Music in My Heart: My Journey with Melody

I ask Melody if we can stay at the studio. It’s my first time here, and probably my last. Melody, who likes music even more than cars, doesn’t seem disappointed.

Dwayne tosses his keys and catches them, striding toward the front door, but a moment later he’s back. The producer found another errand-boy, so he can stay and look after us instead. He looks disappointed, clearly picturing himself behind the wheel of that fancy car. Melody apologizes, but Dwayne shrugs it off, joking he wouldn’t want to miss learning how to walk.

Dwayne nods toward a woman across the room, Mr. Gordy’s sister, who works polishing up Motown stars until they shine. Melody offers to teach Dwayne manners if he ever wants to go into business with her. He jokes that wouldn’t be so bad, since then he’d be her boss, for real.

We laugh, then Dwayne turns serious. He needs Melody’s help with something. When she asks what, he glances down the hall and says he’ll tell us later, disappearing into the rehearsal room. Melody and I wonder what his big secret could be.

As soon as we climb into Dwayne’s old car to head home, Melody taps his seat and demands to know. He spins around, resting his arm on the seat, and admits he’s cutting another record, a single.

Melody’s amazed. Two records in one summer is huge. But Dwayne cuts her off. It’s not for The Three Ravens. He’s doing it on his own, at a small studio owned by a guy who owes him a favor, recording some of his own stuff Monday night.

Melody asks if Dwayne’s leaving the group, and he turns serious. No, nothing like that, but he wants to try a solo song, and Artie and Phil don’t know yet, so it’s a secret. His face softens as he asks if Melody will help him rehearse. She nods, we both will, tomorrow at Big Momma’s. I remember the last time we played music there together and can’t wait.

Sunday afternoon, we watch Melody’s grandparents drive off to Canada for the Emancipation Celebration festival in Windsor, just a half-hour away. Melody admits part of her wishes we could’ve gone, but Dwayne needs us, and she’s right. He arrives looking anxious, admitting he’s got the jitters. Melody says he never gets nervous, and he shrugs that he’s used to having Artie and Phil beside him.

Dwayne sits at the piano and plays something slow and sweet, hitting a sour note and shaking out his hands. He’s too jazzed to remember the notes, so he darts out to the car and returns with messy handwritten sheet music. Once he’s back at the piano, though, the music pours out of his fingertips.

When the song ends, Melody and I cheer, amazed he wrote something so good and played it perfectly. Dwayne thanks us but says he needs to practice it away from the piano, since the studio’s house band will play it while he focuses on singing. Melody suggests we could be his band instead, pointing me toward the piano where his handwritten music sits. Why not, as long as I can read it.

I settle at the piano while Melody grabs a pan and wooden spoon from the kitchen, turning the pan upside down and tapping out a drumbeat as I play along. By the time we finish, Dwayne seems much less nervous. He’s got a house band right here. All he needs now is a microphone.

Melody and I grin at each other. She tosses Dwayne a banana from the fruit bowl, and he laughs, staring at it. Looks like he’ll need a new band name after today: Dwayne and the Banana Splits. He peels it and takes a big bite.