I’m a Believer – Happy memories pour out of a rock and roll classic. #MusicisLife #TedTocksCovers #NeilDiamond #TheMonkees #RobertWyatt #SmashMouth #Weezer #Shrek

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=rcnsao7Y0gk

Today is an emotional day. This post will be less about the songs and more about the changes that take place as we travel through our lives. Everyone has their own story but so many of the experiences we share are similar and I imagine many of you can relate. I will get to that in a bit. The common experience will emanate out of today’s feature song and memories that make us smile.

Who doesn’t know the song ‘I’m a Believer’? It was written by Neil Diamond in 1966 and recorded by The Monkees. It went to #1 on the charts on the last day of that year and remained there for 7 weeks. It was catapulted to fame based on the popularity of The Monkees TV show and the fact the song was placed in the show for four consecutive weeks. It is actually one of less than forty all time singles to have sold more than 10 million ‘physical’ copies worldwide.

Here is a real treat that I stumbled upon while reading about ‘I’m a Believer’. A British singer songwriter by the name of Robert Wyatt rose to the top 30 on the U.K charts in 1974 with this song. It was his first recording following an accident that left him a paraplegic. That is interesting in it’s own right but combine that with the fact that in this video you will see Pink Floyd’s Nick Mason on drums and a guy by the name of Andy Summers on acoustic guitar. Three years later Summers would be a member of The Police.

‘I’m a Believer’ was revitalized in 2001 when it was recorded by Smash Mouth as part of the soundtrack for Shrek. Smash Mouth also released it on their self titled album. It is the Shrek rendition that became a hit in our family, with Eddie Murphy kicking ‘ass’ with his portrayal of ‘Donkey’. The opening line combines perfectly with the theme of Shrek. “I thought love was only true in fairy tales.” The video is a ton of fun as it incorporates the movie in a fun way.

The song went on to be the exit piece in the Broadway adaptation of Shrek and in 2010 Weezer recorded it as the the closer of one of the sequels; Shrek Forever. The result of course is this song has been a recognizable smash hit for three generations. If Neil Diamond did nothing else he would still have been a rich man. Of course for Neil this was only the beginning of a great career…but that’s another story for another day.

Here is Neil Diamond:

Here is Weezer:

As mentioned in my introduction today’s ‘Ted Tocks’ is about happy memories and change, because as hard as we try, time never stands still. Heather and I are the proud parents of three boys. Most of you know that. Sebastian and Jeremy were 8 and 5 when Shrek came out and they watched the video over and over again. Nathaniel was around 1 1/2 – 2. The Shrek soundtrack was a huge hit in our house. Each of the boys could recite the lyrics to every song, but most hilariously Nathaniel who was just learning to talk had his own way of delivering the song. Each day after his afternoon nap or when he woke up in the morning Heather and I would hear him rocking maniacally in his crib singing ‘I wee-weeve’ over and over again at the top of his lungs. This in a nutshell describes Nathaniel. He is a ‘nut’. The youngest of three boys, he is and always has been the comic relief in our family. Actually, he is arm in arm with Heather on that front. We should have called him ‘Heath’. There is not a day goes by where he doesn’t make us laugh or smile. This goes back to the day he was born and I held him for the first time. All he was, was a little face looking up at me all wrapped up in a blanket. I can still remember his big sparking eyes looking back at me, big and wide; full of mischief. It is a moment I will never forget as long as I live. Through the years we did a ton together, mostly involving coaching him in baseball and ball hockey and a little bit of hockey. It was always fun and always eventful. Let’s just say he had a knack for getting under the other team’s skin. The drives to and from games bordered on comical. On the way to the game often with my friend Iain and his son William (Nathaniel’s friend since kindergarten) I would suggest to Nathaniel that he should keep things toned down and not bring attention to himself. Just play your game. Relax! We would all agree that this was a good plan. The game began and inevitably a moment would arise that triggered the onset of a calamity and some sort of mayhem would ensue. This would often lead to an opposing player in a fit of outrage and Nathaniel in the penalty box for some sort of transgression, whether real or perceived by the referee. The drive home would be a combination of me asking ‘what the hell happened’ or Nathaniel and William reliving the moment while laughing hysterically. Iain would be shaking with laughter and I would be going back and forth between fury and stifling laughter myself. The tension was real but the memories are priceless. Over the last few months there has been an evolution. Nathaniel graduated from high school and we are proud to say he was an Ontario Scholar. He won a school citizenship award for his commitment to academics and involvement in the school band and various athletics. He has been accepted into the University of Waterloo Kinesiology Co-op program. Heather and I moved him to his residence on Sunday. The youngest of our three boys has moved on. This is a rite of passage. The beginning of new adventures for him, and time for me and Heather to think back on the many fond memories. It is one of those reflections filled with melancholy. On Saturday evening Nathaniel rekindled a time honoured tradition we always shared. He asked if I wanted to go over to the baseball diamond and ‘hit some dingers’. That means hit some fly balls to him. His other favourite is ‘throw the ol’ pigskin’ , which means play catch with the football. Nathaniel is full of these terms for activities that makes the whole family smile. Throughout the years we have done this tons of times but somehow Saturday seems special. I pounded ball after ball out to him and he tracked them down and fired the ball back into me. Usually we do this for about an hour but on this night it went longer. I kept hitting and he kept fielding and finally we decided to pack it in. As always, when we were done he says to me ‘Thanks for doing this Dad’ and I say ‘Always love to Buddy’. Little does he know I wouldn’t have it any other way. If I could do this until I was 100, I would. This is just one example of our special times. You think of all the good times during moments like this; every time you played catch, coached, watched a concert, laughed, smiled or on occasion were angry. You look back and smile and hope that everything that you have said and done to prepare him for this independence will send him in the right direction and all will be good. We hope so. One thing is for sure, and this is a quote from Heather and I as parents…”I believe”.

What more can a parent do for a child than tell them that they believe in them? The rest, they say is up to them, ideally, inflated by this confidence and a story that remains to be told.

We love you ‘Nat the Nut’. All the best!