"Let us turn our thoughts today to Martin Luther King" --James Taylor

Four men on the balcony
Overlooking the parking lot
Pointing at a figure in the distance
Dr. King has just been shot
And the sirens long melody
Singing Savior Pass Me Not
                       -Paul Simon


"So Beautiful or So What" by Paul Simon, sung by Paul Simon

Video by PaulSimonVEVO

Right, so this song is not about Martin Luther King Jr.'s life or his dream, but as Paul Simon told Mojo Magazine, "'So beautiful or so what' is a valid question when you're facing the enormity of the infinite. Or pure Love," which makes it clear where Dr. King's death comes in.

***

It's news to precisely no one that Paul Simon is Jewish, with a musical career that began when he started singing with Art Garfunkel when they were both 13. In the six decades (or so) since then, he has picked up 16 Grammys (out of 35 nominations); was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame; landed in the top ten of Rolling Stone's list of 100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time; and was the first to win the Library of Congress's Gershwin Prize for Popular Song, among other honors--and gifted us with classic song after classic song.




I'll come back to Paul Simon again in the future, but for today I want to bring a second song, which is a beautiful tribute to Dr. King's dream: James Taylor's "Shed a Little Light". James Taylor isn't Jewish, but this cover is a joint effort by the Maccabeats (who are!) and Naturally 7, and Taylor called it "One of the best covers of 'Shed a Little Light' that I've heard," and no wonder:

Video posted by Maccabeats Video and Naturally 7-Topic

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