On Mother’s Day, if you have a mother it’s time to think about her and honor her. If yours is no longer with you, it’s time to reflect on what you owe her and the times when you felt unconditional love. I’m fortunate: my mother is 90 and (God willing) will turn 91 after Memorial Day. She’s in a very nice seniors facility and when I called the other day she said, “Joey, I have to get off because I have my exercise class.”
Over the years there have been many songs that honored mothers — with words that truly came from the heart. Here are a few — most of them written way before my time. Listen to the words.
Henry Burr – Mother 1916 – M-O-T-H-E-R (A Word That Means the World to Me)
Al Jolson,Mother Of Mine,I Still Have You,1928 (years go on Mothers Day I sent my mother this and when she heard the lyrics she wept):
George Jessel – “MY MOTHER’S EYES” (1929):
In the late 20th century, songs about mothers became been less idealized and dealt with bigger issues (mothers not being there for kids, etc or reflecting the generation gap of the 60s) or used them in different contexts. A few quick examples:
For example, on Broadway, Cabaret’s famous “Don’t Tell Mama” song by Kander & Ebb:
Paul Simon’s Mother & Child Reunion:
LL Cool J – Mama Said Knock You Out
Here’s a list of the 100 greatest mother songs…from all time and musical eras.
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.