If you are looking for ugliness,
it’s out there. There’s plenty of venom spewing. But if you’re looking for
something beautiful, consider the lyrics of this Diana Ross hit:
“Reach out and touch
Somebody’s hand
Make this world a better
place
If you can
Reach out and touch
Somebody’s hand
Make this world a better
place
If you can”
Swaying and singing—with hands joined,
black and white—an audience of hundreds brought that song to life. Witnessing
that beautiful expression, I thought, “This is a testimony of hope. Together,
we can make this world a better place.”
And what brought this sold-out crowd to
the revitalized Elbert Theatre, just off the town’s historic square?
Music.
Motown music.
Berry Gordy Jr.’s magical touch started
putting smiles on the faces of my generation in the 1960s. He gave us the
Temptations, the Four Tops, Mary Wells, Gladys Knight, Stevie Wonder, the
Supremes, Diana Ross, Martha and the Vandellas, Smokey Robinson, the Commodores,
and more.
Billy Joel isn’t among Gordy’s artists,
but the “Piano Man’s” words explain what happened in the Granite Capital of the
World on Feb. 2. He said, “I think music
in itself is healing. It’s an explosive expression of humanity. It’s something
we are all touched by. No matter what culture we are from, everyone loves
music.”
Maybe it’s my age, but I don’t exactly
“love” some of today’s music. I am of the Gladys Knight generation. The way the
74-year-old lifted—through the open roof of the Mercedes-Benz stadium—Sir Francis
Scott Key’s lyrics to our national anthem was stupendous. And Atlanta teen sisters
Chloe and Halle Bailey put goosebumps on millions when they sang, a cappella, “America
the Beautiful.” As for the Super Bowl halftime show, well, I repeat: “I am of
the Gladys Knight generation.”And that generation’s music is what drew us to 100 S. Oliver St. in Elberton.
Motown tunes brought people to their feet.
Some of our generation couldn’t resist. They hit the aisles, dancing and singing
along. It was a people-watching fest. Near us, a Triple-X man, wearing a cap,
couldn’t stay in his seat, nor could a snazzy-attired lady on the front row. They
squeezed fun out of every penny of their $40 tickets, while entertaining us
with added value.
Monday morning, I was still tapping my
foot. That’s when I dug up this line from an English composer, the late
Frederick Delius: “Music is an outburst
of the soul.”
The performers of the show poured their
souls into bringing Motown to Northeast Georgia. Some of the acts were
karaoke-like, but the audience rewarded all with thunderous applause and
appropriate laughter.
When the curtain dropped, you could feel
goodness flowing toward the exits. Ugliness was absent. Instead, you could hear
random humming of “Reach out and touch …
somebody’s hand … make this world a better place … if you can.”
Music can be magic to inspire hope.
Yes, we can.
Yes, we can.
dnesmith@cninewspapers.com
