Rita's Reflections: Our great singers and the complex lives they led

On most days music plays for more hours in our house than the number of hours we sleep. Larry and I don’t watch a lot of television, but we enjoy watching nature shows and some of the sitcoms we enjoyed when our boys were young like "Family Matters."

Many popular groups and singers sang on the show including original cast member actress/singer Thelma Hopkins. At the time, Thelma (pronounced T-helma) was part of the duo Dawn before Tony Orlando joined his two female friends and together the three of them achieved greater success. One of the groups biggest hits was the popular, “Tie a Yellow Ribbon ‘Round the Old Oak Tree.”

Craig, a Detroit Public school teacher was shocked to learn his students didn’t know who Marvin Gaye was. Say what!? That seems borderline criminal. Soulful men singing about sexual healing never fails to lift my spirit. I am not sure if Marvin knew what was going on at the time, but mercy, mercy, he was shot to death by his own father! Maybe the sexy crooner’s fate was why Tina Turner belted out, “What’s Love Got to Do with It.”

The late Luther Vandross knew love had a lot to do with it.

Luther sang “Power of Love/Love Power” and about how he wanted to dance with his father again. Me too, despite my dad wasn’t a dancer.

Another of my favorites is Detroit native Anita Baker. Thank God Anita’s father didn’t shoot her, and she is still around giving us the best that she’s got singing about sweet love.

Who doesn’t R-E-S-P-E-C-T the one and only, Ms. Aretha Franklin who died of the same horrible disease our friend Jeff Tuttle did — pancreatic cancer. One of Aretha’s last performances was at the Kennedy Center where she sang, “You Make Me Feel Like a Natural Woman” written by honoree of the night singer/songwriter Carol King. Naturally the queen of soul brought the house down in grand fashion.

An earworm is a catchy piece of music that continually loops through a person’s brain long after hearing it. My favorite is the 1970 one-hit wonder, “One Toke Over the Line” by the anti-war, anti-establishment duo Brewer and Shipley. The song could have been used for a public service announcement to take a train if one is toking grass, while giving a shout out to Jesus at the same time. “One toke over the line sweet Jesus. One toke over the line. Sitting downtown in a railway station one toke over the line.”

President Richard Nixon hated the song. I smirk every time I see a picture of Elvis shaking hands with Nixon after he presented Elvis with a specially made Bureau of Narcotics badge. The king of rock and roll wanted to lend his famous name to the war on drugs — which may or may not have included Nixon’s war on hippies and Black folks. Both Elvis and Nixon were charismatic liars. I detest liars, but I do love good music and Elvis’ “Memories” is my dad’s designated spirit song.

After Elvis died on the commode at the age of 42 so packed with his own doo-doo it was no longer a secret, he was preaching against the very thing he was doing. Sound familiar?

I am curious if Elvis could go back in time if he would change the way he died. Perhaps of old age sitting downtown in a railway station. Maybe taking a toke while singing sweet Gospel music and talking about the love of Jesus. Instead biting the dust on a porcelain potty full of BS.

— Rita Wyatt Zorn is a wife, mother, grandmother and lifetime Monroe County resident. She can be reached at 7.noniez@gmail.com.

This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Rita's Reflections: Our great singers and the complex lives they led