I’ve been without a piano at home for a while, but I recently set up my keyboard to keep myself sane. For some reason, this tune got stuck in my head, and I ended up playing it for about an hour or so. It’s “I Will Be Here for You (Nitakungodea Milele)” from Al Jarreau’s 1982 album Jarreau. A classic from the legendary jazz vocalist. The album received four Grammy Award nominations in 1984 and this specific track features some incredible musicians:
Al Jarreau – Vocals
Jay Graydon – Guitars
Steve George – Synthesizers
Abraham Laboriel – Bass
Steve Gadd (the best!) – Drums
Victor Feldman – Percussion
Chuck Findley, Gary Grant, Jerry Hey – Flugelhorn
Fun Fact: The song was written by John Lang, Richard Page, and Steve George, members of the unfortunately short-lived band Pages, which later evolved into Mr. Mister.
Fun Fact 2: From what I understand, Nitakungodea Milele translates roughly to “I will wait for you forever” in Swahili.
Fun Fact 3: Jay Graydon not only played guitar on this track but also produced and engineered parts of the album. One of his claims to fame is playing the iconic guitar solo on Steely Dan’s Peg.
Song: “I Will Be Here for You (Nitakungodea Milele)”
Artist: Al Jarreau
Album: Jarreau
Year: 1982
Nitakungodea Milele
Nitakungodea Milele
These are the words I say
When I want you near to me,
From that place deep in my heart
You will see.
I am never far away
When you turn to every place,
When you reach out for my love
I’ll be there,
I will be here for you, baby,
I will be here for you when you’re fallin’,
I will be here for you, baby … let me love you.
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My name is Michael Sanchez and I’m an avid record collector and obscure song searcher. My goal is to post (hopefully) one song a day that’s been on my stereo/turntable frequently. If you don’t like the song… too bad 🙂 You can just wait for the next one. All the info I find is from wikipedia/youtube/interviews/news articles/personal stories I’ve heard/random googling. Sorry if there are any mistakes.
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