An Album/Song A Week - "Don't You Worry 'Bout A Thing" - Stevie Wonder

 My school years of 1st-12th grade were not year round ones.  Most schools today are on that schedule.  But all the schools I went to in the 70's-1982 were not.  The school year started the day after Labor Day and ended the last Friday in June.  But whereas schools today take a Fall/Spring Break, we had none of that.  Instead we had a 3 month Summer break.  From June until Labor Day.  My son went to a year round school.  And I have to admit that I preferred his school schedule more than the ones I had.  Three months off is a long time for parents and for kids.  

The last day of school was always a joyous, yet somehow bittersweet moment.  When I went to high school, the seniors graduated and drifted into their new life.  I spent 2nd through 5th grade in Germany.  Keeping friendships alive was not easy for Army kids.  Children came and went.  Army brats is what they were called.  Most never spent more than 3-4 years stationed in one city at a time.  We spent 4 years in Germany before moving to the States.  

But Summer break in Germany is always fondly remembered.  I spent many days going to the outdoor pool with friends.  And the great thing is that most people had their radios playing.  We certainly did.  Always tuned to the Top 40 Armed Forces channel.  1974 was my last Summer in Germany.  We moved after the school year in 1975.  And it's my most cherished of all the years I spent in Germany.  I had just turned 10 and had more friends to hang out with than in years past.  Music was also starting to play a small, but growing part of my youth.  We always had the radio playing while walking to the pool.  

The song I remember the most in the Summer of '74 was Stevie Wonder's "Don't You Worry 'Bout A Thing", which was the 3rd and final single from his 1973 album, Innervisions.   The song was released in the spring of '74 and peaked at #16.  But it still gets a lot of airplay today.  And, no, it's not a song about Summer.  But it sounds like one.  It's the only thing that should matter to the listener.  Many Summer type songs don't mention the season but have the fell of it.  That Wonder song definitely does.  It's light, airy and you can sing-along to it. And it reminds me of those young, Summer days.  I hear it today and I'm right back at a pool in June 1974, 10 years old and not a care in the world.  My whole life still ahead of me.