Scribbler's Rave & Favorite Five: Songs for Momma Scribbler

Now before anyone gets any bright ideas about what songs they can expect from this edition of the "Rave & Favorite Five", this is what we're not going to do.  We're not going to do "A Song for Mama" by Boyz II Men, "I'll Always Love My Mama" by The Intruders (although that's my jam and a half) or "Dear Mama" by 2Pac because this is not your run-of-the-mill Mother's Day music tribute.  Why?  Simple: because this tribute is for my momma.  This ode to the greatest mother in the whole wide world--because everybody says that about their mother unless trash truck juice could do a better job as a parent--showcases the first songs that come to mind when I specifically think of her favorites.  As you will see, my mother is diverse in her listening tastes as she can go from loving a soft rock ballad to bobbing her to something with a little hip-hop flair.  So although I'll probably have to email her this link and urge her to get on the Interwebs to check out this post, here are the top five songs that make me think of Momma Scribbler a.k.a. [in my Devin The Dude voice minus the "muy bien marijuana" reference] my "lovely good motha"...

#5 TERENCE TRENT D'ARBY, "If You Let Me Stay" (Introducing the Hardline According to Terence Trent D'Arby, Columbia, 1987).  The fall of 1987 was kind of a rough time.  Not long after my eighth birthday and not long before Thanksgiving, Big Dadi and Momma Scribbler separated for reasons not fully known to me and Little Brother Scribbler.  So when my mother, my brother and I stayed with my uncle, aunt and cousin in Southeast D.C. for about nine months, music was one of the biggest things that helped me to cope with that transition.  So when this brother with the uniquely soulful voice and the dreadlocks burst onto the scene with this hit, my mother was in love.  She couldn't get enough of this song and because she was so enamored with it, neither could I.  Next thing you know, Introducing the Hardline According to Terence Trent D'Arby was in her possession and the entire album was absolutely brilliant as D'Arby played at least five instruments in addition to leading the vocal charge.  Although I gravitated more toward "Wishing Well", "Sign Your Name", "If You All Get to Heaven" and "As Yet Untitled", we both loved his killer rendition of The Jackson 5's "Who's Lovin' You".  Nevertheless, "If You Let Me Stay" was her go-to jam no matter what and I'll always love that song because of her...

#4 DONNIE MCCLURKIN, "Agnus Dei (Live)" (Psalms, Hymns & Spiritual Songs (Live), Verity, 2005).  So around the time that Psalms, Hymns & Spiritual Songs was released and Momma Scribbler got hold of a copy, I was within my first year of working at the D.C. Courts and still living with her.  Nearly every single morning before we left to ride together, "Agnus Dei" was on without fail.  Don't get me wrong, the entire album is my favorite from Donnie McClurkin by virtue of my mother playing it so much, but the only other song that I recall her playing is "I Call You Faithful"--which is my favorite from the album.  However, if that didn't play, then I could set my watch by coming down the stairs at about 7:30, grabbing a quick bite to eat on the way out of the door and hearing her sing "worthy is the Lamb" with Donnie every single time.  Heck, I didn't even know it was called "Agnus Dei" until years later because all I knew was "worthy is the Lamb", but with praise and worship music, that's probably all that I needed to know.  I will say this: I look back on this song with so much fondness because of 1) how powerful of a spiritual song it is and 2) the fact that it was the last year that I lived under the same roof as my momma.  Good times...

#3 GEORGE MICHAEL, "Faith" (Faith, Epic, 1987).  During the aforementioned rough period when my parents separated, I think even if Momma Scribbler knew about George Michael's sexual preference when "Faith" came out, it wouldn't have mattered.  Her concern was twofold: 1) she loved the song, which motivated her to buy the album; and 2) she enjoyed his 5 o'clock shadow, his aviators, his blue jeans and him playing that guitar and shaking his butt.  Although I really couldn't care less about the latter part, I was ecstatic about the former because she bought the entire album, which is one of the best pop albums of the 1980s and better than even the Make It Big album during his Wham! days.  (Now that I think about it, "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" could've easily made this list.)  With an album full of heat like "I Want Your Sex", "Father Figure", "One More Try" and "Monkey", "Faith" was the steady for her.  Hard not to like a song that kicks off his debut solo album with a little more edge, making a clear distinction from his teen pop days and essentially having a Justin Timberlake moment 15 years before Justin Timberlake had his...

#2 112 FEAT. THE NOTORIOUS B.I.G., "Only You" (112, Bad Boy, 1996).  So remember how I said that my mother could flip her tastes to hip hop if it was kid tested, Momma Scribbler approved?  Well, as Bad Boy Entertainment had a roster that boasted Craig Mack, The Notorious B.I.G., Total and Faith Evans and was cranking out hits left and right that fused the flavor of the 90s with classic R&B, funk, pop and rock samples, 112 came on the scene with this infectious smash that grabbed the attention of me and my friends, my brother and his friends and, unexpectedly, my mother as well.  It's not that my mother didn't like any of the R&B of that era because she has always been open to good music regardless of its newness.  However, considering how much I was still bumping Ready to Die at the time and knowing that she didn't wanna hear all that cursing, I was pleasantly surprised when she even took to Biggie's verse--although it's probably some of the "safest" 16 bars in his vault.  In fact, although us youngins all liked the song, my mother is the reason why the first bit of anything by 112 ended up in our household via the "Only You" maxi-single.  (Remember those?  Yeah, I know...I'm totally telling my age, but don't I always?!?!)  Although Big Dadi Scribbler is ironically notorious for blasting 2Pac's "Hit 'Em Up" in his car as if no one else heard it before, Momma Scribbler is still hip...

#1 THE MIRACLES, "Ooo Baby Baby" (Going to a Go-Go, Tamla, 1965).  There is no other song on the face of God's green earth that makes me think of Momma Scribbler more than "Ooo Baby Baby".  First of all, this takes me back to the last time that we all lived under the same roof at Oxon Hill Village, so anything that recalls that golden age of my life has to be put on a pedestal.  Second, although I remember my mother singing along with so many songs, this was one of the first times that I realized how beautiful her voice was as we were sitting in the dining room, this song came on and you would've thought that she was a pre-teen all over again.  Like seriously, you couldn't tell the seven-year-old version of me that she wasn't a trained singer as she was crooning along with Smokey Robinson note for mesmerizingly dreamy note.  Third, the way that she sang along and knowing how nostalgic this made her made me love this song as it was one of the first doo-wop songs that I remember hearing and loving.  Ironically, my dad and mom would split within a year of this particular moment, but even with the apologetic lyrics, hearing my mother sing this as a kid might have begun my understanding of what it meant to be in love--for better or for worse...

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So in reviewing this list, there are quite a few songs that could've made the cut.  Although I don't remember a whole lot from living in Boxborough, Massachusetts when Big Dadi Scribbler was stationed there in the early 80s, I remember riding in the car and hearing Randy Crawford's "Windsong" on super duper repeat.  During our rides between Uptown and the South Side when I was attending Winston Elementary School, songs like "I Want to Know What Love Is" by Foreigner, "Drive" by The Cars, "Maneater" by Hall & Oates and "Owner of a Lonely Heart" by Yes and "Sweet Dreams" by Eurythmics dominated the pop airwaves and were welcomed staples during those 30-plus minutes.  When we moved to Southwest in the mid-90s, I was kinda taken aback by how much she loved "Too Close" by Next--due largely to the sample of Kurtis Blow "X-Mas Rappin'"--and she was later a huge fan of Mario's "Let Me Love You".  Heck, she's a much bigger fan of Jaheim and Miguel than I am and I fool with both of them pretty tough.  However, arguably the biggest snub is Linda Ronstadt and Aaron Neville's cover of "Don't Know Much" because my momma loves that song and they didn't play it on the radio enough for her liking.  Regardless, she actually spent her hard-earned money on everything else and that's why those five songs ended up on this list.  Despite our family not being full of instrumentalists or singers, music is just as much as part of our narrative and the conventional musical family and it always ties me to the best times of my life--many of them being with the greatest mother in the whole wide world.  In case you're confused as to who holds the top spot, it's my momma.

If you have a song or two or five that make you a little misty-eyed when it comes to your mother, then please feel free to drop some songs and/or memories in the comments.  To all of the mothers out there, Happy Mother's Day in advance from the good folks here at New Problem Tuesdays!!!