Taking a walk.

This is such an honor.

I'm here speaking, I'm taking a walk with Nard to Michael Walden.

Hello, sir, Hey, how are you.

I'm fantastic.

I'm fantastic.

Welcome to taking a walk.

This is what we call the podcast now since we're not taking a walk literally, but we are walking through music history with you.

I do want to ask you if you could take a walk with somebody living or deceased, who would you take a walk with and where would you take that walk with him?

I don't know.

For some reason, Ali came to me, Muhammad Ali came to me and being in the woods, like near woods.

For some reason he came to me.

But of them then came a lot, Then came Prince, then came Grew, then came Mavistu.

All of them want to come, Then came Carl.

They all want to Yeah, mother Mary Kim, she wanted to go and to fend the wood to talk.

Yes, okay, you know, I'm like girl who didn't ride the bus.

You wouldn't take the back seat us'nt.

Yeah, you want to go in the woods and talk.

Oh my god, and it's all it's all good.

They all want to come we all want to have a part of the other.

They're all invited.

Everyone is invited before we dig here further, including still yours for the summer and just everything and your wonderful career though it does hit me.

We also produce this other podcast.

It's hosted by my friend Lyn Hoffman.

It's called Music Save Me, and it's about the healing power of music and what it does for us and how important it is from musicians standpoints.

Certainly, so I believe I know where you're going to go with this, but I do have to ask you, knowing your spirituality and and your core beliefs, do you think music has healing power?

Absolutely, without question, absolutely more than we even recognize or realize.

In fact, when I think in my childhood, it's the music that comes to me first, the songs.

If I hear a song that I can see what I was doing, Smell the air, the kind of car we we drove, the conversations, the feelings, the excitement, the enthusiasms.

Music is the key to lock the whole universe.

And in fact, music is right next to God because dig it, if God talks us in silence, what comes right after silence?

Music?

So music is the highest form on the planet to reach each other.

I can go with Jeff Beck when he was alive, from America to Japan, to China to Russia, anywhere in the world, and that music communicates ma Vish.

You could communicate Carlos, communicate anywhere in the world.

That's the beauty of music.

You don't speak the language you know, but the music of the higher language.

So I'm a I am here in honor of music to keep the music going and keep my heart young and fresh like a little kid excited by the music.

And the euphoria that you bring to your craft and to your life is so contagious.

It really connects us all at a time when so many things don't connect us.

But it's the one thread certainly, not only your beautiful work with it and all your collaborations, but that in general what music gives to us.

It keeps us together.

Yeah, and please tell your friend I want to be on a show if you'll have me.

They speak about the spiritual aspects of music.

And I got my name Naruda behind him being a bit of vine musician.

When Guru gave me the name, he told me all the stories about Narada with his music came to the earth to inspire with loving God more or with divine message.

So it's all, it's all beautiful.

So do you remember I will you you are invited, So hereby you are, you are hereby invited.

But the first moment you recall in life being connected deeply with music, what was that first moments?

Oh?

I loved like Frank Froggy went a court and heated live.

When I was a little little kid, a little two year old.

Those little nursery rhymes are so cool.

My dad would buying from me and it would be just so sweet on the record player, you know, Mambo music, looking at the beautiful covers of the ladies on the covers of the Mambo Music and hearing George sharing with Peggy Lee that album, the live album Beating in the beatips called I think those are earli earlier recollections.

Then at my grandpa's house across the way, my mom's sisters became Valerie, they would have Nina simonon live at on all.

Then I had to get out my my my python and a pillow and play along just softly to try to imitate the drummer on those records, you know, summertime.

I Loveji BORGHI Uh, just that the whole album is so deep with Simon live all that that really got me, you know.

Then, of course, not long after, we go on our little trips to Upper Michigan in our cottage and they bring in an album by Horace Silver Cold, six Pieces of Silver, and he'd be a piece on there called Senior Blues, and they would say the drummer's only eighteen, named Lewis Hayes from Detroit.

I said, oh, he's a little he's young.

So that I had like memori to doom doo doo doo doo doo doo doo to doom doo doo doo doo doo doo do doom doom to do digit ded do do.

Didn't memorize all the pieces, just so that's early, early, early on all those things.

Man.

Even though even Harry Bella font Take My Mother Home was a very scary piece, very frightening.

I got frightened as a kid.

Then I remember good memories like when they we first heard on the radio, Twist and Shot by the Ivy Brothers on the radio.

You just don't don't dun't them dumm don't dun't don't doom.

You know all that all that rock and roll coming.

Also Little Richie on seventy eight's you Know Good GOLLI Miss Molly at my Grandma's house.

That was an electrifying you as a little kid hearing that.

Then I loved the live album of Ray Charles what I say, Frenzy Spirit, uh Drama on Tears and uhs just so incredible that album, so I and then Fingertips came along and this wipe me out all the live recordings, quite frankly, would knock me out the live recordings.

Isn't that interesting thinking about that, because then you would not only apply your craft in studios, uh and you continue to brilliant, but you applied your craft in the live performance area.

Yeah.

Who taught you the incredible disciplines that take you to musical journeys and beauty.

To this day.

My mom and dad were very disciplined.

My mom was raised by her father was a great janitor custodian in Kalamus in Michigan.

Cleaned all the car places, insurance buildings, cleaned everything, just made a sparkle be up at three in the morning to get out, you know, in the morning before place of open.

So she had a great discipline of helping him, you know, and seeing how hard he worked.

And then my own dad help helped him too, and also ran, you know, a job in a paper mill, and then they basically became a drafts room for Consumer's Power company.

But he was like a sergeant.

My dad's very serious.

You know, whatever he said, we knew he meant it.

So there was no bullshit in that in our family.

And my dad wanted to be a drummer.

He would carry in the snow his friend's drums.

I got him build out from the Three Sounds, so I also had to like listen to three Sounds and you know, when I could play along with that record that my dad would actually get me a new drum set to go on TV and look really professional because I could.

I impressed my dad.

I could play Bill Dowdy.

So it's all in the music.

It's all the family.

And in Michigan where I'm from, himrom kalamazoo.

You know, the snow outside a lot.

The weather's not so good to go outside and play, so you're locked inside a lot so you can play and practice and do things.

And my mom never complained about drumming the noise.

Only thing she ever complained about one to mile is downstairs with my friend Steve Wiffen working over the Who's record of him.

I could see from miles and miles and miles, and I wanted to get it right, and I was telling the boys how to play it right.

And I went upstairs to get a glass of water.

My mom said, why are you shouting at those boys downstairs?

So I'm not shouting me say, yeah, you were being strong with him.

I said, I didn't mean to.

I just want to make sure we get the music right.

So that's the only thing she ever ever complained to me about.

But other than that, she didn't.

Care that the noise was there, and it was not noise.

It was beauty to her.

In fact, as we lived in Planning on Michigan outside calend they would take me two different rehearsals.

I would have on Saturday mornings with Joel Brooks, who played Orgon in his house, and then we'd have Joel Brooks had an uncle who owned the Ambassador Lounge, the cool lounge on the north side of Calamba Zoo where all the people would go hang out and drink and whatever, and we can go in there early before they're opening act and playing there and my parents would would help me view that I want up.

We have a big gig on New Year's Eve, the Crazy Horse, and I'd go in the Crazyers and play, so, you know, and you see the big spinning light, mirror ball, you know, and all the people.

And so I was introduced to early playing live and my and my parents loved it.

They'd helped me to hauler on my drums, which you know is that's not easy, and haul on an organ and even the Leslie no roadies with you then, oh, that was my parents and his parents.

So you know, really real dedication.

I'm trying to tell you.

We don't think about it, but I'm telling you that in the sixties, fifties, sixties, you had to work to be in music.

Who's the Mount Rushmore of drummers for you?

All of them.

I love peaches, bananas, oranges, strawberry apples, grapes, grapefruits, all of them.

You don't need nobody else because they all contributed.

Like the start behind me, everybody brought their own flavor and you needed it.

Mitch Mitchell brought that flavor.

For Hamricks that no one else could have been better I did at Jimmy than than Mitch Mitchell.

Billy Cobben brought that kicking, that fire behind the mobbish newth that just scalded my soul to this very day.

When I saw them Harber, Connecticut, seventy two whatever, it was just and the most incredible fire I've ever seen in my life, so you know, and now, of course it's a little look, kid, we have an album by Buddy Rich and Max Roach going back and forth.

I was like intrigued to hear that, you know, R.

Blakey on the sermon with Jimmy's smith playing a rock back beat throughout the whole twenty two minutes through that done good, Jane Dunk, Jane dang, you know, which you wouldn't think and jazz would be a balloon's balley, but that's what our rect was playing.

That was my favorite because it was just so just swinging strong like that.

Of course Take five comes out with Joe Morella.

Oh now that's something cool, you know.

Or Cannibal Adley is seven miles High, Mercy, Mercy, me sack of bol This year, all that music that was coming out you know Michael Bloom with Bunny Miles, the Electric flat bag so much.

Everywhere you look, even the movie Great Cold Cold Blood was Sandy McGee.

Everywhere you look Jagged is your not first light?

With Freddy Hubbard?

You know Wendy with was Montgomery ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding.

All of it plays the Percy faith.

All that stuff was so beautiful.

So I left my all of it.

And there is a rush Marble, if you have a rush Marmore put them all up there.

I love that.

I have to ask you about one drummer though, in particular who was part of the Wrecon crew and.

Cal Blaine hal Blaine.

The one I'm thinking of, though, is the one that had the tragic ending, Jim Gordon.

I didn't know much about Jim Gordon.

I knew, I'm familiar with some of the recordings, but he was taken out of the game so quickly with that axe, and he hadn't taken it into jail.

Now give him the name of one or two of the pieces that he be honest, I can tell.

You well writing credits on Laylah for sure?

Is that anim playing drums on Layla?

Yep okay I got it, and also though good vibrations beach boys.

Oh that's him too, Okay, I didn't know that.

I thought that was how I think hol was associated with it as well.

But he was That whole Wrecon crew was the unknown group of you know, experts there that were kind of no one knew them, but they were all producing this incredible work.

But the tragedy of Jim Gordon was how the music industry uh turned its back a mental illness.

Uh, that's the traggy.

Now.

I worked at the hospital of mental illness, and I saw how it goes down.

You know, shock treatments and you know, take the people and put them in the cages.

You know something, I'm gonna strapp them down.

And my job is orderly to go in and unstrapped them and wash them, bathe and clean them, shave them, put on their clothing.

You know andy actors who were straining against Later they'll hurt themselves.

Medi illness is a very serious thing.

I also I would take care of the kids who would burn the house down.

Runaways be my job.

And I've had got out of high school from freshmen to ninth grade.

Freshmen, take care of those kids take them for a walk, or keep them the same room and playing well or Happy Day by Edwin, you know Edmund Edwin Star not Star, No, No.

The choir guy, Edward Hawkins, Edward Hawkins sorry, yes.

Or I'm leaving on a jet playing by Yeah, Peter, Paul and Mary.

Yeah.

You know.

Things are kind of column now, you know, But I would see the mental's firsthand, and back then there was a budget to actually take people in.

Of course, Reagan came along and they kind of like dismantled some of that stuff.

People end up on the streets.

So you're saying, Jim Gordon a mentally problem.

God knows, maybe there wasn't anything to catch him.

There was no net to catch him, you know.

And that's happening everywhere now, even even full full force.

Anywhere you go.

You're seeing holes on the street right down the street from where I'm living here, my studio off the hanging out.

There's there's no place in to go.

There's no net.

Other countries have a net.

We don't.

We don't believe it on net over here.

And it's gonna get worse because the rich get rich and the poor get poor.

So the net they they ain't want to catch you.

I'm so sorry about it.

It's my it's my.

It hurts me well, and it goes back to the thread at the beginning of the interview, just done the fact of what music means and how it brings you know, folks together and how it has you know, healing, uh, you know processes as well.

We'll be right back with more of the Taking a Walk Podcast.

Welcome back to the Taking a Walk Podcast.

Talk about your first time running into and then ultimately making great magic with Aretha Franklin.

Aretha Franklin daunting.

Clyde Davis opened that door for me and he just said, direct, give her a phone call like that, very understated, And I called her and the conversation was just magical.

I'm so glad I was prepared for the phone call with my pen in my paper, just take little notes and things because she speaks in a way that I couldn't ever understand prior going into the conversation that that's how would talk.

But she speaks in a very high faluting, has her own language, her own way describing things that it's just it's just her.

So for example, I'll be on the phone, I said, well, what do you do?

What do you do?

They have fun?

And she said, oh, I might go out to a nightclub.

In the nightclub, I see a guy in the corner.

He look good.

I look good.

He was looking at hya.

We both look good, kind of like who's the one who?

Yeah?

But then you know he looking at me.

I'm looking at him.

Well, you think he got me?

But then the fist jumps off the hook.

He thinks he's got me, but the fish jumps off the hook.

What are you talking?

But that's how she was.

Now I'll get off the phone.

I tell Preston Glass, this is what she said.

We gotta make a hit phone out of us, and we did this.

I'm the phone call, just her being her.

So when you talk about her that had that hat, that comes to my mind.

Then when I went with the tape from San Francisco to Detroit to go meet her, that's a whole other history.

Her walking in the room with her fur coat and a cigarette.

You're still smoking and looking in my eyes.

I look in her eyes.

I let her know right away.

I'm here to be your friend and serve the music and love you and be kind to you.

I'm not here to fight with you.

And then it was like cool because I could see in her eyes the genius they all knowing, you know, can hear everything and sing everything and play everything, piano everything, just looking at you, the all knowingness of God.

She is.

She's walking dative God, the highest poem.

So how about that?

God.

No, I'm not here to fight, I'm here to make music.

And then sure enough with Dave Fraser, hit to play button, let the music come on.

I saw that whole thing like just go and she was like that sounds so good, you know, you know, and then she goes, I'm and go out to the microphone and she was singing down the out there four times straight through the whole song, down the outter like a man lane.

And she'll say, okay, I'm going to cut.

I say okay, and now she sounds up in her arrange like Aretha, and the whole take us like a hit record.

In fact, to her, it is almost done.

So I'll sing one more time for you, you know, because you have a choice.

She's singing a second time like done, okay the time.

I'm so smart because I am smart.

I'm a porpoise and I'm like flipper they called him flipper flipper, but he hit it.

I said, you know what, because now you're so high on the ending, do all these riffs and stuff to do one or two more takes adjust that.

So I got all that in the bag.

She said, okay, So I let get happy.

Whatever the riffs are, all those ideas just flowing.

Because I realized what people like that, you can't come back to You gotta get it right then, then go back to the first verse and gets studious, because that first verse is critical for the R and B singer.

If there's too much R and B on the first verse, can lose all your pop audience.

I know that.

So now I'm a little concerned that the first verse is still too RB sounding, perhaps too much flippancy going on.

Maybe we need to have a little more subtle or people in their cars and their officers can sing it back more easily.

I'm the first opening.

We can get more progressive as we go along, but let's start a little simpler.

So she would say to me, and then she got kind to me, and she knew I was She knew I'm a good person.

She looked at me, say you know I'm gonna do for you.

I said what, I'll give you one more take.

It's called the straight reading.

I go the straight reading.

Once that I go in, I say it one more time for you, a little closer to the melody that gives you one more take, like okay, And she goes back in, and she'll sing it to her, a little closer to melody.

To me, not that much different, but a little bit.

So Inevitably, when I come back home to my still sam le's go here and comp would comp means put the words, put the best lyrics together, the best performances together, I end up using what I'm I thought was too R and B.

It's just so good.

It's just so pure that you can't you can't ignore it.

You can't act like you're gonna be simple because you want to be simple.

No, it's just too good.

So I end up using it.

So I've learned so much from her, just to kind of flow with her, make sure the chorus is a hit.

I'd always go over there with the choruses stacked up backgrounds, so I knew that i'd be powerful no matter what she would do, flipping around or carrying on the chorus, be so powerful that I get one take where she's singing with the chorus to make sure I had it.

And then once we knew each other how we worked, we got to like peanut butter and jelly.

And then you want to what you want to eat?

You want to you want want to want cheese burger?

You want you want some fried chicken?

Nor dude going down to getting naught gnada going down and gett nauds and taking the cheezburger.

See it beyond man.

Then she opened up her pants, let her let her belly come out and go and sing one more thing for you or whatever one might be.

Power unknown.

No one can understand what it's like to be in control of them with speakers, hearing a read the frame of the boys coming out.

But I make things loud anyway, but powerful, clear, clean.

Every note is what she wants it to be.

She doesn't sing anything unless she hears it that way.

For example, one time I said this might be a little bit much.

Here she goes.

She goes, we'll play it to me.

She'll let us say women play it to me, you know, and the ash will almost be burning down.

Just hang a cigarette, you know.

Listen to the whole thing.

Love and love and every damn think about it.

And I say, well, maybe this area right here, you know, could be a little simple.

She goes, well, that's just the way I hear it.

Okay, I get it, get it in my hand.

I get so.

She she owe my and I op in her eyes too.

We both got along great.

We met her first planning with George Michael.

I knew you will waiting.

Damn, I knew you will waiting for me.

First big number one pop record, Millia seller Freeway.

I love Who's that?

We knew all that stuff we did.

I'm so proud of her and part of my history with her when I went to her funeral.

She's the people's champion.

All on the blocks in Detroit, just far as you could ever see.

All the people just lined up to come and look at her.

The night before the big funeral, you know, and they had this song playing out from that church called Mary Don't You Weep?

With her singing just perfect.

You realize how damn genie she is.

Was is Mary don't you Weep?

As these people all lined up her people, the disenfranchise of the world, the poor people, people ain't got nothing but just loved her.

And it be a little symbolized a little pink Cadillac off front.

But I was very proud to see but free.

We're in love.

It's that right there.

I never and I never actually went in the church to look at her.

It was too patt I couldn't even get in there.

Even the day I want for them for the funeral.

I'm playing in the band, you know, for the music, and I wanted to go take a speaker peek at her before they close the coffin.

Ralph Armstrong and I went around for the band, standing all the way around the church.

We can get into before they closed.

The captain I said, no, respect the family.

It's closed off now.

You're five minutes too late.

And then but there's a nada.

He's part of the family.

Respect the family.

It's closed off now.

So it wasn't for me to see her like that.

But we had the best of times before she passed.

The way she called me on the phone.

I was gonna tell you, I love sitting on the couch laughing with you.

We had the best of times.

See that's the best it gets.

Let me shoot say, she said, And don't ever lose your mind.

Dollar smile.

Okay, oh man, you know what I mean, you can't beat that, man, That's priceless, kid.

You can't beat that stup.

Oh man, Oh I got one thing.

I never played live with her.

Back then, toward the end of her life, the last seven shows of her life, she said, would you come play with me?

Said I'd be honored, And I made seven shows with her, you know, in New Jersey and a J Pax Center what it was called Boston was incredible.

Oh my god, uh New York at that Radio City Music Hall, that Clyde Davis event we did.

And the last show was the Elton John Aides concert at Saint John Devine, and I mean it was packed with sting Billy Joel, Clyde Davis, anybody with anybody in New York was there.

Now this would be her last show, and she came up kind of rail thin now and people like, I'm like, whoa, you know, But it didn't matter, man, She's sang her ass off and that band played its ass love.

When for the Bundy was like fifteen minutes long.

She wanted us a rocket man and she leave the stage and come back and still rocket.

So that's how she was.

And I remember at one point she did her tribute to Nis and Dorma live and I put the symbols with the malice and I could see it over their sting and every sting all crying just to hear her sing this in Duma.

It was so beautiful.

I had one woman, and I'm gonna share with you because it's on my brain.

Sure.

The first I played live where there would be what do you call those, an affair where they're like a private function, not for just the public, for a private affair in New York corporate A great one, though, I'd be like a high faluting one.

And that was the first one I played live with her, and I went up on a gam called Chain of Fools.

She had another drummer from the Detroit forgetting her name, Gaileen Gayleen, the beautiful girl and a woman played really great, so she'd be with you there and then it'd be my turn, and I came on on chann of Fools.

Chain of Fools got so rocking with Rolph Armstrong and I.

They actually sang the song.

She said, keep on going.

We kept going rock channing fools.

Right.

She goes and sits down like like a prize fight, like in the corner, like sitting down in the chair.

Then she says, tells the guys bring me some towels.

They wrap her ft with towels, you know, like like a Price Fighter, all wrapped up record.

Look like what towels?

We're over rocking, you know, Channa fools.

You know what I'm saying.

It's really into it.

And she's sitting there looking at me.

You know, I'm grooving.

At one point she stood up through all them towels, went back to the mic and started rocking hardcore.

That's why people love her.

She just gave everything, every thing.

Man, it was like Olie and Frasier just wow.

And then I started realizing when you go to Boston, before she even come out, the audience be like, oh o reason, but you're here.

Oh, it'd be like a friends in the audience before she even walk on the stage.

And another thing I learned, you could never talk to before before the show, and she knows you're there, but she be dead quiet, not mentioning a word to anybody save you her voice for a show.

And also to be back there, missed to make it misty for her.

But never you can never talk to her.

You can never talk to her, and she come out and John's kill and she warned you to kill and we did.

Then after every show, the classic thing is true.

You know, go into her bra, pull out the cash, pay you in cash.

Then you have to sign on the piece of paper, and you got paid in cash.

You know, all right, But then one time I got embarrassed because I knew I was getting paid more.

Another cats in the band.

So her girlfriend, part of the family, said, go on, count your money.

No, I think it's not.

Gaileen said, early and early, go and count your money now fullling bears a counter in front ofveryone in all the band look at me like this, Yeah, I count your money now.

Don't see how much I turn my back, you know, counting.

Okay, thank you us all here, thank you, But I don't want to see how much it was he making make the band upset, And then read the seventeen you Gotta enjoy Me in new orders for the jazz Fest.

I said, of course, I'll be there for you.

But she never made the jazz Fest.

She never made the jazz Fest.

She kind of hold her little side.

I knew she was in pain, you know, Oh, thank you.

We had a close relationship.

You sure did as close as a guests.

I think you know, I'm still trying to get my arms around.

I love the visual.

When you said in the studio, how she just kind of you know, unbuttoned things there and let things hang and said, let me let it rip, baby.

That's how it was.

What she wanted to really go for it, like you know she under under her pants.

I love it.

Oh yes.

And one more thing you should know.

This is a classic on the number one record, you know.

I in those days it was tape, so I only had like one reel tape for George, ten tracks another I mean two reels, one with a track of the band and then another reel of the track.

Could be twenty four ten for George, ten for refam and four for they can mess around.

So the first day a rereath would come in and do our parts, not the all the ad lit stuff, just the verse and the read was I the chorus isn't the you know, versus the basic stuff that George come the next day really nervous to let out his stuff.

He laid on his verses, his choruses, and I wouldn't do too much oultro star.

I want to save a third day for them to come together for that ending, but even the verses and choruses.

George will say to me, you know what, after doing ten tracks, here go back over my first four tracks.

I'm feeling stronger.

And I would say, no, George, I ain't doing that.

Those first four tracks are the record you think you're getting better, but if beck is not, you're going down.

The first four tracks were You're strongless and I'm saved for those tracks.

And he looked at me like, who the hell do you think you are.

I'm George Michael.

I know you, George Michael.

But he wasn't used toying a producer.

I wasn't used to working with him.

But I had to stand up a strong because I knew what I knew, And I said, George, if you just go home, I'll stay up.

All nine compet together the best parts to show you when you go tomorrow.

If you've got any problem, we could do it tomorrow.

But right now I'm stopping.

I can't go any further because these are the best tracks.

So he came next day.

I was able to knock him out with how good it sounded.

Then we could focus on the ending, and then on the ending.

I got two mics for a Wretha nd for him.

I had just enough to go over the ending four different times.

First couple of times and Aretha's being really nice to him, you know, just being kind of mild.

Third and fourth time, Hell, now she's stop, she's hot.

She ripped you.

Listening to the end, you hear just an incredible thing and stunned George.

It was like a stun It's so incredible.

It's on the record.

So I love that moment to see George the stumber.

Yeah, do the knock out blow on him.

She didn't want to scare him.

The hell she can help it.

She's a wreath.

Oh man.

Yeah, I have two more things I wanted to talk to you about.

One is I want to talk about Euphoria and still yours for the summer.

Oh, there it is.

The hearts are coming up.

Tell me how much enjoyment you had creating that work.

Which one Euphoria, Yeah, that was great.

That was with our partner in Italy named Leno Nickelossi and his family where I write my songs over here, caught him do what I'm going to do, sing them and someone over there for his touch to add into it.

His guitar work, his sister of Bad Bad as bass player, his brother Bat has keyboard player.

Kind of just dress it up from the European standpoint.

I want to make sure something to the European people of my work, because they loved me over there ever since I had I should love James non Im all right, divine emotion.

Europe comes to life with my music.

Give me, give me the game is like number one in Sweden.

So I thought, let's have some fun with the European touch, and that's what he brought.

That was a lot of fun for me to hear back and forth, the culmination of my vibe, his vibe coming together, and on the song for Sting, I had that Lavault staying Carlos Stevie the more I Love my life, And I said, let me just make this into the little European touch on it.

So he did that too, and that was lovely, called them more I love my life.

So that was a lot of fun to me.

A lot of hard work because it's you're working two carlets.

You know, when I'm when I'm sleeping, he's awake and vice versa.

You know, I wake up at six in the morning whatever, and there he'd be like on me, but no, it's a notes and notes.

So that was a lot, but it was it was great music.

Now this new album mine, I made it right here in my in my house.

Till years for the summer.

It's in a way it's easier for me.

I can just just do it, you know.

And you had the great version of hot Fun in the summertime.

Yeah, I felt like, uh an honor to Sly.

I didn't realize it's gonna die.

But something in my spirits said, honor Sly and make it a dance version, like, just change it up.

So I took hop fun and madute a dance kind of disco way in fun and what you wouldn't expect.

And when I did it, Jeff mcclusy go out of Chicago.

The big radio grew from Clyde Davis's camp.

I know Jeff Yea and his team.

They said this should be your first single because it's something old, something new.

I said, okay, put it up, so they did.

But then I kept.

I came on an another song, cale Boogie cherry Bomb for the summertime.

Call it kind of funky bikini sexy type song, having fun in the you know in the beaches and all that, and then our third single decided to make h Warren Chappel said, do something from your catalog, you know, because you got this great catalog.

Take one those songs and redo it.

I said, well, let's take I Should Have Loved You and and and I had I remember that Leno had done a remix ofb I Should Love So I took leonod remix, make sure I had my did new vocals, new stuff on it, you know.

And that became our third single.

And now the album is just freshly out and I'm really problem to the song ste you.

It's the summer Peaches.

Neil Sean from Journey, a great soul of Maham, got another testimony for my vision, how much I love him, how much he helped me, discovering me, bringing me open the door.

Because I got to tell you bus night to making this industry is the hardest thing in the world.

There's no book on it.

There's no book on it.

There's no magic.

It's just half of the stance.

I saw so many talented, talented people in Midwest, you know, touring.

I see they're so great, gifted, but maybe they'd never make it.

So I was just always praying I was gonna do with his movistud that you know, that actually took me in and mainly because I think I was.

I was ready to pray and meditate with the Guru and just make myself what he he needed me to be.

And it was where it worked out, and God blessed it because from there I toured Ma Visnina and that Jeff Back and The Weather Report and you know, all kind of about Tommy Bowling.

I actually talked with Jordan Tommy Bowlmen's band over Weather Report because I wanted to do more rock and roll at that time.

So all those doors just started opening for me, you know, Garden Lovelight.

I was able to nick my album solo albums with Atlantic.

You know, it's it was easy, but but God made a way, so very thankful in my life that I've been able to kind of cross reading across you know, meet Tommy Dowd, you know who says you got to bring a Sissy Houston singing on the Guarden love Light.

Okay, I didn't know Sissy, but he did, so he didn't come to Sissy Houston with her whole group.

And here's a little Whitney Houston, eleven years old on the corner watching the session and they sound incredible.

Wow, I met Whitdnet even she's eleven.

That's because of time me doubt incredible.

That's how I got another piece for Jeff Beck.

Jeff flew in from London to become the Saying.

The Rascal.

Carl and Vantanmdenna complain on first Love on my first album sounds so blessed.

Mike Gibbs, who arrange the strings for Apocalypse from Ovish Workers, arrange the strings for my album gard on Lovelight.

So I'm just I'm really really grateful, uh that so many nice things that's been in able to come across my path.

Can you share the new project that you're that you're working on?

Which one you mean the one today?

Yeah?

Today?

Today we're on a very heavy project, heavy in the sense that is so mind blowed, mind boggling.

We're doing a tribute to Motown.

It's called the Motown Salutes, a song that Otis Williams from The Temptations wants me to write and we're running it together to honor all the greatness of Motown.

So I've cut a tracked twice because I wanted to make it.

First time I did, it was more like kind of easy going, like a what's going on kind of cool?

But then we want to put up we man, we have going to attract there twice now making it more more more the dynamic.

So and then I had I had to look at changing my lyric to make them more than that A two.

But it's so much of a story who you who you?

Who you put in?

Who you do?

We have to leave out because you only got four minutes, you know.

But it's incredible that the word that came out of Motown.

It's staggering, you know.

James Jamis and Benny Benjamin, how they found a little Cde Wonder Ronald White for the Miracles, how Smooky wrote my guy and my Girl produced them of course all hit for the Miracles.

Became the vice president of the company.

How the Temptations came on, came on the scene and became the biggest act over there.

You know, four Tops.

Dinah Ross was was a receptionist.

They came down to Ross became the supremes.

Martha Reeves told me she had the hottest records, you know, Heat wed and Quick, sand and Dancing because you paid them more money.

See, that's why my records had more heat on.

Damn it's true.

Those those records she put out was had fire.

It's just so much in there.

Yeah, oh my god, how exciting and blessed the great Mickey Stevenson.

Right right, but his name is not mentioned, but exactly.

Yeah, well he was always the man behind the scenes, right Yeah.

Thean Andante's, all the backing singers, they not be They mentioned what they were there, Kim Wesson, who I loved, you know, take me your armors, brock me, block me a little while.

That's not what you mentioned.

This is more of the main thing that we all know.

Oh man and Barry Gordy.

Yeah, and the team, how hard they worked.

They take all these kids from the ghettos, they had nothing and polish them up, teach them how to eat, out of dress, how to dance, how to meet the king and the queen and had him records and they did.

Oh man, I can't thank you enough.

I can't thank you enough for being on taking a walk narrative, Michael Ball.

Then for all you give us, well, you continue to give us the joy, you give us, the energy, you give us, the positive vibes and the love.

Oh man, thank you.

So much, Thank you too.

Do you want to know anything else?

You all done?

I you know what Part two will be coming around.

I love it.

I love that so great that one says a bunch of me.

Man, you are the best.

Thank you so much, Thank you very I love you.

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