I’ve always loved music because of its ability to express the wide range of emotions that is the human experience. But when I was a teenager I was also obsessed with the popularity aspect of pop music. I spent hours studying Billboard’s Top 40 to see where my favorite songs landed and couldn’t wait to find out if they would be awarded a Grammy. I grew out of my fixation on which songs earned the most honors, but recently my interest in choosing the best of the best was rekindled. It all started when I learned about the Golden Record Project.
Created by NASA in 1977, the Project indeed had an out-of-this-world goal: producing a collection of recordings to send into space with the Voyager rocket ship. According to NASA, “the records contain sounds and images selected to portray the diversity of life and culture on Earth, and are intended for any intelligent extraterrestrial life form, or for future humans, who may find them.”
What a fantastic idea! Since Voyager’s goal was to explore the universe, it was exciting to think about who or what might someday hear the unique sounds created by Earthlings. Great minds like Carl Sagan supported the Project, describing it as “the launching of this bottle into the cosmic ocean, [which] says something very hopeful about life on this planet.” And the best part about the Project? Of all the cultural artifacts that NASA planners could have chosen, it was music that they thought could best explain us to the universe.
Twenty-seven recordings were included in the Project. Some of them, like Beethoven and Bach, I expected to make the cut. Others were less familiar, but exciting to imagine: night chants by Navajo Indians, panpipes and drums from Peru, Aborigine songs from the land down under. But NASA didn’t forget American popular music. Among the sounds ETs can hear are songs by Louie Armstrong, Blind Willie Johnson, and a little number you might know by Chuck Berry, “Johnny B. Goode.”
Once I learned about the Project’s lofty goals, my imagination took off. What if NASA was looking for one human being to share their love of music with the heavens? What if I was lucky enough to be that person? What songs would end up on my Golden Record? I thought about going the traditional “Top Ten Songs of My Life,” but that idea seemed overdone and too limiting after 60+ years of loving music. I ended up approaching the Project like I’ve written these music blogs over the past few years, by honoring the songs that express what it has meant for me to live fully on this planet. Here’s my list:
“I Can Only Be Me” Stevie Wonder
Stevie Wonder - I CAN ONLY BE ME (Unreleased) - YouTube
I start with this song, which is about loving ourselves as we are, because I had a particularly tough time accepting myself as gay, largely due to my self-doubt and self-deprecation. But finally coming out was not only the hardest thing I’ve done, it was also the most fulfilling. It took me awhile and thankfully singers like Stevie Wonder offered me sage advice:
“How many times have you wished you were some other,
someone than who you are
Yet who's to say if all were uncovered
You will like what you see
You can only be you
As I can only be me…”
“New World Coming” Mama Cass
Being an optimist has been the anecdote for the troubles I’ve had accepting myself. As bad as things felt at certain points in my life, I’ve always believed they’d get better. I was lucky to have the optimistic music of the late ‘60s and early ‘70s to show me what happiness looks like, including my favorite “things are looking up” song, by Mama Cass.
“Yes a new world's coming
the one we've had visions of
Coming in peace, coming in joy,
coming in love…”
“He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother” Neil Diamond
He Ain't Heavy...He's My Brother - YouTube
The ‘60s also gave me lots of messages about respecting others, helping those in need and living life in peace. I memorized the words of those songs, believing in their message with all my heart, referring to them as My Ten Commandments. There were many songs that awakened my social consciousness, but I am choosing “He Ain’t Heavy” because it was the first one in which I remember being aware that I could make a difference. Sitting on my bedroom floor, listening to these words over and over, I made a pledge to follow wherever they’d take me:
“The road is long
with many a winding turn
that leads us to who knows where
who knows when
But I'm strong
strong enough to carry him
He ain't heavy, he's my brother...”
“The Caterpillar & The Butterfly” Rosalie Sorrels
(sorry I could not find this song on YouTube)
Of all the experiences I’ve been allowed, becoming a father is the greatest. To have had the opportunity to bring life into this world twice and to help my daughter and son grow has been a blessing. It’s also been challenging and confusing. My favorite song about the mysteries of parenthood comes from folksinger Rosalie Sorrels, who tells the dilemma many feel when trying to be the best possible parent (the caterpillar) while also wanting freedom to achieve great things in the world (the butterfly).
“So I the caterpillar will keep working at my trade
and I won’t know what I’m weaving until I’ve got it made
And if I don’t believe in butterflies, I can tell you this:
We all must do what we must do
simply to exist…”
“Nature Boy” Nat King Cole
I was lucky to have grown up a on country road, where I was free to explore nature without the distractions of a busy world. Early on, I learned the healing powers of nature and have returned to its peace countless times. Nature is always the answer to my most troubling questions, which is why I love this Nat King Cole song about meeting someone who explains the biggest question in life:
“…And then one magic day
he passed my way
and while we spoke of many things
fools and kings
this he said to me
The greatest thing you'll ever learn
is just to love and be loved in return…”
Since this is my last blog on the powers of pop music I invite you to share your Golden Record Project songs. What music in your life deserves to be heard by others in this world and beyond?
