Tag Archives: A Song for You

Music and Literature: Leon Russell and Herman Hesse

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“This day will never come again and anyone who fails to eat and drink and taste and smell it will never have it offered to him again in all eternity. The sun will never shine as it does today…But you must play your part and sing a song, one of your best.”
—Herman Hesse/“Klingsor’s Last Summer”.

Right now it’s about 6:30 a.m. The day is fresh, the sky is pink, and it’s so quiet that I can hear a Downy Woodpecker poking holes in the eucalyptus tree. Other birds are singing and flying back and forth across the garden. A few crows call to each other. It’s peaceful. Serene. Meditative.

Leon Russell understood exactly what Hesse was talking about, especially sing a song, one of your best.

“Life is a song, and love is the music.” – Leon Russell

Leon’s last recording of his iconic A Song For You from the album A Distant Shore, was released posthumously in 2017.

Leon alwaysalways managed to convey a lifetime of authentic heartfelt emotion in every word and note, as he played the piano like no one ever will again. This version is beautiful; reflective, melancholy.

“A Song For You” by Leon Russell

I love you in a place
Where there’s no space and time
And when my life is over
Remember when we were together
We were alone, and
I was singing this song for you —

Hermann Karl Hesse was a German-Swiss poet and novelist, and winner of the 1946 Nobel Prize in Literature. His interest in Eastern religious, spiritual, and philosophical traditions, combined with his involvement with Jungian analysis, helped shape his literary work.

Nearly fifty years earlier, this was Leon on the Homewood Sessions with “A Song For You”…

In December 1970 Leon Russell recorded the Homewood Sessions at the Vine Street Theatre in Hollywood, broadcast as an ‘unscripted and unrehearsed’ one-hour TV special on KCET TV and later re-broadcast several times on the Public Broadcasting System. They actually shot six hours but only broadcast one. Claimed to be the first national broadcast of a stereo rock and roll performance, this would have required an FM simulcast, since American television was not stereo in 1970s.

Another Happy Solar Return For The Original Angel Boy

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…and an interesting and coincidental fact about (of course) Leon Russell.

Eleven years before there was even a hint of a thought about any baby, even one as wonderful as Angel Boy, Leon Russell released his self-titled debut solo album on March 23, 1970.

The album featured the classics: Delta Lady, Dixie Lullaby, A Song For You, Hummingbird, and Prince of Peace.

Leon played piano, guitar, bass guitar, and vocals. He was backed by an impressive list of friends, including Klaus Voormann, Mick Jagger, George Harrison, Ringo Starr, Alan Spenner, Charlie Watts, Bill Wyman, Delaney Bramlett, Eric Clapton, Jim Horn, Bonnie Bramlett, Steve Winwood, Jim Gordon, Chris Stainton, B.J. Wilson, Joe Cocker, and Merry Clayton.

What was I doing on March 23, 1970? I was in high school and I’m sure I bought that album as soon as it came out, probably at The Wherehouse or Licorice Pizza, two cool record stores that no longer exist.

But on March 23, 1981, I debuted MY one and only release of a human–the aforementioned Angel Boy–after twenty-four hours of labor and an emergency C-section. I’ve blogged a lot about the birth: https://enchantedseashells.com/2013/03/23/i-fell-down-and-a-baby-popped-out/

He’s still the same person he’s always been; a voracious reader and writer, loves to garden, is kind to animals. He’s got a wicked sense of humor, and now that he’s a dad, he skateboards with the Angel Kids and finally realizes why I worried so much about his safety.

Could he really be all grown up? Nah, he’ll always be my Angel Boy and I’ll always be the proud Boy Mom.

Photo by Enchanted Seashells

Leon Russell, Master of Space and Time. Rest in Peace, Power, and Music

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Today is the anniversary of Leon’s death, November 13, 2016.

Here’s where it began — Leon was sixteen years old in this KOTV photo from the 1958 March of Dimes Telethon. Left to right, Tommy Crook, drummer Chuck Blackwell, Jimmy ‘Junior’ Markham, Bill Raffensperger and (Leon) Claude Russell Bridges.

From Tulsa Today

Leon Russell will always be the one and only visionary and musical magician, The Master of Space and Time, and we’re still mourning him.

A Song For You is one of the most beautiful and iconic songs ever composed and no one can perform it like Leon.

Rest in peace, power, and music.

Master of Space and Time: Leon Russell

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“I love you in a place where there’s no space or time…”

As I drove around town last week, I heard A Song for You by Leon Russell on the radio. I haven’t heard that song in years and years and it grabbed my heart just like it did decades ago. Others have covered this song, but no one does it like Leon.

I later found out that he passed away in 2016. I had no recollection of that and I’m so sorry that I didn’t know because I always loved his music, That was the same year that we lost David Bowie, Glenn Frey, Prince, Leonard Cohen, and George Michael! Can you imagine the loss of all that talent? Crazy.

In fact, I sort of recalled seeing him in concert –-once upon a time — and texted my friend that I used to go to concerts with (she’s the one who reminded me of the time I jumped on the stage to see Jim Morrison) and she totally remembered that we HAD seen him perform.

Back then — before smart phones — no one regularly documented each and every moment of their life, so I have to rely on my memory (or hers).

I’ve been listening to him on repeat for days; his voice was mesmerizing (he was gorgeous, too, with those beautiful eyes), and the story of how he lived and died nearly in obscurity because of poor life choices and poor health — is tragic.

In 2011, thanks to his good friend Elton John, he was inducted into both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Even before he became famous, Russell had a career as a first call session pianist, performing with everyone from Frank Sinatra, Dylan, Streisand, The Rolling Stones, and The Beach Boys.

“Russell was music’s North Star, pioneering a distinctly American sound that changed the career paths of stars, including Eric Clapton, George Harrison and Elton John. He created a band that became one of music’s most legendary live acts; made Mad Dogs & Englishmen, for Joe Cocker; stole the show from a white hot lineup of artists at the Concert for Bangladesh; became a star in his own right with solo albums that featured songs that became standards, including Song for You and This Masquerade; and inspired the icon Willie Nelson to create his enduring outlaw country persona.” https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/mar/05/he-was-central-to-music-history-the-forgotten-legacy-of-leon-russell

Featured image photo credit to The Daily Beast via Pinterest