Letters

The death of soul and a pitching legend.

To Craig D. Lindsey on his article last week about the cancellation of the Stax Record’s 50th-anniversary concert due to the death of Isaac Hayes:

Please believe me when I say you don’t have to be black to feel down to the bone the excitement and redemptive power of soul music. Or, of course, to play it authentically.

Actually, the rebirth of Stax under the Concord aegis is the best news in years. Concord has a distinguished history of treating the music and musicians with deep respect—and I’m talking all genres. Look at how they’ve kept Fantasy’s CCR catalog polished.

Eddie Floyd’s new piece is wonderful, but then so is Steve Cropper with Felix Cavaliere. Not least of Concord’s virtues is tour support and ancillaries like DVDs. A new golden era for soul music? We can only hope.

And brother, please leave that hammer in the toolbox or on the table. Go out and dance instead, if only in your kitchen.

Great article. Today’s music is lacking feeling. A few bright stars, but that’s it. I’m not moved like I used to be and it’s not because I’m in my late thirties. It’s because the music is uninspiring for the most part. So I mope along with you, my brother, but forever hold out hope for good music, even if it is in drops.

Wild Pitcher

To Tim Whitaker on his pick—a Sandy Koufax biography—for a summer read in last week’s cover story:

At the age of 30 Sandy Koufax had to quit baseball because his left elbow looked like he had an egg implanted. I’m 67 years old and saw Sandy Koufax pitch. He had a wicked curveball, slider and a good fastball. I met him about 20 years ago, and he signed his Hall of Fame card. I still have it.

If Koufax was pitching now in baseball, he could have gotten “Tommy John” surgery and would have been able to pitch maybe 10 more years. Who knows?

I remember watching his perfect game on Sept. 9, 1965, on the news. His curveball would just “fall off the table.” His perfect game was one year after Jim Bunnings’ perfect game on Father’s Day. Steve Carlton is the only lefty who had a comparable slider like Sandy Koufax. Koufax had a better curveball. There will never be another Sandy Koufax.

Class Action

To Frank Rubino on a recent story about Dr. Marjorie Dejoie:

Marjorie is a great spinning instructor! She has definitely inspired me to motivate myself to exercise regularly. Her style is perfectly demanding. I don’t want to disappoint her by being lazy or not giving 110 percent in class. She has made a positive impact on my life.

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