A Lost Memory, Brother Solomon Burke

It is sad that I do not remember Solomon Burke's performance at the Long Beach Blues festival. I do remember sitting at a bus stop after the festival. A car stopped. The passenger asked me if I wanted a ride. I said "No, thank you."

He said, "You were at the festival, weren't you." We chatted back and forth about the show. "It's all about love, hop in," he insisted and I finally agreed to take the ride. I was sitting in the back seat. The passenger turned to face me, asking why I was reluctant to accept a ride. I explained about the risk of getting in a vehicle with two strange men; they could take me anywhere, a lonely, back road ~ well, you know how that goes. The driver laughed, saying something like "Us? We have to be worried about you taking us somewhere, you might be a lunatic and...".

We all laughed, I relaxed and we had a pleasant conversation, until they dropped me safely off at home. That is not the reason I do not remember the concert.

Love was in the air. The future looked bright. I attended the concert solo, had a wonderful time with strangers who asked me to join their groups,sharing food or cold drinks; it was a terribly hot day and the venue ran out of bottled water. Maybe; memory not clear about the water, just the heat. I carried that warm fuzzy feeling with me to work the next day sharing the love with co-workers. Did you ever just want to hug everybody?

The next day people hijacked four airplanes, flying two of them into the World Trade Center twin towers in New York city and all thoughts of the concert fled.

Although I do not remember any of the performances from the concert, except vague images of Bobby "Blue" Bland, I can say with certainty that it was Brother Solomon Burke's words that caused the crowd to become united with love for all. Do wish I could wax eloquent about Burke's performance, his ability to stir emotions with his voice, because I know he did, but memory of a most enjoyable day got buried under the horrible events that followed.

Solomon Burke passed away, Sunday, October 10, 2010 on an airplane at Schiphot Airport. Someone commented on a You Tube video tribute to the "king of rock and soul", "there's a whole lotta Soul in Heaven today" May he rest in peace.

Solomon Burke dies at Amsterdam airport at 70

Solomon Burke website

You Tube Tribute video