Sheldon Taylor's Souls of Black Notes

Forty-five years ago, Michael Jackson's "Off The Wall" was released to critical and commercial acclaim. Jackson's breakthrough album solidified the singer's transition from child star to adult entertainer.  Let the madness in the music get to you..... I remember the time so very well because it was when I emerged from off the wall: a ten-year-old moving from music spectator to consumer. Since there were  no younger acts back then, every kid my age was drawn to music made by adults ten, twenty, and nearly thirty years older.  It was heady time.  From around '74 to '79, my life played out to a soundtrack that was one long musical highlight reel.  I wasn't buying music yet but it didn't stop me from reading about it or watching documentaries or television shows devoted to musical subjects.  As a toddler I was transfixed by Jackson Five album covers laying around the house. I can't remember when I first learned they were from my hometown of Gary, I...

                                               Hathaway Suite I: Sack Full of Dreams (Prelude) "I've done everything right. I know how to touch people. What do I have to do to get people to love me like Stevie?" Hardly words you’d expect from a gifted and multi-faceted talent at the top of his game. Producer. Arranger. Songwriter.  Television. Film scores. When the stage lights went out after another triumphant show and the money was pocketed, Hathaway poured his heart out to mentor Quincy Jones and ponder---where is the love?   Donny was quick; he was truly a genius. But he couldn’t understand why Stevie Wonder; whom I ‘d known and admired since he was 12 was more popular than him. He used to travel with $200,000 to $3000,000 in cash and he felt safe enough to call me from almost every city in America, day or night. The last time was from his gr...