Make It Last

I recently attended a birthday bash for my longtime songwriting partner and brother-level friend, Allan Rich, at which we and a few other singers played a number of our songs, including “Run To You” and “For The First Time.”

Rehearsing for, doing and watching the performances – and the crowd’s reactions – was a revelation.  You know how sometimes you pull out an old song and you get that queasy “what-the-hell-was-I-thinking-when-I-wrote-this-one” feeling?     Not this time.  I fell in love with these songs all over again.  And amazingly enough, the audience – filled with seriously hardened entertainment business types and, even worse, other very competitive professional songwriters – was moved to tears.

Today’s music is so much about vibe and production and, to a large extent, so of the moment.  I love a lot of it – don’t get me wrong – but it isn’t built to last.  What songs are?  The ones with great melodies and lyrics, that can be performed by one singer with only a piano as accompaniment…the songs that are real and emotional and touch people.

The lesson of the birthday party show for me:  at least once in a while, I’m gonna try to write one of those.