Happy

On The Other Side; The Tierney Sutton Band

I am a product of my father. That has probably been indicated many times here. But here I give you two more ways, no charge: I hate to pay for parking. I hate to pay a toll to drive on a road.

Last year when I acquired my 2008 Chevy Trailblazer, it came with three months of Sirius XM Radio. I told myself that if it was going to be gone in three months, well, then I wasn’t going to listen to it. And I caved immediately. I was in heaven. Symphony Hall, Symphony Pops, Siriusly Sinatra, Cinemagic, Bluesville, Watercolors and Caliente! No commercials! Never out of range! Push the button to find out the name of the song!

After three glorious months, my dad invaded my thoughts. Normally, I welcome his memory. But this time … “Erik!” Yes, Father? “Errrrrriiiiiiik!!” Yes, Dad, I’m here!! What do you want? “FM RAAAADIOOOOOO IS FREEEEEEEEEEEEEEeeeeeeeeeee … … … .”

For five frustrating months I was held captive to the restraints of blessed commercial radio and its endless tirade of ads. My life was thoroughly dismal. In July, just before going on vacation, I bribed Dad by telling him that I was taking interstate all the way to South Dakota and that in exchange I wanted Sirius XM Radio. He didn’t like it. Then I told him that the Statler Brothers lived there and he caved immediately. So when I left in July for Vacation 2009, Glacier National Park or Bust, I had first-rate road soundtrack.

About thirty miles east of Columbus, OH, I was listening to Siriusly Sinatra, where about one in every four selections features Ol’ Blue Eyes, and I heard a familiar melody in a way that I had never heard it played or sung before. “You Are My Sunshine”. Who is singing this? Well, God bless Sirius XM Radio! I got to push the button! A singer named Tierney Sutton was being melancholy about someone who was her sunshine.

“You Are My Sunshine” is a very special song for me. This was the first song that my niece M. sang for me over the phone. The song is credited to former Louisiana Governor Jim Davis, not the “Garfield” creator, who claimed that he wrote the song while riding on his horse named “Sunshine”. Ms. Sutton, in this profoundly creative and stirring rendition of the song, tends to dwell more on the “when skies are gray” aspect of this tune. And being a sudo-melancholy person anyway, yup, I caved immediately.

When I got to South Dakota, I downloaded from iTunes the album called “On The Other Side”, which included my new favorite track of “You Are My Sunshine”, featuring The Tierney Sutton Band. Virtually all of the songs in this collection use the word “happy” in the title: “Get Happy”, “Happy Days Are Here Again”, “Glad To Be Unhappy”, “Make Someone Happy” just to name a few. In Ms. Sutton’s House of Happy are some unfamiliar rooms. Happy as a single dimensional pattern doesn’t cut the interior design in this mansion. She explores the sad side, the stoic side, the exhilarating side, the content side, the dancing side, the tear-stained side and any one of fifty more sides to being happy. The resolution on her camera in this body of songs is certainly high definition and doesn’t sacrifice, indeed even enhances, the integrity of the sentiments expressed by the composers of these happy gems.

The surprise on this CD was the inclusion of Jack Sheldon on “I Want To Be Happy”. If you don’t recognize the name, let me tell you that his was the unforgettable voice featured on “Conjunction Junction”, “I’m Just A Bill”, “Rufus Xavier Sarsaparilla” and “The Tale of Mr. Morton” from ABC’s “Schoolhouse Rock” that aired on Saturday mornings between the cartoons in the 70’s and 80’s.

The Trailblazer didn’t come with an outlet for me to plug in my iPod to the stereo system; surprising on such a recent vehicle model. But it does have Bose speakers. And Sirius XM, my unpredictable iPod of the airwaves, sounds awesome through them.

Credits: To the programmers at Sirius XM Radio, who are not afraid to play something obscure and maybe a little scary for the masses. Thank you for seeing your public as hardy, tough and musically robust folk. Keep it coming. We can take it.