The author of The Best Advice So Far introduces a witty and engaging book that infuses time-tested proverbs with new energy, offers practical strategies for success and happiness to a new generation, and beautifully humanizes the very real people who penned these tidbits of gritty wisdom throughout history. TRIED & (Still) TRUE proves that just because something is old doesn’t mean it’s boring—and that while language, culture and technology may change with time, we as human beings remain much more alike than perhaps we’d thought.
Despite their not having had laser teeth whitening or social media followings or audiences of thousands paying $500 a head to attend conferences in order to hear what they had to say, our grandmothers and great-great-grandpappies (all of whom, mind you, were young and quite hip in their day)… knew stuff.
Important stuff.
They were smart people. Resourceful. Tenacious.
And they’d learned a thing or two about what really matters:
How to live at peace in a war-torn world. How to stretch a dollar during the worst of times. How to navigate conflict and to be a good neighbor. How to have character in the face of trials. How to be truly happy, come what may.
To modern ears, the speech these old souls used may sound quaint, outdated—even archaic. Yet the wisdom they passed down and the principles for living remain every bit as powerful as they ever were.
Compelled to silence, Brianna is like a cello without strings and must fight to reclaim her voice through the instruments she creates.
Brianna Jones is a nerdy biracial teen who dreams of bringing music to the world via orchestral instruments fashioned out of recycled materials. But she must keep her project secret from her half sister, whose mission in life is to destroy everything Brianna holds dear.
Marek Lakewood is one of the few guys who sees Brianna for whom she really is and has admired her from afar for years. But he’s never been a risk-taker, not since his father was killed on a black diamond ski slope.
When a physics project lands Marek in Brianna’s sphere, he finds himself taking bigger and bigger risks, and discovers Brianna’s life and aspirations are far more complicated than he ever imagined.
Steel Strings is a stand-alone contemporary romance and companion novel to the Chameleon Effect series.
Song Lyric Sunday was created by Helen Vahdati from This Thing Called Life One Word at a Time and author Jim Adams from A Unique Title For Me is our current guest host. For complete rules or to join in the fun, click here.
This week’s theme is “La.”
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Happy New Year and welcome to the first Song Lyric Sunday of 2020!
To me, this week’s prompt has more than one meaning.
It could be an abbreviation for the state of Louisiana or for the city/county of Los Angeles, or
La la is a style of Louisiana Creole music, or
La (Javanese) (ꦭ), is a letter in the Javanese scrip, or
La is the feminine definitive in several languages, or
La is a genus of moths.
But, of course, I went the musical route where it’s an enhancer/filler for holiday songs, love songs or silly, fun songs.
Minnie Riperton was semi-retired, raising two young children with her husband, Richard Rudolph, in Florida when they completed writing Lovin’ You.
After signing a contract with Epic Records a few years later, the couple moved to Los Angeles to record the album Perfect Angel. When Epic asked Riperton whom she wanted to produce the album, she named Stevie Wonder. Wonder, then at the height of his popularity, was a fan of Riperton’s work, and agreed to the collaboration.
Lovin’ You made its debut on the Billboard Hot 100 on January 18, 1975; twelve weeks later, on April 5, 1975, it peaked at number one. The song remained on the Hot 100 for a total of eighteen weeks.
FUN FACTS
Due to contractual obligations, Wonder’s name could not appear on the credits, so he’s listed as “Black Bull Productions” (Wonder’s zodiac sign is Taurus, thus the bull).
Lovin’ You was one of the first songs to top the US Billboard Hot 100 without the help of a percussion instrument.
Maya Rudolph of Saturday Night Live is the daughter of Riperton and Rudolph, and Riperton mentions her in the lyrics. In the end, she sings “Ma-ah-aha-aha-ah-ya.”
Riperton died of cancer in 1979 at age 31. While this was her only hit, she is still held in high regard in the music community.
The video is from a 1975 live performance on Midnight Special. Generally, we see live performances differ from recordings because artists can’t re-create some of the higher notes we’ve grown accustomed to. Minne Riperton doesn’t have that problem here, in fact, she even adds a couple!
Disclaimer: I have no copyrights to the song and/or video and/or hyperlinks to songs and/or videos and/or gifs above. No copyright infringement intended.
Lovin’ You
by Minnie Riperton
Songwriters: Minnie Riperton / Richard Rudolph
Lovin’ you is easy ’cause you’re beautiful
Makin’ love with you is all I wanna do
Lovin’ you is more than just a dream come true
And everything that I do is out of lovin’ you
La la la la la la la la la la la la la la la
Do do do do do
No one else can make me feel
The colors that you bring
Stay with me while we grow old
And we will live each day in springtime
‘Cause lovin’ you has made my life so beautiful
And every day of my life is filled with lovin’ you
Lovin’ you, I see your soul come shinin’ through
And every time that we, ooh
I’m more in love with you
La la la la la la la la la la la la la la la
Do do do do do
No one else can make me feel
The colors that you bring
Stay with me while we grow old
And we will live each day in springtime
‘Cause lovin’ you is easy ’cause you’re beautiful
And every day of my life is filled with lovin’ you
Lovin’ you, I see your soul come shinin’ through
And every day that we, ooh
I’m more in love with you
La la la la la la la la la la la la la la la
Do do do do do
Na, ooh, la la la la la la la la la
Do do do do do
Ma-ah-aha-aha-ah-ya
Compiled from Genius Lyrics, Google, Wikipedia, Songfacts.com, and YouTube.
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