Today’s installment of Black Music Sunday celebrates Father’s Day, including granddads, stepdads, uncles, and all the men who helped raise and mentor us. The month of June is also chock-full of other celebrations including Black Music Month and Caribbean-American Heritage Month. This is also the week we celebrate Juneteenth, as well as the summer solstice.
Many music genres have provided a soundtrack for all of these events, and especially Father’s Day. Songs that celebrate dads are poignant, joyous, tender, uplifting, raucous, and nostalgic. Join me in listening to and sharing some of them here today.
RELATED STORY: Soul food, summer sun, and family reunion tunes for Father’s Day
”Black Music Sunday” is a weekly series highlighting all things Black music, with over 200 stories covering performers, genres, history, and more, each featuring its own vibrant soundtrack. I hope you’ll find some familiar tunes and perhaps an introduction to something new.
Far too often, we read negative stories and sociological treatises dismissing Black fathers as absent and uncaring. Fatherhood is complex, especially when it relates to Black fatherhood. The songs I’ve selected to share here today are directly related to Black dads, their Black children, and families.
One of the most beloved R&B soul artists of all time is Luther Vandross, who passed on in 2005. But he is still “fathering” young people via his foundation, established by his mother in his memory, which provides financial assistance to students who attend Historically Black Colleges and Universities, known as HBCUs.
His memories of his father, who died when Vandross was 8 years old, were captured by Vandross and Richard Marx in his 2003 song “Dance With My Father.”
“Dance With My Father” lyrics:
Back when I was a childBefore life removed all the innocenceMy father would lift me highAnd dance with my mother and meAnd thenSpin me around ’till I fell asleepThen up the stairs he would carry meAnd I knew for sureI was lovedIf I could get another chanceAnother walkAnother dance with himI’d play a song that would never ever endHow I’d love love loveTo dance with my father againWhen I and my motherWould disagreeTo get my way I would runFrom her to himHe’d make me laugh just to comfort meYeah yeahThen finally make me doJust what my mama saidLater that night when I was asleepHe left a dollar under my sheetNever dreamed that heWould be gone from meIf I could steal one final glanceOne final stepOne final dance with himI’d play a song that would never ever end’Cause I’d love love love toDance with my father againSometimes I’d listen outside her doorAnd I’d hear how mama would cry for himI’d pray for her even more than meI’d pray for her even more than meI know I’m praying for much too muchBut could you send herThe only man she lovedI know you don’t do it usuallyBut Dear LordShe’s dying to dance with my father againEvery night I fall asleepAnd this is all I ever dream
“I’m Her Daddy,” by singer-songwriter Bill Withers, who joined the ancestors in April 2020, is a poignant plea from a father asking about a daughter he didn’t get to know:
How do you do, Lucy?You sure been hard to find.I heard you had a daughterSix years old andI just can’t keep from cry’n’.
Six years Lucy, Lord have mercy,That’s a long time, that’s a long time.Is she pretty, has she grown?Does she sleep well in a room of her own?Can I see her?Does she know that I’m her daddy, I’m her daddy?Did you give her one of my pictures?Does she carry yeh, yeh, picture with her?Does she show it to the baby sitter, and say,“See that man, that’s my daddy, that’s my daddy?”You should ‘a told me, Lucy, You should ‘a told me, Lucy,Yeh, you should ‘a told me, Lucy.
Oh, Lucy. Oh, Lucy. Oh, Lucy. Oh, Lucy.You should ‘a told me Lucy.
I’ve written about Oscar Brown Jr., a political singer-poet-songwriter, here in the past. His lullaby “Brown Baby” is an anthem filled with love and hope for the future.
His website notes:
Oscar Brown, Jr’s composition Brown Baby is simultaneously released by Mahalia Jackson, who was also a Columbia label Artist at the time. OBJ was inspired by the birth of his first son, yet this song wishes prosperity, peace, and pride upon all brown babies. Brown Baby became an anthem. It was later recorded by Nina Simone, Lena Horne, Diana Ross, and Toni Braxton.
Here are the lyrics to “Brown Baby”:
Brown baby brown babyAs you grow up I want you to drink from the plenty cupI want you to stand up tall and proudAnd I want you to speak up clear and loudBrown baby brown baby brown babyAs years go by I want you to go with your head up highI want you to live by the justice codeAnd I want you to walk down freedom’s roadYou little brown babySo lie away lie away sleeping lie away singingLie away sleeping lie away safe in my armsTill your daddy and you mama protect you? and keep you safe from harmBrown babyIt makes me glad you gonna have things that I never hadWhen out of men’s heart all hate is hurledSweetie you gonna live in a better worldBrown baby brown baby brown baby
I smiled when I saw this post from Brother Mark Anthony Neal on X, formerly Twitter.
Philadelphia soul artist Billy Paul Williams also recorded his own song titled “Brown Baby,” imploring:
Brown baby, you gotta make your father proudMake him proudBrown babyStand tallKeep on getting upBrown babyI gotta tell it like it is, I ain’t telling no liesYou gotta love your brother and brothersSisters, love your brotherAnd don’t kick him when he’s downStick togetherI’m gonna tell you everybodyIt’s the truth, open up your mindAnd try to concentrateMake your people proudBrown baby
Poet and singer Gil Scott-Heron wrote and recorded this love song to his daughter Gia Louise Heron, who is continuing his legacy.
“Your Daddy Loves You (For Gia Louise)”:
Now sweet lil ol’ brown eyed girl, hey, now
Now that you’re sleepin’
I’ve got a confession to make
Of secrets that I’ve been keepin’
Me and your mama had some problems,
A whole lotta things on our minds
But lately, girl, we’ve been thinkin’ that we were wastin’ time
Nearly all the time, andYour daddy loves youYour daddy loves his girlYour daddy loves youYour daddy loves his girl, hey now
Now sweet lil ol’ chocolate girlNow that you’re sleepin’ I feel braverI’ve got a confession to makeI’ll sneak it in while you’re dreamin’Me and your mama had some troublesThere’s been a whole lotta things on our mindsBut lately when we look at you, we know that we’ve been wastin’ timeDamn near all the time, and
Your daddy loves youYour daddy loves his girl, hey, nowSaid your daddy loves youSaid your daddy loves his girl, hey, nowYour daddy loves you, and your mama, tooYour daddy loves his girlLoves his girlLoves his girl
As we head into Juneteenth gatherings and celebrations, I thought of the perfect song to close with today: “Family Reunion,” by Philly soul group The O’Jays, which was recorded and released in 1975.
Though the lyrics describe traditional gendered roles, I like the way they close:
It don’t, it don’t just stop there with the family orOf yours or mineIt’s a universal familyUnder one divine purposeAnd one divine father
That is if we all come together no matter what color, race, creedBecause that’s all in the head whether you wanna believe it or not[…]Family, family reunionIt’ll be nice, so nice, so nice
RELATED STORY: Juneteenth is a new holiday for many Americans. For my family, it’s always been personal
Join me in the comments section below for lots more, and please post the songs you love—not just for Father’s Day, but for all the special days we’re celebrating this month.
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