It was Christmas Eve 2009 that I first saw Dylan & Dulcinea Hatch hiding behind the Christmas Tree at the Tacoma Rescue Mission. Well, they weren't hiding but it kinda' of looked like they were. I was gearing up to begin recording my newest CD I'm Not Dead Yet and when I heard their harmonies I realized the purpose for being at the Mission that year was not just to sing. It was to meet them and eventually record them singing backup on my CD. Today, Dulcinea and Dylan, their grandparents Norma and Mike are like family and I'm proud to say I'm their friend.
Dulcinea and Dylan Hatch Christmas 2009
Every Christmas reminds me of all the Christmas' that came before it. Some Christmas' there were tons of presents under the tree and stockings stuffed to their fullest. Other Christmas' there have been no gifts at all but I was still blessed.
Jerry Corelli Christmas 1974
This year I was given the privilege, through Worthy Music Ministries, to once again sing at the Tacoma Rescue Mission for their Christmas Eve Dinner. For some who may sing at Rescue Missions their thoughts may be, "There but the Grace of God go I." When I sing there it's, "There for the Grace of God I've been."
Through Worthy Music Ministries I've ministered in song at the Tacoma Rescue Mission 7 times in 2010. There hasn't been one time when at least 10 people have come up to me and thanked me for singing there, or told me that a particular song I wrote and sang meant something to them.
I was surprised this year to see fewer people attending the dinner. This Thanksgiving there were thousands who attended the dinner at the Tacoma Rescue Mission and for Christmas I don't think there were more than 300 who came through in the 3 hours they served dinner. My hope is that many of those who didn't attend where able to spend Christmas with family or friends.
Dulcinea Hatch Christmas 2010
This year at the Tacoma Rescue Mission Dylan and Dulcinea Hatch, Chuck Worthy and myself were scheduled to sing Christmas songs throughout the dinner time. We gave away about 100 CD's this time and I especially enjoyed relaxing and listening to Dylan and Dulcinea's two sets and Chuck Worthy's closing set. Dylan, Dulcinea and Chuck seemed perfect in their delivery with special renditions of Christmas favorites.
Jerry Corelli Christmas 2010
Homelessness in America has grown considerably with so many losing their jobs and homes in these hard economic times. We tend to think of the homeless as people with no goal or ambition in their lives. Perhaps the word "lazy" also comes to mind. There's no doubt that a few choose to be homeless, I know because I've met them when I was homeless. However, that few is probably less than 1%. I don't know what the percentage is for those who have mental or drug addiction issues, or issues dealing with self-esteem just trying to raise themselves up from the curb. I do know that homelessness is a place most would rather not be if they had a choice. Perhaps in a few weeks, months or in a year many who are homeless today will have more choices to make. Perhaps a job will open up and they can make the choice to take it. Perhaps they have a job but can't save enough to get into an apartment or rent a home.
My hope, my prayer is they will make a choice to follow Christ. I can't guarantee that by choosing Christ they will no longer be homeless but I can guarantee that through Christ all of life's struggles and hardships are so much easier to bare. I know because I've walked in their shoes.
It was 40 years ago that Kevin Mannarino and I first met. Kevin turns 52 today, December 19, 2010 and we've been through a lot together over the years.
Kevin's dad Joe Mann
Kevin's dad owned and operated "Joe Mann Dance Studio" in the 1950's
Kevin's Mom
Joe Mann and two students
Kevin's father and mother on stage
Yep, in the picture below, that's the one and only Uncle Milton and to Kevin he really was Uncle Milton. From what I've been told Kevin's dad and Milton Berle were very good friends and played a lot of golf together.
Kevin has told me that he can remember sitting on the bottom steps of stairs that led to the practice room when his father had a class going. As young as he was he didn't know who the Stars were that his father was teaching to dance. I would love to drop a name or two but I don't quite remember who Kevin has told me some of them were. However, the fact that Kevin's father was a good friend of Milton Berle should tell you that there were probably more than just a few famous people in Joe Mann's classes.
Keith, Mom & Kevin
After Kevin's father passed away when he was young his mother moved the family to Denver, Co. where Kevin and I would met when we were 12 years old. My birthday is Nov 19th and Kevin's is Dec 19th and both of us born in the same year, when there were only 48 states in the Union.
I would have to write a book about all the funny times Kevin and I have had. I'm sure it's like that for so many people in the world. But, to me Kevin is special. Kevin was the kid in school who was teased by the kids with low self esteem. But he seemed to always overcome that. His mother would later refer to Kevin as my shadow. Partly because I walked at a strong pace and Kevin would at times lag behind, but more because Kevin was tall and thin so he looked like my shadow, to her.
What first started our friendship was our humor. There has never been anyone one who has made me laugh so hard I couldn't breath. Over the years we developed a routine, so to speak, of how we looked at things and commented on them. He would say one thing and I'd bounce something back. I'd say something and he'd bounce it back to me.
One of the funniest moments we had as children, and keep in mind this is just one of them, was when I stayed over at Kevin's one weekend. I needed a bowl for something and I grabbed one. Kevin replied, "No, that's a salad bowl." So I grabbed another bowl and he said, "No, that's a soup bowl." I put that back and grabbed another bowl and that did it. Kevin hit the floor laughing like he was going to die because I'd grabbed a mixing bowl. I had no idea there were so many different bowls for so many different uses. I can't recall what kind of bowl I needed but we could take something like that and fly with it until our stomachs hurt from laughing to much.
Kevin around 15 years old
Kevin started out as a drummer but wanted to play the guitar so I think, I'm not sure, I taught him a few chords. From there he taught himself scales and eventually did the lead guitar for our first band.
I know you can barely see us in the picture but that's Kevin on the left, me in the middle and Mark Saltus on the right. We rode out bikes to Kiawa, Co and back to get ready for a 750 mile bike trip at my church.
Kevin was there when I wrote my first song and he was in my first band "The Living Letters".
That's Kevin in the middle next to me over his shoulder. I always envied his hair because it seemed to do what he wanted to it. My hair was so curly that it never really looked right long, in the 70's.
The girl next to Kevin, on his right, is Misty his girl friend at the time. Tragically, it was her daughter Cassie Bernall that stood up and proclaimed she was a Christian during the Columbine shootings and was killed for it. Michael W. Smith released This Is Your Time as a tribute to Cassie. I remember talking to Kevin on the phone after it happened and he said, "She could have been my daughter."
Kevin was there when we started our next band Omega III in 1976.
Kevin was there when I got out of the Navy and later joined me, my wife and our new son Jerry Jr. in Tuscon, Az. We tried to work out putting music together but Tuscon wasn't the place to do it.
He's been there when we've played Coffee houses that had no one there except the staff.
And he was there when we recorded our first album together. You can't see me very well on the right side of the picture but that's us mixing the first album.
Kevin took pictures of me for promotion and after word I got one of him trying to wear my hat.
Like many friends life goes on. I remarried and Kevin married. He went his way for a time and I went mine. By 98' I had put together many of the tracks for my second album and first CD "Standing on the Rock". But, to put the studio together in the first place required me to constantly call Kevin for advice.
Mann Studios 1993
Kevin, like most musicians, had been banded to the basement by his wife to play his heart out with all of his equipment. Kevin was the one who knew about all the sound engineering stuff and I called him regularly with frustrating questions about how to record.
By 98' Kevin's studio was complete and I went to Denver to record tracks at Mann Studios.
We not only laid down some great tracks but went right back to our old selves when it came to humor and bouncing things off each other.
I could go on and on and on about Kevin. There are so many memories after 40 years of friendship. That's us at my wedding in 2005, he was my Best Man.
Jerry Corelli & Kevin Mannarino.
Kevin has taught me patience and he's taught me tolerance. He's given me laughter and he's given me his time. He's recorded on 4 of my albums and never asked for a dime. We've written music together, written lyrics together and turned them into songs we've recorded together. He has two sons and I have two sons. He's Italian and I'm Italian. He's smart and he's wise and he thinks things through. He gives and doesn't say what will you give me in return. We see many things the same and many things differently. Kevin Mannarino is so much more to me but the best thing I can say about him is, "He's my friend!" Happy Birthday Kevin!
It's hard to believe it's been 30 years since the release of my first album with a band I had called "Omega III" back in the late 70's & 80's.
The song "King of Kings" written by me and a friend Dale Zwart was the first cut on the album. The following year Gospel City Records released the song on side "A" of a 45LP. Since it's the 30th anniversary of the release of the album I thought I'd put a few of the songs on YouTube.
It's hard to tell from the black and white photos that Christmas was just around the corner when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. 2,402 personnel were killed and 1,282 were wounded that day, compared to the 3,000 who died in the World Trade Center attack on 911.
After 69 years we can still find ways to kill each other and always will.Matthew 24:6 You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come.Mark 13:8 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines. These are the beginning of birth pains.
Matthew 1:23 "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"--which means, "God with us." Isaiah 9:6 "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counseller, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace."
Peace has come into the world through Jesus Christ. A child born in the manger later died on the cross so we might have peace through him.
We will not have everlasting peace through treaties and compromise that we respect all religious views. We cannot have peace through weapons and wars or working together to save the planet. Mankind is a sinful being who needs redemption from their thoughts, words and deeds. That One and Only redemption was found in a manger and it is His birthday we celebrate.
As a Christian I don't say the politically correct, "Happy Holidays". When I say, "Merry Christmas" and it offends someone then I guess I show a lack of being politically correct. Perhaps one day saying "Merry Christmas" will land me in jail?
Anyway, back to the title of this Blog. Those who died in Pearl Harbor died so that I would have the "Freedom" to say "Merry Christmas". So to them and their families I thank you for your sacrifice. And to the infant child, born in a manger some 2,000 years ago I say, "Thank you for coming to us and thank you for Your Sacrifice."
I wanted to be sure to post this. Go to the Worthy Music Ministries Youtube site via this Youtube video and watch the rest of the videos in this series. They're Great!
It had been a little over a month after losing our house to the bank that Susan Boyle stepped onto the stage of the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Center in Glasgow for an audition on Britain’s Got Talent.
I didn’t watch “America’s Got Talent” or “Britain’s Got Talent” so I didn’t see the show when it first aired on January 21, 2009. In fact during that time I was installing the kitchen, bathroom and tile in the rental we were moving into. It wasn’t until a month later that things had settled, I was on line and saw something on Yahoo or Google about Susan Boyle and a link to the infamous Youtube video of her audition. I went to the video, watched it and then watched it 4 or 5 more times.
I remember thinking, “That’ll show the world that it doesn’t matter how old you are. If you’ve got talent then you’ve got talent.” I predicted that she wouldn’t win the contest but that she’d go on to receive a recording contract and make it big. I was and still am happy for her success and hope that she’s happy now too.
Susan was that one thing I needed to get me breathing again. So much was going on in our life at the time and feeling over-the-hill and all washed up was one of the emotions I was trying to get through. It wasn’t until I was 40 that I released my second album and 18 years after recording the first one. So, when I made the decision to start singing and recording again I was, to most, too old.
Susan Boyle
The past 12 years have been all up hill for me in terms of booking gigs. Mega churches only want to book Headliner Major Label Recording Artists and small churches rarely, if ever, bring in Christian Soloists or Bands. The churches that fall in the middle seem to have their own “Worship Band” so they never bring in guest Bands or Solo Artists. Coffee houses, Christian and Secular, want to draw in the younger crowd so that means young artists. There have been Christian Coffee houses that have booked artists of my age but they’ve since closed due to the economy.
"I Dread a Dream" Susan Boyle CD
It was in May of 2009 when I found myself driving home and a song title hit me. I wasn’t thinking that if Susan Boyle can do it so can I. But I realized that there were a lot of “Susan Boyles” out in the world and figuratively I was one of them. I began realizing that over the course of my life time, as with all people my age and older, that I had a lot to share with others. I began to somehow focus on just what I was to start sharing when I sing. It was all so simple and clear. I just needed to share my life and what Christ has done in my life to everyone who will listen. Then the title “I’m Not Dead Yet” hit me like a giant wave and the words began to flow. I wasn’t dead yet and there was far more for me to do in this life.
"The Gift" Susan Boyle CD
I decided that it didn’t matter if potential gigs weren’t knocking down my doors or that my phone wasn’t ringing off the hook. What mattered was that like Susan Boyle I wasn’t dead yet. I realized I was prepared to sing and minister where I was needed and wanted. If a Mega Church doesn’t want me to minister in song because I’m not a major Artist, then, that’s cool. If a Major Label doesn’t want me because I’m no Susan Boyle, then, that’s cool too. What I realized was that I’m Not Dead Yet and where ever I do sing it’s where I’m suppose to sing.
It would certainly be my prayer to walk into the Tacoma Rescue Mission and discover no one showed up for dinner because everyone had a place to go for Thanksgiving. I wouldn't mind at all singing for just the staff but this time they had two large rooms with tables to hold the over 2000 meals they served this Thanksgiving.
This is my 101st post and National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week too.
Over the course of the last week or so I've had people commenting on the fact I would on the Worthy Music Ministries' Showcase Stage at the Tacoma Rescue Mission on Thanksgiving Day. They were all wonderful comments yet, to me, with a surprising theme. Many of the comments I've received have mentioned the sacrifice made to minister and sing at the TRM than to be home with my family.
Sacrifice,what sacrifice? Years ago I sat in that same Dinning Hall and enjoyed a Thanksgiving dinner that more than warmed my body and soul. Many people would look around at those eating a warm meal and see, through their eyes, the lowest of our society and say, "They need to get a job!", but not me. I had a job and I had a car but that was pretty much it. I worked nights loading trucks and for a time I just slept in my car, woke up and drove to a truck stop to eat breakfast and clean up. And that was during the winter.
Finally, one day I hear that a new Tacoma Rescue Mission building was built and they had more beds. With the TRM there I was able to eat and not have to spend money at the truck stop. I used to shower at the truck stop but that cost money too. At the mission I could shower for free. It didn't take that long and I was finally able to save enough money to get an apartment and "Get off the streets".
So for me it's no sacrifice when I sing at the Rescue Mission. For me it's an honor to sing and minister to those who eat and volunteer there. To me, it's like I'm singing for family. I seem to share a bond with those at the mission because I've sat where they are sitting. This Thanksgiving I felt so fortunate to sing there I decided to give away CD's to anyone who wanted one. We ended up giving away 50! I know we would have given away more but many people didn't know about the give away.
Dylan & Dulcinea Hatch
I'm not the only one to go to the mission and sing on Thanksgiving too. Dylan and Dulcinea Hatch give their time and talent as well as do their grandparents' Mike and Norma. Chuck and Linda Worthy of Worthy Music Ministries aren't there because they have to be either. They are there because they want to minister to everyone at the mission. At times it's frustrating and confusing because of miss-communication but it's always worth it for them in the end.
Dylan & Dulcinea Hatch
As Dylan and Dulcinea sang I roamed the Dinning room to listen to sound levels. Time after time I was stopped by someone enjoying their meal to tell me how much they enjoyed their music. I can't tell you how many times I was asked if Dylan and Dulcinea have their own CD.
Dulcinea Hatch
Dylan Hatch
Jerry Corelli
Worthy Music Ministries has their own YouTube channel now, WorthyMusicMinistry, where you can listen to most all the songs we did at the mission. In addition they have videos of other fine Northwest Artist that have appeared on the Worthy Music Ministries' Showcase Stage.
Jerry Corelli
Jerry Corelli
So, in response to the sacrifice. How can I be sacrificing anything when I'm with family? Dylan and Dulcinea, Mike and Norma, Chuck and Linda and my wife Liv, we're family. The volunteers and those eating their meals, we're family. So, on Thanksgiving 2010, I was with my family.
I write songs about homelessness, addiction and damnation. I write about the world’s only answer being Jesus Christ and that any other path is, simply put, the wrong one. I write about divorce, marriage and family relationships good and bad. My songs tell Biblical stories and paint images of Christ’s suffering on the cross for our sins and they tell of his Resurrection.
Jerry Corelli's Book for Songwriters
Jerry Corelli Songs - from Corelli's Music Box, BMI Catalog
