Harlem and The Bronx (the making of Charlie Tee) #5

In this post, I'm gonna tell you about the meaning of my family to me, and how it fuels my desire to be in music...and in life.
I'll also tell you why I'm so "hell bent"on striving toward my goals.

I've often said how lucky I feel to have had the family that I had.
In today's world where more often than not, there seem to be so many absentee Fathers, so many angry Mothers, and more than our share of siblings who grow up in so much confusion, that it's a wonder that they haven't completely wiped themselves off the map, that talking positively about one's family seems like finding a needle in a haystack.
Let me say at the onset of this post, that I am now, and have always been extremely proud of my family. We are a family of winners, even though trial and error seem to be the way that we win...in that we had to go through life for some bit to find that winning spirit in each of us.
My Dad was at once brilliant, kind, sensitive, eloquent, and strong. When he believed in something, he was not afraid to voice his opinion on it.
My Mom,was unbelievably brilliant, and like many Mothers she seemed to have a 6th sense about her family, but she came to that sense through some real trials that gave it shape.
My Sister Caroleigh, was to me, the smartest person I've ever known, and the most profound. Her trials were to come later in life, but she sensed it early on, and prepared, then meeting those challenges head on.
My parent's and my sister's love for me knew no end, and they made me know that, every single day.
My Sister and I were born 6 years and 3 days apart from each other ( she was born January 25th, and I was born on January 22nd). I've always felt that there was something significant about that, as we had so much in common aside from being Carmen and James' children.
Caroleigh was a gifted musician and singer, and whenever she did either of those things, she could hold my attention for hours on end.
It always disturbed me that Caroleigh never wanted to pursue a career in music, but in the end it turned out that she had a different life calling.It turned out that she wanted to, and became a lawyer. Years later, I found out that one of her reasons for switching careers so to speak, was that she was shy, and was not into putting up with some of the foolishness that you have to go through in the music business. She also felt that I would do better in music in the long run, because as she told me once, I had the better temperment for it. In other words, I could put up with people's bullsh** much better than she would, so she decided that she would be the lawyer to represent me.
In the Tuitt house, rarely was there a day in which no music could be heard. Music flowed constantly; all kinds of music.
I attribute my love for many diverse styles to the fact that we just absorbed so much music in my house.We even loved music in TV commercials. It would be hilarious sometimes hearing us singing stuff like "new Ajax, laundry detergent is stronger than dirt," and creating harmonies from them.
All of that love of music would serve me much throughout my life. It came in handy that I was able to read music, and that I was able to improvise.
One of the things involving my music that I am most grateful for is that my parents took me to see all kinds of music being played, from Count Basie jazz to Beverly Sills opera, and everything in between.
They felt like, if you're going to be in this business, you'd better learn as much about it as possible.
All of this entailed alot of time on the part of my parents, but they never complained, never acted as if it were an inconvenience. My Mom even told me that it benefitted her as well, she got to see how the other half lives.
One of my gifts as a musician, is my ability to remember songs. I often have to laugh because my bandmates are always astounded by the fact that I can remember so many songs, the key and the tempos.
From that standpoint I'll tell you that all of these things are attributed to my family...simply stated, they loved music so much that it is etched in me deeply, because hearing my Sister and I play, and sing brought them great joy.So in turn wanting to please them we just became our own copier machines.
The reasons today that being in the music business means so much to me, is that deep down inside my parents, it was a dream that they both had but had to give up. My Mom wanted to be an actress, and had she not been a Black woman from Harlem in the 30's and 40's, she just might have become one. My Dad was a great guitar player, but felt that being Black could be a hindrance, especially during that time.
Even though their reality was hard, as our parents, they never, ever told us not to strive for what we wanted...whatever it is.
They also told us that we would have to work doggedly hard at getting what we wanted, because nothing would be handed to us...a lesson that I've had to learn the hard way.
Getting in the music business is not necessarily as difficult as one may think, but there is a fair amount of diligence, and resilience that is needed.
One must be diligent by associating with people who are liked minded, and willing to go the extra mile to make their desire come about...in short we have to become students in our quest to the top, learning along the way the things we need to improve our luck...and our chances.
One must be resilient, by knowing that sometimes even though it seems like a novel idea, you can't push a string forward, you have to lead it where you want to go. That for some is the most bitter pill to swallow, because even though we do at times, no one wants to just spin their wheels.
My family drummed that into my head constantly, and although many times in my life I let people stand in my way, I still kept striving, and I haven't given up on my dream.
My parents, and my sister have all passed away, and at times, it's been so hard for me to be without them, but I'm so fortunate because I had their love, and I have their spirit.
Their spirit in me, and the memory of all the things that they've said to me in my life to drive my spirit is indefatigable.
More than anything, their spirit lives on in me and along with Allah (God), their love rightly guides me. I hope that I can pay it forward...ALWAYS.

Support Live music today tomorrow and always.