John Y’s Musings from the Middle: You Can Call Me Al

You can call me Al. Or at least an Al lover. Al Jarreau, that is.

In high school I tried to get into the heavy metal music that was popular at the time. I tried and failed.

That more I caved to peer pressure and tried to pretend I liked the dense, loud, manic lyrics belted out by AC/DC and Black Sabbath, the more drawn I became to what, I suppose, could be called its opposite: the melodious and soulful harmonizings of a little known singer (at the time) named Al Jarreau.

I remember having more Al Jarreau cassettes in my car than any other musician in 1979. But I would never play them when a friend was in the car. But when I was alone, it was Al and me.

My first great love affair with music was with this man’s remarkable voice.