There was talk about playing music at the funeral. He was really into Snoop Dogg, which cracked me up. He always said he was a black man trapped inside a white Jewish guy. For as long as I can remember, dad listened to funk, soul, r&b, hip-hop and jazz. He liked some rock n' roll I think, but that’s not what I remember about him. Like so many other things, I have memories bookmarked by songs. I can remember being a kid, sitting in the passenger seat of his green Toyota Celica listening to Kool & The Gang’s “Celebration.” He loved that song. I remember looking up at him as he danced in his seat, clapping, snapping and biting his lower lip. I stared up at him and smiled. He was so cool. Other people might have thought he was weird as he rolled down the street, but I was rarely embarrassed by his enthusiastic displays. Well, not until i got a little older. You could really tell he was into a song when he bit his lower lip. He did it while he danced too, but only if he really liked the song.
There were many others I remember listening to with him. “Superstition” by Stevie Wonder, “Off The Wall” by Michael Jackson (he loved early Michael Jackson), “I Feel For You” by Chaka Khan, “Smooth Operator” by Sade, the USA for Africa album, Quincy Jones and so many others. From a really young age, I immersed myself in music because of dad. If it weren’t for his own love of music, I probably never would have ended up in the music business. His love of music had a tremendous impact on me and I love him for that. I remember him telling me the story of Motown Records, lots of stories about Quincy Jones and especially watching the Grammy Awards on TV. I was really hoping I could take him to the Grammys at some point. I know how much it would have meant to him. And i don’t mean it would have meant a lot to him to be around all of the celebrities, though I’m sure he would have had a good time walking up to them and telling them how much he enjoyed their music. I just think he would have appreciated the gesture and enjoyed a cool moment with me. I’m really sad that we never got to do that.
