As far as I’m concerned there is only “One Way” – Jesus.