To Develop: Blog 365 Day 19 – Al Jarreau Was Proud of Me
By Jiddoe S'Phatt
Warmest greetings! My name is Jiddoe S’Phatt. Welcome to day 19 of “To Develop: Blog 365”.
Inspiration to write comes from a number of places. For this blog I’ve been inspired by hip-hop artist Rick Chyme and producer David K. Manley of Man@Work Productions. Through a collaborative project titled #DailyPieces365 these two artists will release a new song every day for the next 365 consecutive days! Their impressive dedication has motivated me to write a new blog every day of 2018.
A little piece of me goes into each entry I write. I hope you enjoy this one!
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I watched WWE Network docuseries WWE 24 about Bill Goldberg. In it he tells his son nothing compares
to the feeling he gets seeing his son look at him like a real life superhero,
bringing him to events people dream about, making these loving father-son memories
they’ll always remember.
What Goldberg said struck a very personal chord with me.
I’ve gotten to watch my son grow up at concerts and media events. While he may
not see me as a superhero, and would much rather have me dancing with him all
day to his favorite cartoon themes than writing, we’ve made some special
father-son memories ourselves. One of those was meeting the late great Al
Jarreau.
I had the blessing of interviewing Al while I was senior
writer for SoulTrain.com. We spoke by phone, and he was featured in a couple of
really important and memorable articles I wrote. One of those was an all-star
tribute to Soul Train creator Don Cornelius. Al told me during a phone call he
was proud of me.
I got to sort-of meet Al in person at Shoreline Jazz
Festival 2015. Al was tired after his performance but still took time to take
pictures with a number of fans. This included my then 2-year-old son, wife, and
I. I never told Al who I was because I knew it would lead to an extended
conversation, and I didn’t want to keep others waiting. I also knew he wanted
to finish up so he could rest.
Being in his presence was great, the photo was also great,
but that’s not the biggest takeaway of the day. That honor belongs to a photo
of my son standing behind the stage watching Al Jarreau rock the audience.
Rest In Peace
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