The sound track of our lives.

“Last dance

Last dance for love

Yes, it's my last chance

For romance tonight

I need you by me

Beside me, to guide me

To hold me, to scold me

'Cause when I'm bad

I'm so, so bad.”

I have written about music a lot in “Snap.Shot.” For me, and I assume for many, it defines who we are; although music is mass, it also is very personal on so many levels. As individuals our experiences are not relevant to all---but when words and music come together, it’s amazing how it can transcend to so many.

Words hit us in so many different ways---I think that’s probably why it would be virtually impossible for 2 people to have the exact same song on their iPods. (Yes, I have actually thought about those odds.)

Recently we have lost some of the most notable singers from when I was growing up; it only figures it would come in threes as it seems most prominent deaths happen that way. When we lost Whitney Houston I was very surprised. Yes she had ventured into a very dark world, but I actually had thought (naively) that she had turned the corner. I was wrong. She had a voice, looks, and a talent that were beyond that of the normal star. She was not a normal star.

Although not in order of passing, then came Robin Gibb---perhaps better know as a “Bee Gee” there is little doubt Saturday Night Fever was a movie that not only captured the times, it sent the tone of the decade. I loved the harmonies of the Bee Gees---and although dated as I have listened to some of their music, it was break through.

But the individual I listened to most was Donna Summer. She brings back the memories of 8-track players (yes I had one and I had her live album on it) dancing in discos, and the voice that was as pure as pure could be. She seemed to be a kind spirit singing about the times; I remember her first song, or at least my first encounter with her music, “Love to Love You Baby.” It was quite a song and it brought her into the lime light with 23 simulated orgasms in a single song. I doubt that’s been replicated in music since.

The photo above was taken in California late last year. It reminds me that when the sun sets, you will either see a sunrise in a few hours, or you will pass on to the next phase of your life. A few years ago, actually more than a few years ago, Donna Summer came to Ravinia, a local outdoor music center in the Northern Suburbs of Chicago. Her voice was crisp, she knew what her audience remembered about her, and for a couple of hours she took us back to the times when silk shirts with patterns were the rage, and we all hoped our last dance was decades away.

Thanks for stopping by.