Truly unfairly not known R&B/Christian/gospel artist Jon Gibson freaked out a lot of folks because he looked like he belonged in a Ferris Bueller movie scene but sounded like Stevie Wonder. It pains me that his music has never been widely known or distributed. It's like he was too Christian for the secular market, but too on the edge musically for Christian companies. Definitely sad. Whether he was performing one of his well-written songs (he's a self-taught musician and songwriter), or covering Stevie Wonder or Andrae Crouch, he has a voice not easily forgotten.
I was in absolute love with today's first song, "Friend in You" in junior high; I realize now that part of the reason is because it is similar to Wonder's way of crafting a song with simple accompaniment (like "Overjoyed"). This song also mysteriously played on the radio repeatedly for 30 minutes one Friday night when I was 15; it was the same night that a friend told he planned to commit suicide. Thank God he didn't. I don't know if he heard this song at all that night, but I do remember many tears and much praying that night. And I remember the relief and gratitude when I saw him again. Sadly this friend passed away years later due to cancer. Although we had lost touch by then, I still cherish the memory of him and our jr. high comraderie. I think of him every time I hear this song.
The second song, "So Blue, doesn't have such a deep meaning to it; I just like it ;). My favorite lines: "I think too much, sometimes I think myself right into a jam". This is from the Love Education album, which I consider to be Gibson's best work. And in checking my cherished cassette copy (yes I said CASSETTE), I see the copyright is 1994....this thing is 18 years old. Oi and vey.
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