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When I was 15, finally getting my hands on a long desired guitar, everyone was surprised that I could also sing. How this came about was thanks to a guitar teacher who insisted that I sing along with the songs he was teaching me. Me, not knowing better and out of respect, did exactly what he was asked.

At that time, I began listening to music, not just as a spectator, but also as a “member” of the music makers that roam the world.

I fell madly in love with the voices of Judy Garland, Barbara Streisand, Karen Carpenter and Helen Reddy. I would sit for hours, singing along, amazed at the emotion and authenticity of their performances. When I sang at our schools “Pop Concert,” people came up to me and commented that I sounded like Janis Joplin, it made me cry.

Over the years, I’ve adjusted my thinking, after all the blues ain’t so bad.

Today with the news of the passing of Helen Reddy, I am taken back to those days of sitting in my bedroom, listening the her music. Most people are familiar with her biggest hit, “I Am Woman,” a song that became the anthem for the Women’s Right’s Movement.

There was one song that when listening to, always made me cry. Even this morning, as listening, it touches the same emotion. “You And Me Against The World” was a song that I needed while growing up, a song needed still today.

Thank you, Helen Reddy, for helping a young woman feel connected to the world.

May you now sing with the Angels. P.S. Tell RBG that we miss her.

#girlwithguitar