Learning From the Greats

Today was wonderful at Verve Records. I got the opportunity to meet a legend, Gene Paul, Les Paul's son. Les Paul was the first to develop the multi-track studio. Y'all know about the Les Paul guitar, right? Well, anyway, my supervisor, Jesse, and I had to drop off some music so it could get mastered. Jesse introduced me to all of the engineers, but it didn't ring a bell that Gene was Les Paul's son. I started looking around at some of the pictures on the walls of the studio. Then suddenly, I saw a picture of Atlantic recording artists, Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett, and Donny Hathaway, together. I was tripping out. Y'all know that Donny Hathaway is one of my favorite singers!!! "That's Gene Paul, right there," Jesse said. He was standing right next to Aretha and Donny in the photo. I was tripping out! I later realized that the man who was mastering our music was Gene Paul. I was about to go crazy! This man has engineered some history’s greatest albums. He engineered all of Donny Hathaway's albums. He engineered Aretha's "Young, Gifted and Black" album and he engineered Roberta Flack's hit, "Killing Me Softly With His Song." I was about to lose my mind!!!
We sat there for hours talking. He talked about going on the road with his father, seeing Ella Fitzgerald perform when he was a kid, and he told stories about all of his legendary studio sessions. I was like a kid in a candy store. He talked about how he remembered watching Aretha Franklin singing on Ed Sullivan; he hoped to work with her someday. Years later he found himself engineering most of her albums on Atlantic. That story blew my mind. He told us that Donny was a genius. Everything that Donny touched was amazing!! He told us when Donny died; everyone was so torn up at Atlantic.
As the hours went by, I sat there with my mouth wide open. This man worked with the greats. He kept emphasizing how important it is to learn from the greats. He didn't believe the "kids" today were educating themselves. He felt like the music today is not reflecting pure talent; I wanted to give him a high five after that comment (hence Paris Hilton's new album). This man had some wisdom; I could have picked his brain all day. I can't believe how God is working things out. My passion has been ignited again. As a young artist, it is our obligation to the artists who came before us, to revive music into its original purpose: to heal, to uplift, and to empower. The world is waiting!
Let’s live out our passions,
Ra