Music Notes – Sunday, June 27th:
This Sunday’s musicians are Amy Collins and UUCC Pianist Karin Tooley
Prelude – Man in the Mirror – Ballard & Garrett
Written by the professional songwriting team of Glen Ballard (b. 1953) and Siedah Garrett (b. 1960), “Man in the Mirror” was the fourth single released from Michael Jackson’s 1987 solo album Bad. The song reached #1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 in 1988 for Jackson (1958-2009). With its confessional, socially conscious lyrics and gospel feel, the song represented a departure for Jackson, who was already hugely successful as a writer and performer of mainstream pop music. “Man in the Mirror” was critically acclaimed and was nominated for a Grammy Award for Record of the Year (it lost to Bobby McFerrin’s “Don’t Worry, Be Happy”), and would become one of Jackson’s favorite and best-remembered songs.
Opening Hymn: #1021 Lean on Me – Withers
First released in 1972, “Lean on Me” was the first and only number one hit for R&B singer Bill Withers (1938-2020). In 1987, a remake by the reggae band Club Nouveau won Withers a Grammy Award for Best Song and made “Lean on Me” one of only a handful of songs to have reached #1 both in its original form and then later as a cover version. The song was notably performed by Mary J. Blige at the concert celebrating the inauguration of President Barack Obama in 2009, and is also #1021 in our Singing the Journey hymnbook.
Closing Hymn: Let It Be – McCartney
Released in 1970 as a single and then as the title track of their final studio album, “Let It Be” is among the best-known and most popular songs by The Beatles. The song was written and sung by Paul McCartney (b. 1942), who has said that the inspiration for the song came to him in a dream. McCartney has also stated in many interviews that his use of “Mother Mary” in the lyrics was never intended to be religious but is instead a reference to his own mother, Mary Patricia McCartney.
Postlude: We Are Young – Antonoff, Bhasker, Dost, & Ruess
“We Are Young” is a 2011 song recorded by the American indie pop band Fun., featuring a guest appearance by Janelle Monáe. The song is an anthem of youthful energy with a ‘live in the moment’ attitude, and blends elements of indie rock with hip hop and stadium rock. “We Are Young” was critically acclaimed but achieved only modest commercial success at first. However, a cover version featured in a December 2011 episode of Glee and the use of the song in a Chevrolet Super Bowl commercial early in 2012 brought “We Are Young” to a wider audience and rocketed the song to the top of the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Chart, where it remained for six consecutive weeks, becoming the first #1 for both Monae and for the band Fun. The song also led to Grammy Awards for Best New Artist (Fun.) and Song of the Year (“We Are Young”).
–Mike Carney, UUCC Music Director
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