Rock Me Gently

We just finished season 4 of Ray Donovan, the final episode of which ended with the song “Rock Me Gently.”  This brought back memories of being at the Pizza King in Bluffton, Indiana.  It was 1974, and I played the hell out of that Andy Kim 45 on their jukebox.  I also played side B a lot, which was simply the instrumental version of the song.  I just totally loved the production, arrangement and the keyboard work.
After the Ray Donovan episode and the song finished, I was going on about how much I enjoyed the song.  While reminiscing, I said to my wife, “Ya know, that sounds a lot like Michael Omartian,” (my idol when it comes to producers/arrangers/ keyboardists).
Spoiler alert: It was Michael.

Chances are, whether or not you know it, you’ve heard Omartian’s work.  He’s produced, composed, played, conducted, arranged or in other ways worked with/for the likes of Steely Dan, Amy Grant, Diana Ross, The Four Tops, Keith Urban, Gladys Knight, Dusty Springfield, Kenny Loggins, “The Theme from Happy Days,” The Righteous Brothers, The Imperials, Michael Bolton, Robert Palmer, Eric Clapton, Veggie Tales, Alison Krauss, Dolly Parton, Rod Stewart, The Partridge Family, Reba McEntire, Jerry Garcia, Peter Cetera, Shania Twain, Cher, Barry Manilow, and on and on and on!!!

Listening to “Rock Me Gently” at the Pizza King back in 1974, I had no idea who Omartian was.
It wasn’t until a few years later, when I heard an album called “With Footnotes” by a sibling group named “The 2nd Chapter of Acts” that I became aware of him. (This was during a stage of my life where all music had to pass the litmus test: “Is that a Christian song?!?!” But that’s another post someday.)
Later, Michael released the ground-breaking album “White Horse.”   “White Horse” was released and billed as a “Christian” album.  But don’t let that put you off of it. Sonically, it’s one of the best LPs of all time, IMHO.

BUT, the point of this post is this:  The simple hope that you’ll listen to the song “Rock Me Gently,” just because I like to share things I enjoy.  If you’ve never heard it, enjoy it as a nice little pop-rock song.  But, whether you’ve heard it before or not, listen to it with the focus on production, keyboards, and BGV’s (especially toward the end).  It’s just a carnival for the ears.  44 years after 1st hearing it, it still gets my blood pumping.





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Listen Here: https://youtu.be/PYH4BmrQqsY



Oh. Then, if you’ve never heard any of the songs my wife and I have recorded, go over to the right column under “re-union music” and check out some of our stuff.