Congrats Michael!

Image via WikipediaMichael W. Smith was honored at the 39th annual Dove awards late in April. Michael was Amy Grant's keyboard player early on in her career. I remember seeing Amy first when I was at Auburn. She came to give two sold out shows with Michael. Shortly after that Michael decided to begin on his own.

Michael is considered the grandfather of modern Christian music. He deserves to be given a lifetime achievement award. I still can hear his earlier songs and they are just as powerful as the first time I ever heard them. "Friends" was a song that meant a great deal to me in college. As people graduated and when on to continue their lives, I would play that song and remember that through it all we will remain friends always. I know that even though I don't see these people often, there is a deeper connection that will always be there and they would be there for me if needed.

Music in My Life

I received two cds for Christmas. They were the new cds from Mary Chapin-Carpenter and Brad Paisley. When I look at the music I seem to gravitate to I can trace it back to my childhood. When I was about five years old, my father was learning how to play the guitar. I would take my "Bear" doll out under an apple tree and "play" it like a guitar singing my heart out. When I was eight, I wanted to play the violin, but my parents did not want me to. (The thought of the screeching was enough.) My parents did allow me to take piano lessons. I took them for a year and promptly quit. I didn't like being forced to practice. I did learn that could hear a song and pluck it out on the keys. Shortly after I quit piano, I had the opportunity to buy a guitar from a friend for five dollars. That changed my life.

I have been playing ever since and am self taught. During my early teenage years, life was rough on me and I turned to writing songs. I have done this ever since to work out stress or emotional issues. Having said that, I noticed that the music and artists I am most attracted to are those singer songwriters. I admire Mary Chapin-Carpenter by the way she touches the hearts with her songs. Brad Paisley can relate to everyday life in a blue collar rural area. His song "I want to check you for ticks" is one such song. It talks about wanting to take a girl on a walk through the woods and check her for ticks. How many of us living in the woods can not relate to this?? If you have never heard any of his songs and you like to laugh while you listen, I highly recommend that you check out one of his cds from you local library. There has not been a song he has written that I haven't laughed at at least one line or the entire song.