From The River to No River

One month into fatherhood, I find myself in a professorial role with my son, Spencer. I figure it’s never too early to begin educating him on my favorite music – the artists and the songs – since it’s my duty to make sure he appreciates music and both the JOY & THERAPY it has planted within me.

My father and friend, Irwin, passed down his love for listening to music and being a fan. His sacred collection of vinyl is something that has been engrained in my conscience. To this day, I have vivid memories flipping through the albums seeking the cover artwork that would catch my eye. The titles that left lasting impressions included Leon Russell’s Leon Live, The Stones Sticky Fingers (the cover actually had a real, working zipper!), Joe Cocker’s Mad Dogs and Englishmen and Supertramp’s Breakfast in America. Those were just a few of many albums, and even eight tracks, that found their way into his music vault. 

If you were to ask my father today, I am confident he would say that his favorite tune is Bruce Springsteen’s masterpiece, “Drive All Night” and his all-time artist being the recently inducted Rock Hall-of-Famer, Leon Russell. I am thankful he passed along his ears and his appreciation so that I could embrace the music that has attached itself to me. And I hope Spencer, my son and friend, will be the recipient of my ears, and my appreciation, for years to come. 

Aside from Irwin, there are two other individuals whom I would credit for having the most impact in shaping my ear for music – both of whom are two of the greatest musicians I have ever heard or witnessed. One does not know my name; the other is a brother-figure to me. One is from Jersey; the other hails from Kentucky. One has a piece of work called The River; the other an album called No River. Their names are Bruce and Jeff….Springsteen and Kazee, that is.

I have always said, the gifts Bruce has left me may well be beyond the songs in his own catalogue. I have always been enamored by the folks who have influenced him…his “rabbis.” The plethora of diversity he embraced has left bold and permanent tastes on my musical palate. From Sam Moore (of Sam & Dave fame) to Roy Orbison…from The Clash to Gary “US” Bonds…from Johnny Cash to Bob Dylan...from Elvis Presley to Curtis Mayfield, the list goes on and on. From punk to soul to country to R&B, he has helped introduce and thus shape the titles that occupy my CD collection.

In the past ten years, it is safe to say that nobody has provided me a more impactful education in musicology than Jeff Kazee. Through hours of conversation, words of cultivation and tireless indoctrination, Kazee opened my ears and my mind. From Stax to Elton….from The Band to Squeeze…from Elvis Costello to The Killer, Jerry Lee Lewis, the list goes on and on. Beyond the stage and the music, he also taught me a thing or two about being a professional and the importance of, to steal his phrase, how to “double down on life.”

At some point tonight or tomorrow, most likely in the wee hours of the morning, I will introduce Spencer to a new piece of music. Little does he know HIS musical palate has color being added one day at a time from my many layers of influencers that include my father, Bruce and Kazee. Spencer’s own JOY & THERAPY has just begun….now double down on the music, son.

Sammy Steinlight is President of Steinlight Media, LLC, a public relations company, based in Manalapan, NJ.