Tuesday, July 26, 2016

Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Color My World" (Chicago)


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"Today's Broadcast Brought To You In Living Color"


Howdy!  Hi There!  Welcome!  Good Day To You My Friend!  So Happy To Have You Here!  Greetings And Felicitous Salutations!   In other words, it's Tuesday!  Time for another edition of Tuesday's Musical Notes, the place where classic tunes and canonical text meet in a symbiosis of harmony, love, and accountability.  Each week, Tuesday's Musical Notes attempts to paint with a palette of incredible diversity and provide a simple difference to the week as we attempt to color your world...
 
For you purists out there, here is the full length track, a whopping 13 minutes long!!!  You might even recognize a couple of the other "movements"


Finally, for you modernists out there.  Just goes to show you good music and great musicians never go out of style.

 
Based on the strength of a hand full of singles that receive much radio play,many popular artists have seen debut albums become very successful. The release of their second album, however, tells the tale of how long the act may be around in the music scene.  Typically, a second album is not as well received as the debut.  This is called "the sophomore slump". Music history is littered with the "one hit wonders" whose sophomore effort paled in comparison to their "original" work and they quickly faded into the mass of music history.  This is not the case for the band... Chicago.  

Chicago released in 1970 after the success of 1969's Chicago Transit Authority.  Chicago II, as it is better known, soared up the album charts to #4.  This was incredible, considering it was a double album and it featured 2 songs that were over 10 minutes long. (Both multi disc format and long songs was typical for early Chicago as their first 3 albums were doubles and the 4th release was the 4 disc live project Chicago at Carnegie Hall, each of which includes at least 1 song that is in excess of 10 minutes long.) The classically trained musicians of Chicago utilized the "movement" or "suite" styles of the great composers as they wrote songs.  The "suites" told a lengthy story through music with a variety of styles, all of which were consolidated into one song. 

"Color My World" continues to be one of Chicago's most requested songs, however, it was never a feature single.  It was very unusual radio to play songs that weren't the "A" side singles.  "Color My World" was the exception as it received huge requests at radio and went as high as #7 on the charts while being a "B-side" for 2 singles, 1970's "Make Me Smile", and the 1971 reissue of "Beginnings", respectively.   It is a movement found in the middle of the "Ballet For A Girl In Buchannon" written by trombone player James Pankow.  It features the most famous major seventh chord in music history and has been known to be the soundtrack for many a slow dance.  It was not a part of Chicago's set list for 4 years after the lead vocalist for the song, Terry Kath, was killed.  Coming back to the concert stage in 1982, "Color My World" has been sung from 1982 - 1991 by Kath's replacement Bill Champlin, 1991- 2009 by founding member and lead keyboardist Robert Lamm, and since 2009 by trumpeter Lee Loughnanne.  


 
You might even say we allow this band to "color" what we do around here...We all have things in our lives that influence us.  As we go through life, rarely do we see things in black and white. We interact with people from a variety of lifestyles, ethnicities, and backgrounds.  We are also impacted by stimuli that causes adjustments in our lives.  These interactions, the "color" in our lives,  provides a variety that creates changes in how we do things.  It transforms us, if you will. 

Whether we like to admit it or not, we are being transformed into something.  We determine what exactly we transform into.  Many times we are more than meets the eye, but I am not talking about Autobots or Decpticons. I am, however, talking about how we change as we head toward eternity.  I think you would agree that you are not exactly the same person you were a year ago.  In some ways you are not the same as you were a week ago.  Ultimately, there are only 2 ways that you are being "colored".  The way of the "world" or the way of the Lord.  

We've discussed this on several occasions, yet it seems so vitally important in the age in which we live.  Every day we either become more like the world around us, or more like the Jesus who made us.  Much of the "color" that engages us is out of our control.  How we react to it, how we allow it to change us, is totally our decision.  

As time goes on, I realize how important Romans 12:1-2 The Message/NIV parallel is and just what it means to me.  It should be my verse of the day, everyday.  This passage encourages us to give up the selfish desires that we have for the day, and surrender to God's desires.   We allow Holy Spirit to "color" our world when interacting with folks.  We allow the hope of eternity with God to "color" our decisions.  We allow the promise of Jesus' love to directly impact the lives of others through us.  Not only is our world "colored", but we get the opportunity to "color" the world of others.  I have had many friends influence me...if you are one of them, whether you know it or not, I thank you...You truly do "color my world, with hope..."
'Til Tuesday,

Serving HIM by serving you,
Randy
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