The Power Of Songs
Music is more than melody and rhymes; it's the universal language that narrates our collective story. Take a journey with me as I talk to all types of people in the music industry about the power of songs. From the first songs that pulled them into the love of music, to the songs they've encountered along the way that had a powerful impact, we will have great conversations about the power of songs.
The Power Of Songs
Power Song Story with Tom Booth - Love's In Need of Love Today
This power song story is a classic from the legend Stevie Wonder. Tom Booth joins me to revisit the timeless masterpiece "Love's In Need of Love Today," sharing his personal narrative of discovery and the spiritual voyage he embarked on with each play of it on his beloved cassette tape in his college car player.
Tom's infectious passion for the album's gospel undertones and the profound messages woven into Wonder's lyrics elevate our conversation to more than just a trip down memory lane. We explore the tactile joy of album covers, the profound messages hidden within vinyl sleeves like John Coltrane's "A Love Supreme," and the enduring impact of musical legends whose tunes are steeped in love and spirituality.
all right, we're back with the power song story with my friend tom booth, and he's going to share a little bit about a particular song that has such a powerful story, it deserves its own little podcast.
Tom Booth:So the artist is stevie wonder. Yes, I, I love it already. Songs in the Key of Life.
Chris Estes:Favorite album.
Tom Booth:Friend and I used to say you always know when you meet someone who has either heard it or not, it has such an impact.
Chris Estes:That's an iconic album. That's like if there's a time capsule that we send to some other planet with aliens, you put that album in there. Yeah, They'd be like these people are cool.
Tom Booth:On that record. You put that album in there. Yeah, they'd be like these people are on that record. You remember that song loves in need of love today. Yes, that song for me and that record and stevie you know I didn't grow up in a gospel church, you know black gospel, but all the elements are there in stevie, both jazz, blues, gospel. So I felt like it's like music class listening that record. I I think there was four or five months, it's all I heard and that song is like a gospel song at the end where he just goes over and over and every note choice is beautiful and the lyric and and love's in need of love. Today, in my mind it was like, if this is the best we can do, we need more love, you know, and god is love and stevie's so spiritual and such a beautiful human being whom I'd love to meet. But I wouldn't know what to say yeah I don't know what to say.
Tom Booth:It's like thank you for your music, everything I.
Chris Estes:I kind of feel like he has a prophetic role, like he does, he's I mean, he's one of those rare gems that that you have in a lifetime that not only has had such an impact in music but for decades and for decades and for and still like still has that yeah impact and started at such a young age mccartney.
Tom Booth:I know we're only supposed to name one, but Paul McCartney, he's written a few. You go to a concert and there's three hours and he's leaving out about 300 songs. But yeah, so many beautiful, it's Just Another Day.
Chris Estes:That song from.
Tom Booth:I think it's from Ram, but just beautiful.
Chris Estes:When did you hear the stevie wonder song? You remember your first time you heard that?
Tom Booth:yeah, I was in college. I think it had been out a couple years. I don't know what year that came out. I think, yeah, and somebody handed me a cassette and it didn't come out of my my car cassette player nice uh and just over and over and over um have a talk with god is on that album. Yeah, you know we could name. Is it like four?
Chris Estes:it's a double album yeah, I, I got the vinyl recently, like in the last month, and it's yeah still sound good.
Chris Estes:Uh, it's amazing, dude, it's like it is amazing. I love for me like going back, you know, back catalog, whatever. Like nowadays we have access to everything and it's all streaming, and what you miss in all that is you don't see any of the cover art, and part of the treasure I think of vinyl is going, because I didn't grow up in the vinyl age and really vinyl has had such a resurgence, man, but it's like when you open the, when I get a new piece, you know a vinyl, it's like, man, I'm as excited to hear it as I am to open it up and see what the art looks like, what the inner sleeve of the record is, what the credit, you know all that stuff, man, we would study it and you know Stevie would write these long messages and you'd look who produced and who somehow holding it, smelling it.
Tom Booth:You know you pull off that plastic wrap. It was special.
Chris Estes:It's like a gift man. Yeah, john coltrane's love supreme. That one floored me because when you open it up, it's his letter, his gospel encounter and his response with that album, like he writes out his whole gospel experience and it's a. It's a letter from john coltrane on the, on the fold out of it and I was like I mean, I've always loved the album but I had no idea the back history of like what his experience was and what his that album was a response to his I'm gonna go find that.
Tom Booth:Yeah, you just put me on a. Yeah, I need to go hear that and that's a good get a vinyl, you have a record player I do. It doesn't sound very dumb, man, I set it all up. This will be great, it was like.
Chris Estes:So I need to invest some money yeah, cool, well, hey, thanks for the power song stories. We could spend a whole couple of days on paul mccartney alone, but let's do it.
Tom Booth:Paul mccartney edition that's it.
Chris Estes:Yeah, paul mccartney next. All right, thanks guys. Thank you, thanks, chris. Great to be here. Outro Music.