Turntable Talk #23 – The Soundtrack of Our Lives

Once again, Dave Ruch from A Sound Day has offered up a gem of a topic for his monthly Turntable Talk feature! This month it is a topic that I have been hoping he’d get around to. Per his instructions:

“This time around, let’s look for THE SOUNDTRACK OF OUR LIVES ! Pick a great movie soundtrack and talk a bit about it. It can be from a great movie or a dog of one (or anything in between), one made specifically for the film or one assembled from existing tunes as long as it’s one that works for you!“

There are certainly many fantastic soundtracks to choose from. Movies that are known for being a great film and also their great soundtracks include American Graffiti, Smokey and the Bandit, The Wedding Singer, The Sting, and Forrest Gump. Those aren’t even considered “musicals!” When I think about musicals, wow, that list is a long one.

Plenty of movie (and TV) soundtracks can be found in my collection. When I worked in radio, I would often buy soundtracks so I could uses some instrumental tracks as voiceover beds (music that plays underneath your voice as you are doing a bit or talking to a listener). I used a variety of cuts from Napoleon Dynamite, Stripes, The Three Amigos, Dragnet, and movies that were box office bombs! My pick comes from a movie that was far from a bomb. It was one of the biggest films of the 1980’s.

The one soundtrack that has always been a favorite for me (and it doesn’t even contain all the songs featured in the film) is The Blues Brothers. It has some fantastic cuts from Belushi and Aykroyd as well as musical legends like Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, and Cab Calloway.

I had this soundtrack on vinyl and I played the heck out of it. Many of the songs were featured on my “driving mix tapes” when I had my first car! While the album contains 11 great tracks, the film included many other classics that I wound up searching for to add to my collection. The music doesn’t follow their chronological appearance in the film for some reason.

She Caught the Katy

The album opens with this Taj Mahal song. The Blues Brothers version has a lot more sound to it. It is so much fuller with the horns and guitars of the band. It is the song that the starring credits roll under. The opening guitar lick leads to the first big horn stab (and we see Belushi) then you have another horn stab (and we see Aykroyd) and the third big horn stab hits as we see the movie’s title card.

Belushi’s vocal on this is perfect. I like his vocal on this cut more than any other song on the album.

Peter Gunn Theme

This is the first of two TV themes on the album. This instrumental plays as the Blues Brothers are driving back to Elwood’s place. There are some really great shots of the city of Chicago in this scene. As you listen to this one, you can hear the talents of Tom “Bones” Malone, “Blue” Lou Marini, and “Mr. Fabulous” Alan Rubin. If I had a dollar for every time I used this as background music to introduce a wedding party I could fly to Italy!

Gimme Some Lovin’

Best known for being a hit for the Spencer Davis Group (and a young Steve Winwood), the soundtrack features the full song. In the film, the band begins to play this song at Bob’s Country Bunker (a country bar) and the owner shuts the lights off on them. If I had to choose between the two, I’d pick the Spencer Davis version over this one, but it is still a great jam.

Shake a Tail Feather

Originally done by the Five Du-Tones of Chicago in 1963, James and Bobby Purify had a bigger hit with it in 1967. This version tops them because of one man – the great Ray Charles. In the film, he owns a music shop and the band is buying new instruments. Ray is asked about a keyboard and Murphy Dunn tells him that the “action” of the keys is not that great. Ray sits down and says, “I don’t see anything wrong with the action on this piano” and launches into this song.

As Ray plays, a crowd gathers outside the store and dances along with the song doing all the dances mentioned in it (the monkey, the jerk, the boogaloo, etc…). This song is fantastic.

Everybody Needs Somebody To Love

The song was written by Solomon Burke and recorded by him in 1964. Wilson Pickett’s 1966 cover is probably the best known version. This song is featured at the Blues Brothers’ big concert toward the end of the film. Over the intro, Elwood (Aykroyd) speaks to the audience and thanks “the members of Illinois law enforcement” who are present and waiting to arrest them. We get to hear a big more of Aykroyd on this track.

The Old Landmark

When you mention the Blues Brothers to someone, they will often quote “We’re on a mission from God.” This song is performed by the Godfather of Soul, James Brown who plays a preacher. Jake and Elwood are attending this church service and it is a pivotal moment in the film (and what sets them off on their “mission from God.”

The Old Landmark is a gospel song written by Dr. William Herbert Brewster Sr. back in 1949. It has been recorded by the Staple Singers, Aretha Franklin, Dionne Warwick and many others. James Brown takes this to a whole new level. It’s hard to imagine anyone performing this. He performed/recorded this one live on set.

Think

The Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin, performs this one as she is telling off her husband Matt “Guitar” Murphy. The song was a hit for Aretha in 1968. For the film, they bump up the tempo and add some dancers. This track is SO good! ”Blue” Lou Marini grabs his sax midway through the number and really jams through the end.

This was one of the harder songs to do in the film. Aretha had recorded the song and found it difficult to lip synch to her vocals as they filmed. It was a scene that needed many takes to do. This version is far superior to her original version.

Theme From Rawhide

The second TV theme on the album takes place in that country bar. After the lights go out they band has to figure out something that the audience will like. They wind up performing this one. Aykroyd’s vocal is just awesome here not to mention the “call and answer” between him and Belushi. Add in a whip and you have a real country hit on your hands!

This scene always makes me laugh because they perform on a stage surrounded by chicken wire. Why? Because the crowd gets so excited they throw beer bottles at them!

Minnie The Moocher

This was a song that Cab Calloway had been singing for decades! He was the “Hi-De-Ho Man.” I just love this version of the song. The rumor is that Cab wanted to do the disco version of the song that he had recorded in the past. They insisted that it needed to be the jazz/big band sound.

The song itself send you right back to the 1940’s. The full sound of the band, the horn section, and the amazing trumpet solos by Alan Rubin. Without a visual, it is still fantastic. Watching it in the film only enhances the experience.

They band is on stage waiting for Jake and Elwood to arrive. The crowd is getting antsy. The band is dressed in street clothes and look sort of shabby. Cab asks if they know the song and the band says they do. He yells, “Hit it!” and the curtain opens. Out struts Cab in a white tuxedo backed by the band, wearing black tuxes and looking sharp. The stage now has an backdrop of famous 40’s places with neon signs and a sweet looking band stand.

As a trumpet player, I can’t NOT mention the spectacular trumpet playing of Alan Rubin on this one!

Cab was a scat singer and his call and answer with the audience is just priceless. I’m not sure how old he was here, but his vocals are right on! He was a legend!

Sweet Home Chicago

This is the longest track on the soundtrack. The original version was done by Robert Johnson in 1936. This is the second song the band plays at their big concert (and the one where they make their escape, hence the long instrumental ending). As they intro it, they dedicate it to the late, great Magic Sam (who was from Chicago) who recorded it in 1967.

This is such a fun song to listen to and to watch in the film. The looks that they give John Candy’s character and the other folks who have been chasing them always make me smile. The song serves as the background music as we transition from night to day and the ultimate finale of the movie.

Jailhouse Rock

Movie Spoiler: The entire Blues Brothers Band gets arrested at the end of the movie. Naturally, the final song of the movie is Jailhouse Rock, originally done by Elvis Presley. Trivia: In the film, the first “prisoner” to jump up on the tables and dance is Joe Walsh!

On the soundtrack, the song is a bit different than in the film. You have a complete cut on the album, while in the movie each band member has a little solo as their name appears in the credits. In the film version you also get a line or two sung by James Brown, Cab Calloway, Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles and more. It’s a perfect capstone to wrap the soundtrack.

I have played the songs on this album over and over again on vinyl, cassette, on my iPod, and YouTube. It remains one of my favorite soundtracks of all time! What disappoints me is the many songs that were featured in the film that didn’t make the soundtrack. They are worth finding and checking out!

Of course, I can’t tease those without listing them, so here goes:

Somebody Loan Me a Dime – Fenton Robinson (Plays while Jake is escorted from his prison cell)
Shake Your Moneymaker – Elmore James (Plays while Jake and Elwood visit with Curtis at the orphanage)
Soothe Me/Hold On, I’m Comin’ – Sam and Dave (Plays on the 8 track in the Bluesmobile while Jake and Elwood are driving and get pulled over)
I Can’t Turn You Loose – The Blues Brothers – Originally done by Otis Redding (Plays while they drive through the mall and as they take the stage at the Palace Hotel Ballroom concert)
Let the Good Times Roll – Louis Jordan (Plays on the record player in Elwood’s place)
Anema e core (Until) – Ezio Pinza (The piece is playing the apartment that Tom Malone and Lou Marini used to stay – the “Are you the police?” scene)
Quando, Quando, Quando – Murph and the Magictones (Plays in the Holiday Inn scene)
Just the Way You Are – Muzak version of the Billy Joel song. (Plays in the Holiday Inn scene)
Die Romantiker (The waltz that plays at the Chez Paul restaurant)
Boom Boom – John Lee Hooker (Plays as the Blues Brothers are going to meet Matt “Guitar” Murphy)
Mama Lawdy/Boogie Chillen – John Lee Hooker (Plays when Jake calls Maury Sline and on the way to Bob’s Country Bunker)
Your Cheatin’ Heart – Kitty Wells (Plays as the Blues Brothers enter Bob’s Country Bunker)
Stand By Your Man – The Blues Brothers (Plays at Bob’s Country Bunker)
I’m Walkin’ – Fat’s Domino (Plays as Jake and Elwood and the orphans promote the concert)
Ride of the Valkyries – Richard Wagner (Plays as the Nazis are chasing the Blues Brothers toward the end of the movie)
The Girl from Impanema – Muzak version (Plays, naturally, in an elevator as the Blues Brothers go up the 11th floor with the tax money)

The Blues Brothers may or may not have been the first movie of “mine” that I made my wife watch with me. I’m sure that she made me watch one of her tear jerking chick flicks to get back at me afterward. To me, this movie remains a classic. As far as the sequel – not so much. It did have a decent soundtrack, but that is about it.

I have been wanting to write about this album for a long time and am glad that Dave finally gave me a reason to indulge myself with this blog. I am also excited to see what the rest of the bloggers have chosen for their soundtrack.

I’m already looking forward to next month’s topic! Thanks for reading!

Favorite Films – The 80’s

This blog is a continuation of a series I started earlier this week. Somebody had the idea to post a list was to consist of your favorite films from each year of your life. So, you start with your birth year and move ahead year by year and list all the films from each year. A post from the Avocado site came up in my “Reader” list of blogs that had the same principle, but with one exception – you can only pick one movie from each year. My last blog focused on my favorites from the 1970’s and this one will feature the 1980’s.

I have a feeling that there will be more movies per year for me to pick from in this decade.

1980 was a year for sequels. Burt Reynolds and Jackie Gleason returned for another adventure in Smokey and the Bandit II, Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker faced off in The Empire Strikes Back, and Christopher Reeve was back as Superman in Superman II. We were first introduced to Jason in the first of many installments of the Friday the 13th franchise. Queen provided the theme song for the film Flash Gordon. A few years before he was dealing with a Delorean, Robert Zemeckis directed Kurt Russell and Jack Warden in Used Cars. Jack Nicholson yelled “Here’s Johnny!” in the Shining and Dolly Parton, Jane Fonda, and Lily Tomlin dreamed of knocking off their boss in Nine to Five.

I mentioned in the last blog that I had a feeling it would be more difficult to pick just one movie per year as I headed into the 80’s. That was proven to be true as I looked over the movies for 1980 and saw three of my all-time favorites were released. ANY three of these could easily be my one pick for the year for the following reasons (1) all three of them have an amazing cast (2) all three of them are funny (3) all three of them are all full of great movie lines! I want to break the rules and make this a three way tie! Alas, I have to pick just one.

The first runner up – Caddyshack. Such a funny movie that is quoted every day on golf courses all across the country! Rodney Dangerfield, Ted Knight, Bill Murray, and Chevy Chase all combine their talents to make this such a funny movie! Second runner up – The Blues Brothers. John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd are Jake and Elwood Blues. It is a comedy of epic proportions and has one of the best soundtracks ever. Also, very quotable.

The pick for my favorite, though, has to be THE most quoted movie of the ’80s – Airplane! “I am serious. And don’t call me Shirley!”

Lloyd Bridges, Robert Stack, Peter Graves, Leslie Nielsen, Robert Hayes and SO many more! The Zucker Brothers brought us this comedy, a direct rip-off of a film called Zero Hour (look for the comparison on YouTube), and it is a joke after joke laugh riot. Having serious actor say these comedy lines straight makes the line even more funny! The scenes with “Johnny” are worth the price of admission!

1981 brought us some great films. Some of my favorite action movies from ’81 include Burt Reynolds in Sharky’s Machine, and Sylvester Stalone and Billy Dee Williams in Nighthawks. Adventure films included stop-action creatures from Ray Harryhausen in Clash of the Titans and our introduction to Indiana Jones with Harrison Ford starring in Raiders of the Lost Ark (the face melting scene still creeps me out!).

1981 was full of comedies, some better than others (Remember Ringo Starr’s Caveman?!). Dudley Moore was brilliantly funny in Arthur. The Muppets return for fun in The Great Muppet Caper. Chevy Chase, Dabney Coleman, and Nell Carter appear in the underappreciated Modern Problems. George Hamilton plays dual roles in a film I recently blogged about, Zorro The Gay Blade. Not his best, but I still laugh at Jerry Lewis’ Hardly Working. And Mel Brooks offered up History of the World Part I (and left many of us longing for Part II).

Stripes starring Bill Murray, John Candy, and Harold Ramis comes in as a close second here. It could easily be THE favorite for this year. It is still funny today, and I find myself quoting it often. Just edging it out as my favorite is The Cannonball Run.

Burt Reynolds leads an all star cast in the race across the country! Silly fun and many funny lines. Dom Deluise, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr. Farrah Fawcett, Bert Convy, Jamie Farr, Roger Moore, Jack Elam, Adrienne Barbeau, Peter Fonda, Terry Bradshaw, Mel Tillis, and so many more star in this comedy, which will always remain one of my favorites!

In 1982, Sylvester Stallone introduced us to Rambo in First Blood while Harrison Ford starred in Blade Runner (which finally just recently got a sequel). ET phoned home, Sean Penn was stoned out of his mind in Fast Times at Ridgemont High, and Scott Baio had super powers in Zapped! Airplane II: The Sequel recycled some old jokes and was not as good as the original. Michael Keaton drove Henry Winkler crazy in Night Shift. Creepshow was creepy (and had a cool cameo from Stephen King). A favorite from this year is Steve Martin’s Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid, which is shot in black and white and Steve interacts with old movie stars.

My top pick for 1982 has got to be Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.

I didn’t care for the first Star Trek film, but this one was excellent. Again, we have the original cast back on the Enterprise. This film goes back to the original series for a tie in. Ricardo Montalban played the character on the series and now, years later, he finds Kirk and plans to get his revenge. It is a great story, and the film has a powerful ending. The best of the entire series in my opinion. Montalban is just amazing in this movie!

The scene with William Shatner screaming “Khan!” – how can you not love it?

I can already sense the backlash I am going to get for my pick from this year, please remember this is MY list and not yours!

In the comedy category, 1983 had Michael Keaton stepping in for Teri Garr in Mr. Mom. Gary Busey, Marsha Warfield, and Mr. T are a riot in DC Cab while Bob and Doug McKenzie (Dave Thomas and Rick Moranis) get their first feature film in Strange Brew. Dan Aykroyd takes on “mom” in Doctor Detroit while Rodney Dangerfield takes on his mother-in-law in Easy Money. 1983 also introduced us to the Griswold family as they make their trip to Walley World in National Lampoon’s Vacation.

The Skywalker’s were back for the third part of the original trilogy in Return of the Jedi, while Christopher Walken woke from a coma with psychic powers in The Dead Zone. And who can forget Al Pacino’s thrilling performance in Scarface? My pick for favorite of this year is a holiday classic – A Christmas Story.

So why this film? Because it remains one that I faithfully watch every Christmas. Who can’t relate to the way the Parker boys feel as Christmas approaches? While it is set in the 1940’s, their excitement mirrors what every child feels during the holidays. It’s a classic! I had the chance to see the Christmas Story house this year (and blogged about it) and it was fun to walk through.

As I looked over my list from ’84, I once again see more comedies than other genres. Eddie Murphy went to Detroit to film Beverly Hills Cop, Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis took on the spiritual realm in Ghostbusters. Michal Keaton and Joe Piscopo are mobsters is Johnny Dangerously. We meet the first batch of recruits in the first Police Academy movie, while Cannonball Run II fell flat, despite a great cast. Sight gags and puns galore were seen with Val Kilmer in Top Secret, and we first met Sarah Connor in the first Terminator movie.

1984 was the year the Detroit Tigers last won a World Series. I will never forget the excitement of that series or the season that led up to it. Perhaps that is why my favorite flick from 1984 is The Natural.

Robert Redford is Roy Hobbs and he is an amazing ball player. The film is based on a 1952 book by Bernard Malamud. (Spoiler, in case you haven’t seen it) In the book, Hobbs strikes out at the end. However, in the movie, there is an amazing homerun that knocks out the lights and sparks fly all over the place – one of my favorite endings!

“Knock the cover off the ball ….”

My list of favorites from this year is not too long. Not that there weren’t some great films released, because there were, but many of them didn’t make an impact on me. I enjoyed the James Bond film A View to a Kill (Roger Moore as Bond), Harrison Ford in Witness, and Chevy Chase as Fletch. The “Brat Pack” film The Breakfast Club was released with your “stereotypical high school teens”. The Goonies was one I watched once. It was ok, but I didn’t see the hype that everyone else did. As stupid as it was, Transylvania 6-5000 always made me laugh. Jeff Goldblum, Ed Begley Jr., John Byner, Geena Davis, and Michael Richards are all part of the cast, and there are some funny (and some very dumb) scenes.

Who would have thought that a board game could inspire a very funny film? Clue came out in 1985 and had three different endings (it varied on wherever you saw it). Christopher Lloyd, Tim Curry, Martin Mull, Madeline Khan, Michael McKean, Eileen Brennan, and Lesley Ann Warren play the various people from the game and it is just a blast to watch. This easily could be my pick, but there is one film that stands out far above the rest.

As someone who always loved stories about time travel, I was hooked immediately by the trailer for Back to the Future. It remains one that I can watch over and over today.

There is just SO much to love about this film!!! Great story. Great characters (and a great cast). Comedy. Suspense. Good music and a cool car that when it hit 88 miles per hour, you saw some “pretty serious sh*t!”

1986 really doesn’t have a stand out film for me. I enjoyed Top Gun with Tom Cruise (it also has a sequel coming out). Little Shop of Horrors was an ok movie (Steve Martin as the dentist is a high light). Tough Guys had some good scenes, but with big stars like Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas, I expected more. One Crazy Summer had some funny scenes, but wasn’t a laugh out loud riot. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off was good. I loved the premise of this kid skipping school and doing all that he did … and still making it home before his folks found out (what kid didn’t want to do what Ferris did?!).

The only film that stands out to me from 1986 is one that you may question. It gets the my pick as favorite for sentimental reasons. The Three Amigos starring Steve Martin, Chevy Chase, and Martin Short. I don’t care how many times El Guapo yells “It’s a sweater!”, I laugh! But that is not why I picked this one. Back when my oldest son was just diagnosed with autism, we were watching this movie. There is a scene where the Amigos are sitting around a campfire and they begin to sing the song “Blue Shadows”. My son walked to the TV and just stared. He loved that song. At that time, we had no idea if he would ever really speak more than a few words. He would watch this scene over and over! I even have it on my iPod because it makes me think of him.

After the song, we used to have to wait for the turtle to say “Goodnight, Ned” before we had to rewind that scene.

1987 offered up some classics. Who wasn’t freaked out by the rabbit scene in Fatal Attraction? Even though you saw it coming, you cried when Richie Valens died in La Bamba. Louis Armstrong’s What A Wonderful World was given new life on the radio thanks to Robin Williams in Good Morning, Vietnam. “Nobody gets outta here without singing the blues” is one of my favorite lines from Adventures in Babysitting. Dan Aykroyd and Tom Hanks team up for a Dragnet movie that misses the mark. Danny Glover and Mel Gibson first teamed up for Lethal Weapon and Kevin Costner played Elliot Ness in The Untouchables. We also enjoyed the fairy tale The Princess Bride and Mel Brooks parodied Star Wars and space movies with Spaceballs (“We Break for Nobody!”

If you loved Airplane, but have never seen Amazon Women on the Moon, you need to. It’s as silly as Airplane and has some very funny scenes. For years, I’ve joked that I’d like my funeral to be like a roast. I said I would want people to share funny stories about times we shared together. In this film, there is actually a funeral that is a roast – with a dias that includes Steve Allen, Slappy White, and other comedy greats!

My 1987 favorite goes to Planes, Trains, and Automobiles.

This is just one of the best John Hughes films. You get every emotion watching this film. There are times that are laugh out loud funny and there are times where you are wiping tears from your eyes. Steve Martin and John Candy are just great together. This film makes me miss John Candy. He was such a great actor.

In 1988 Dirty Harry returned in The Dead Pool, Tom Hanks wished he was Big, and Eddie Murphy and Arsenio Hall were Coming to America. Bruce Willis starred in the first Die Hard and Michael Keaton was Beetlejuice. I was impressed by the interaction between humans and cartoons in Who Framed Roger Rabbit and (as a Monty Python fan) loved John Cleese and Michael Palin in A Fish Called Wanda.

With my favorite movie that kicked off this decade (Airplane), it should come as no surprise that my pick from 1988 is The Naked Gun starring Leslie Nielsen.

Shortly after Airplane, the Zucker brothers created Police Squad. It was a short lived TV show starring Leslie Nielsen as Lt. Frank Drebin. It aired just 6 episodes. The show is the premise for the movie. George Kennedy replaced Alan North and OJ Simpson (pre-murder trial) also starred. Ricardo Montalban plays the villain in this and is just great. Not as many lines as Airplane, but just as funny!!

“It’s Enrico Palazzo!!”

As I come to the last year of this decade, I am faced with the same issue I had with the first year. I have many favorites from this year and wonder just how I can pick only one movie as a favorite!

Comedies included Eddie Murphy in Harlem Nights, Weird Al Yankovic starred in his first film UHF, John Candy was Uncle Buck in another John Hughes film, and Charlie Sheen was Wild Thing in Major League (“Just a bit outside!”). Bernie is dead, but he still has quite an adventure in Weekend at Bernie’s. Jack Palance plays a wonderful bad guy in Tango and Cash and the Griswold’s host Christmas in National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. And I can’t forget to mention that Doc Brown and Marty McFly return in Back to the Future II (which some people hate because it goes back and forth from time to time – but that’s what I love about it! That, and the fact that they reshot original scenes from Part I and then had the characters interact within that scene.)

Two films that really stand out from 89 are not comedies, but adventure movies. The runner up for my favorite is Tim Burton’s Batman. As a fan of the 1966 Batman, I was excited to see how this film would be portrayed. Michael Keaton played Batman and I thought he did ok. Jack Nicholson as the Joker was amazing! I loved his interpretation of the character (though I still believe Cesar Romero is the best). It was really well done. This brings me to my favorite film of 1989 – Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.

In the Indiana Jones series, I always felt this was the strongest of them all. Harrison Ford is again great as Indy, but his father, played by Sean Connery, steals the scenes. I can easily see my dad and I fighting with each other like these two do if we ever were off on an adventure like this. I just love their interactions with each other. They are both just perfect in this film. The final scene is also just a picture perfect ending!

So with that, let’s ride into the sunset. When we return, let’s dive into the 90’s, ok?

Thanks for reading!

Emotional Day

It is still a year away, but it is becoming very real, very quickly.

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Last month, on the last day of school, my oldest called me and proudly announced, “I’m a senior, dad!” It’s not like I didn’t think this time was coming, I knew it was. I knew when I held him as a newborn baby that time was going to go quickly. Life already moves quickly, and they say that when you have children, it moves a whole lot faster! I would definitely agree!

First steps. First words. First day of pre-school. First day of kindergarten. First holiday program. First day riding the bus. First day of middle school. First day of high school. First band concert. First awards ceremony. How quickly these firsts fly by. Next year, we begin to see the Last first day of school, the last final exams, and eventually, the last last day of school.

Today, we took my son, Dante’ out to have some senior pictures taken. Times have certainly changed from when I had mine done. 31 years ago, they had the photographer set up in one of rooms in the school. You made an appointment. You got dressed up in a suit and tie and they put you in some ridiculous poses. For those in sports, they may have posed with a football or basketball. I had my trumpet with me in one pose. They allowed you (for a fee) to pose with a friend. I know that I have pictures with my friend Steve and Margaret. You had to pose for one generic head shot (which would ultimately be your yearbook picture). Most of the other poses were just awkward. I have this one of me with the suit coat in my hand and over my shoulder – it looks so stupid!!

Our friend Amy came out and shot his pictures. Prior to the shoot she was clear that the way we would get authentic pictures was to make sure he was dressed comfortably. In other words, if he was not a suit and tie guy, then don’t force him to wear it. She wanted to know his interests so we could get some shots of him being natural and relaxed. We sort of mapped out a tentative plan and did as much as we could (knowing that he would probably get to a point where he’d be burned out).

Dante’ and his friends from school love old cars. He has always amazed me as we drive around town. He can point to a classic and give me the year, make and model of the car. He loves them. He’d been asking to go to a classic car show this summer and today, they had one in Flushing. It was going on while I was on the air, so Sam met Amy and they took some shots near some of the cars of his choosing. They also got some good pictures in the park where the car show was held.

He also loves video games and arcades. There was one in the mall near us, so that was the next stop. Sadly, it was much different from the one that we had been at before. Perhaps there were new owners, I don’t know, but it was more geared toward younger children. I met the group at the mall after work and we looked at the rest of the agenda. It was extremely hot and humid and we could see he was getting tired.

There is a park near us that has a creek, a bridge, and a trail. We decided to go there and see what kind of pictures we could get there. Dimitri had been out in the sun all day on Thursday and was still nursing a bad sunburn, so Sam took him home and I continued with Dante’. We took quite a few shots there and I am excited to see them.

We walked down one of the trails and were looking for more opportunities for pictures. Dante’ was walking ahead of me and I had a flashback. One day the entire family was walking the trail by our old house. He and Dimitri were walking in front of me holding hands (the picture is probably on my Facebook somewhere). It was autumn, and the leaves were changing. I told Dante’ that the trail reminded me of that. Without hesitation, Amy told me and Dante’ to walk ahead of her and just talk. For 5 minutes, I just walked and talked with my son. Welling up with emotion, I put my arm around him and he did the same to me. Amy snapped some pictures of us, and I am pretty excited to see them. It was a very special moment.

There was talk of going to Crossroads Village and Downtown Flint, but it was obvious that he was getting close to being done. Crossroads is a very special place for him because of his love for trains, and the fact that when he was 4, my mom spent the day with him at the Day Out With Thomas the Tank Engine. Downtown Flint would have been cool because there are so many cool photo opportunities. Knowing that he was running on empty, we came back to the house.

At the house, Amy wanted to get some shots of him playing video games. This was important to him. He loves gaming and his senior pictures should show that. Amy’s daughter, Skyler, made a very cool sign that was in the shots with his video games that read: “High School – Game Over!” The sign sat next to a stack of his favorite games.

Dimitri wanted a picture of the two of them back to back playing games, so she made sure to get that one for him. She then had the boys sit on the side porch in the rocking chairs and just talk to each other. Nothing forced. Just casual conversation between two brothers. I am sure that these pictures will be awesome!

Finally, we had Dante’ standing on the front porch and we hoped to get some shots there. I think we got one. In a very bizarre weather change, in a matter of seconds, the wind picked up, there was a clap of thunder, and the clouds opened up and the rain came pouring down. Dante’ went in the house and Sam and I stood on the porch chatting with Amy. That was the end of the shoot and it went better than I expected.

Dante’ thanked Sam and gave her a hug thanking her for a fun day. He had been so worked up about getting the pictures done. I am guessing he probably thought it would mean him sitting and posing like they did for me. His photo shoot, however, was a fun day looking at classic cars, going to the park, and gaming on camera. He thanked me too, and every bit of the emotions hit me. My voice cracked as I told him that I still couldn’t believe he was a senior. He looked me in the eye and said, “Are you crying, dad?!” Yes. Yes, I was.

I went in the house and stood in the window looking at my senior with tears in my eyes. There was the little boy who I sang to sleep each night with Dean Martin songs. There was the boy who waved to me from the bus window on one of many first days of school. There was the boy who was nonverbal and pointed at pictures to tell us what he wanted to eat. There was the boy who stood close to the TV mesmerized by the “Blue Shadows” scene in The Three Amigos. There was the boy who sang “Elmo’s World” with grandma as they watched Sesame Street. There was the boy I coached with his baseball team. There was the boy who played my trumpet in his first band concert. There was the boy who I rushed to the hospital after his tonsillectomy because his stitches broke. There was the boy who I cheered for when he learned to ride his bike without training wheels. Each of those things brought dad to tears. Now here is dad, crying again. Where that boy stood – now stands a young man who towers over his dad. That young man is about to experience the fastest school year of his life.

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I am sure that there are many more tears that will flow in the coming months. I can’t help it. I will cry when I see the pictures that were taken today. I will cry at awards ceremonies. I will cry at his commencement ceremony. I will cry at his graduation party. Those tears are mixed with sadness, joy, and pride. This is a transition for him. It signifies the end of school and childhood, and the beginning of adulthood. After graduation, he plans to go to college and maybe do something with logistics, although he still occasionally talks about working with trains. His future is bright and I will be cheering him on until I breathe my last breath.

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I will do the same for his brother. He’s got 6 more years before he is a senior, but rest assured, I will shed tears of joy for him in the coming years, too! I can only imagine the wonderful things he will be doing in the years ahead, and I look forward to praising him for all of his accomplishments! He will continue to grow up quickly, just like his brother. In 6 years, I am guessing I will be looking out a window through tears at him, too, recounting his milestones and memories. It’s what dad’s do.

Pass the Kleenex – it’s gonna be a long year!

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