This weekend, amidst the political circus that is the impeachment trial, and the clamor of Super Bowl LIV, the CBS News Sunday Morning Show will quietly celebrate its fortieth anniversary.
Initially conceived as a Sunday newspaper supplement by journalist Charles Kuralt, the idea was to counterbalance the hard-hitting and edgy weekday news shows with softer stories and long-form journalism.
This weekend, my brother called and asked if I watched the show. I responded with some snarky comment along the lines of, "No, because I am not a geriatric with 16 cats and a therapy chicken named Elvis." His response was, "You should, because it's the best show on television. It's like 60 Minutes but with happy tears. And besides, this weekend's edition was all about music."
"Music, heh? OK, let me check it out." So I got out my laptop and watched. And my brother was right. It was all about music.
Or the lack thereof.
The first story, Strike Up the Band, was a heartwarming piece about nine-year-old Henry Boyer who, after attending a University of Michigan football game, fell in love with the band. Honestly, it was like watching myself forty years ago. His exuberance and passion for the Wolverine Marching Band is as sweet as it is authentic. Bravo to the folks in the Michigan Band department to make his dream come true. (Spoiler alert: he gets to live out his dream).
The next story featured the iconic eighties pop band, Huey Lewis and the News, who were having to call it quits after nearly forty years when Huey Lewis was diagnosed with Ménière's disease. For those of you who don't know, Ménière's disease is a disorder of the inner ear that is characterized by episodes of feeling like the world is spinning (vertigo), ringing in the ears (tinnitus), hearing loss, and a fullness in the ear.
What started as minor symptoms came crashing down during a performance in Dallas, on January 27, 2018. Lewis said, "As I went on stage, it was horrible. I couldn't hear anything. I sang out of tune. It was the worst night of my life."
The sudden onset and subsequent disability not only forced the cancellation of their most recent tour but ended the band's forty-year career of making music.
The final segment featured well-known conductor Gustavo Dudamel and his groundbreaking music-making program El Sistema. Founded in 1975 by economist and musician José Antonio Abreu, this innovative Venezuelan program designed to help eradicate poverty is thriving in cities and countries throughout the world.
In a recent piece by Bob Simon from 60 Minutes, he states that "El Sistema is less a music program than a profound social movement that takes kids off the streets, away from crime, drugs, and despair."
It was not the first time I had seen this interview, and I am sure, will not be the last. It is touching in every way.
What I found interesting about these three stories was that, intended or not, they were not about how music was positively changing the lives of people, but was about those who did not have access to it and were desperately wanting it. A subtle but important difference.
Frequently we approach the subject of music from the standpoint of "look at all of the good it does," instead of the perspective "this is something the human soul can't live without."
Think about the difference in the approach.
We don't validate feeding the hungry by saying, "Look at all the good food does." We unconditionally understand the need for proper nutrition as a part of human existence.
We don't validate clean water by touting all of its many benefits. We accept it as a understood and a universal truth.
We don't talk about sleep in terms of better mental acuity or lucidity; the human body requires, dictates, and mandates it as a part of our daily regimen.
Why treat music differently?
I am not saying that music is akin to food, water, or sleep but, I am saying that perhaps by trying to rationalize or justify the need for music, we are unintentionally marginalizing it. We unintentionally treat it as an after-thought and a luxury, instead of a primary need that cannot be ignored.
Perhaps, by arguing for the BENEFITS of music, we are arguing against the NEED for music. Again, a subtle but important difference.
I guess my brother was right, CBS Sunday Morning had celebrated both the existence and the absence of music in our lives. And that brought a tear to my eye, both happy and sad.
Have a great week.