The story behind the song …

“WHENEVER WE CRY”

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All of the music I write is motivated by life – a person, place or thing.

THE STORY BEHIND THE SONG

Being a child of the US Civil Rights Era (literally, I was born in 1955), I watched my parents work twice as hard to just be even, vote for the first time in their forties and never teach hate or negativity to us children.

I also saw the stresses of life as a black family after they left military service society contribute to their ultimate divorce.

The last conversation I had with my father before he left for good was one where I saw a tear in his eye.

Until then, I had never before seen him even come close to crying.

He saw that I noticed and told me that crying isn’t a weakness but a strength.

He said:

“When we cry it is our purest form of sincerity and it’s a form of communication that is beyond language.

And when we cry angels sing.”

I never forgot that wisdom.

Anytime I confront issues of social justice I remember how important it is to provide sanctuary for those in our charge like our spouse and children.

I’ve had to start over a few times over the years dealing with life matters compounded by the fact of who I am as a man.

We have a thing in our family that is a commitment to never leave anyone behind because we all are going to be wounded by society and life at some point.

I’m committed to living a positive life, with love and one of meritorious self-determination.

Sometimes you run into people who hurt you for that, but I always remember – “when we cry, angels sing” …

And we grow stronger too.

~ Cb

LYRIC

I’m not a poet by any means. But all of my music also has lyrics although I perform and record my music instrumentally.

“WHENEVER WE CRY”

May not be en vogue
To be so open and sincere
Being in love finds a way
To expose every weakness and fear
To reveal all of your sunshine and good cheer

So don’t be put off by the moisture in my

Eyes can only see
Some things and how they need to be
In life’s rude games sometimes played
Or those times when we forget to use our best selves

As your own child takes those first steps
Hold your breath

But whenever we cry

Angels sing

~ Christopher Burnett (BMI)

October 14, 2018January 8, 2021

Music Producers and Recording Artists

We were professional musicians before we met each other in the middle 1970s while working overseas for the U.S. Army’s music program. Our children and grandchildren likely associate music being created and instruments being played in our home as just a part of life while growing up and over the subsequent years. We are now ARC recording artists with several releases on the market. We document our music on recordings as part of the inherent legacy representing some of our respective musical works created during the course of the journey of our lives.

PHOTO: A ‘selfie’ we took after finishing our musical performance with the special ensemble backing the Choir from Paseo Academy of Fine and Performing Arts for Teach For America Kansas City at the Kauffman Center for Performing Arts.

The Latest Recording Project

Our latest recording project will be produced and released commercially on the ARC label. A recent post thoroughly describes “The Standards Project.”

CbQ-Standards-Vol.-1-BOOKLET-LINERS-1Download

But, our very first recording session was produced during our off-duty hours while we were members of the Army Band at Ansbach, Germany.

The Very First Recording Session

We have always believed in creating the type of life we want to live and that includes where our musical careers are concerned as well. We don’t wait for things to happen to us. We work to make the things we want to happen. This first recording session illustrates this fact in a very cool way. It was thoroughly planned as well.

By 1979 I was just about finished with the composition and arranging course I was enrolled in and taking from the Berklee College of Music in Boston by mailed correspondence. It took 3 years to compete. I was writing lots of “tunes” by then and had officially joined the arranging staff of the Army band. Several of my charts were being played in concerts, shows or tours.

We hadn’t a clue of what we were doing as record producers beyond basic knowledge in terms of understanding the music and how to operate the equipment we were using to record. We didn’t even consider post-production concerns or commercial distribution of the music we recorded. We were simply learning and creating something musically positive for all of us to do rather than just sit around between the Army band gigs.

Our very first recording session date was December 18, 1979 We produced the recording with fellow Army musicians we worked with at that time .The images posted here are of my decades old hand-written notes, LOL! We recorded one of my originals and my arrangement of Sonny Rollins’ “Pent-Up House.” Following are the credits: Bob Henry, engineer; Larry Bennett and James McNeal, trumpet; Christopher Burnett, alto saxophone; R. Stephen Gilbert, tenor and soprano saxophones; Gene Smith, trombone; Leon Johnson, Fender Rhodes; Bruce Shockley, bass; and Dennis Butler, drums. Terri Anderson Burnett and Christopher Burnett, producers.

For some reason, it all worked out.

Forty Years Later

We are still practicing, performing, teaching, writing and recording music.

October 13, 2018October 21, 2019

Aging and the “…isms”

We have always enjoyed each birthday and passageway during our life together over several decades.

I don’t ever recall wishing I was “older” or “younger” than I actually have been at any given moment during my life.

The fact is that if we continue growing and learning throughout the course of our individual lives, we just keep getting better.

If no major health issues arrive, it is possible to have a robust and engaging life into one’s 70s, 80s and, yes, even into one’s 90s.

T’s Aunt Sintha drove herself to work everyday into her 90s… Yes, drove. Yes, work.

My mother, Vi didn’t have any noticeable gray hair until she was in her 80s. (I inherited the immunity to gray hair from her.)

Thoughts on Ageism and Ageists Paradigms…

We have owned rocking chairs since we were in our 20s.

We were proud members of AARP when we turned 50. AARP offers great resources and information.

However, the fact remains that I didn’t feel any differently at 50 than at 49 or a decade later for that matter.

But, I did notice how others consider people over 50 when I became one and I still find it amusing most of the time.

I have also noticed that people age 40+ are often marginalized in some context. Amusing.

We both still embrace our age at each stage of life because we just keep improving and getting better.

We have mentors and friends now who are in their late 60s, 70s and 80s.

Those who have good health are still vibrant beings with lots to offer based upon both, proven experiences and contemporary expertise.

Resources.

It’s important to know where you realistically are in the continuum of life and plan for each stage accordingly.

But never bind yourself by age or social constructs that would limit your quality of life and happiness.

#nolimits #goforit #lifeismusicislife

August 30, 2018October 21, 2019

Some Military History

Finally – finished a coherent and relatively succinct overview of our immediate family’s military service.

The essay is titled, “399th” and tells the story about our life together over those two decades.

We have it posted on our portfolio website. Click HERE.

We hope you enjoy reading about our adventures.

And, we especially hope our children and grandchildren enjoy learning about some of our earlier adventures.

See: BurnettPublishing.com

August 24, 2018October 21, 2019

Advice for the Ages

There’s no manual for living life that guarantees ultimate outcomes because people have the will to choose. And the travels during a life can wound some beyond repair.

As parents, you just live each day with the intent of creating positive experiences and environments where everyone has the opportunity to thrive. And, always love one another. That’s the best you can likely do as human beings and parents.

We adopted the philosophy to err on the side of love. When our children need us collectively and individually, we are always there for them to the best of our ability.

We are only mortal and do have favorites as parents though.

They are our favorite son and favorite daughter respectively.

Our late mother, Vi Burnett used to say:

“You never know what type of person you are ultimately raising – you simply do your best by your children and the decisions they ultimately make will determine who they become as autonomous adults.”

Advice for the ages.