A dedication

When it comes to music ,I consider myself "lucky" ,having 3 kids who somehow keep me abreast of
the latest musicals acts and songs...My peers may know of the extremely well known ones like Taylor
Swift ,Justin Bieber,One Direction and the likes but the more exotic sounding ones like Swedish House Mafia and The Wanted may not be in their vocabulary...I have to admit even an oldie like me can latch on
this "peculiar " kind of music if repeatedly compelled to (ie frequent hearings via the car stereo ) during the daily drives bringing my teenage daughter to and from school every day..On the flip side I have managed to
convince her and my 2 other older sons to occasionally go back in time and give a listen to music of a different genre...good old music from the 70s and 80s when lip syncing was unheard of, lyrics and catchy melodies were a real part of a song and the distinct voice of each and every singer was immediately identifiable...Solo acts from Neil Diamond to Lobo and groups like Bee Gees and Chicago ruled the airwaves and many of us can still sing along to their songs even in current day karaoke sessions...

Personally ,the one singer who became my childhood idol and still is right up till today has to be the late country singer ,John Denver...It was through listening to his songs that I learned to play the guitar ,sing in public and best of all ...won my wife over.My "heartfelt " renderings of some of his songs like "Annie's song
and "Follow me " apparently melted her heart away 26 years back...No fancy candlelight dinners or exotic
holidays could have done better (not that I could afford those then ) .And for nature lovers,how could songs like "Rocky Mountain High" or "Whalebones And Crosses " not tug at your heart.When my dad passed on 2 years back at age 80 ,I could not think of a better farewell gift than singing "Perhaps Love " with just a guitar at his wake..really felt a deep connection with my dad  throughout the song.When John died in a plane crash in 1997 ,at around the time Princess Diana died in a car accident ,both my wife (who adored the Princess )     and I went through a mourning period lasting quite awhile ..each of us wondered then why such beautiful and
nice people had to be taken away so soon...each gave a positive impact to mankind but never lived long enough to fulfil their respective dreams...

Still...listening to my daughter humming to "Country Roads" on rare occasions never fails to lift my spirits...

It has been 15 years since you left us ,John...I feel so privileged to have seen you performed live in KL and may you rest in eternal peace and happiness ,wherever you are...