It always seems to come in 3s…

So, yesterday, the world lost Helen Reddy. Today, Mac Davis. Past experience dictates that there will be another celebrity passing to come. I do today (and always) hope that’s not the case. But I wanted to take this moment to reflect on and remember these two icons of a different age. Mac Davis wrote songs for the likes of Elvis Presley. But he also had hits of his own; most notably “Baby Don’t Get Hooked on Me” in the early 1970s. He had an easy, laidback persona and manner of singing and was loved by millions when he showcased his own talents. He was considered a country/western star but crossed over into the pop genre as well. Country music was played A LOT in my house, because that was my parents’ music of choice. I would say I have them to thank for my knowledge and appreciation of Mac Davis. The singer we lost yesterday, Ms. Helen Reddy, strikes a very different chord with her passing. I was a pre-teen when her feminist movement hit “I Am Woman” landed on the airwaves, but it was one of those songs that my friends and I listened to over and over again on my little portable record player (along with Delta Dawn, another one of her big hits). As I got older, I appreciated the song in a very different way, even though I never considered myself a full-fledged feminist. In 1979, I was a senior in an all-girls high school and belonged to the modern dance club with my friend Maria Perez-Alvarado. As seniors, that year we were allowed to create a unique dance to perform. Although we might not have been deeply involved in the full choreography, Maria and I were part of a small group from our class who performed a dance to “I Am Woman” for the spring dance show. We wore black leotards with long burgundy wrap-around polyester skirts (it was the 70s, you know – disco and all that). And we did a very dramatic dance rendition of a song that was an anthem for a generation of girls and women. For the rest of my life, every time I hear that song, I will flash back to that moment in time – and try desperately to remember all the moves from our performance. The last time I talked to my friend Maria, we agreed that we would try and see if we could re-create it the next time we get together. Until then…Godspeed, Helen. You too, Mac. Heaven just got even more musical than it already is.