Music in My Heart: My Journey with Melody

After dinner, we hear Dwayne’s car chug to a stop out front, and before he can even ring the doorbell, Melody and I are halfway out the door. We slide into the backseat, and Melody wonders if we might see someone famous at the studio, maybe The Temptations or The Supremes. I finally recognize some of the Motown stars. Dwayne says The Three Ravens might be there, and winks at us in his rearview mirror.

At first I don’t get the joke, then I remember that Dwayne’s band is called The Three Ravens. When the car backfires, Melody says what she really wonders is whether we’ll make it to the studio at all. Dwayne laughs that the car is old, but as soon as his album starts selling, he’ll buy something newer, maybe a Ford Mustang like the rich producers at the studio. It backfires again. He smacks the wheel, laughing with us.

I expected the recording studio to be a big office building, but instead it looks like a small house with a big picture window out front. A sign over the window reads “Hitsville U.S.A.” Excitement ripples through me. Will we hear some hits tonight?

Melody and I follow Dwayne through the door, and a teenage guy greets us, Artie, one of The Three Ravens, Melody says. He leads us through a maze of rooms to the rehearsal room, where I meet Phil, the last raven, along with a drummer and a piano player. Melody explains the other two are part of Motown’s house band, the Funk Brothers. They’re really good. They can play anything.

I watch the man at the piano and try to imagine recording a song with the musicians here at Hitsville. My stomach flip-flops at the thought of a recorded song being heard by millions of people.

Dwayne snaps his fingers, breaking my daydream. It’s time to go. The Three Ravens line up, and as the drummer finds a beat, Dwayne steps forward and croons in his high voice while Artie and Phil dance behind him.

Melody sings and swings from her chair beside me, and she’s not the only one who notices. After The Three Ravens finish, Artie says they could use a couple more backup singers. Dwayne points out that The Temptations have five singers, so why do they only have three? He asks if we’d like to sing backup.

Melody instantly jumps up and stands behind Artie and Phil, but my bottom is glued to the chair. They all stare at me, and my face starts to burn. Melody insists it’ll be fun, that it’s my chance to sing in an actual recording studio. I smile nervously. It’d be pretty cool, but I’m not a very good singer. Artie, Phil, and Melody all ask for just one song, calling out encouragement.

I hesitate, but finally laugh and stand up, mostly so they’ll all stop singing at me. I just need to sing softly, like I did at Mrs. Porter’s when The Supremes were on TV. So I do, and soon I get lost in the swirl of voices around me. As the song ends, I realize what I’m doing, singing with Motown stars at Hitsville U.S.A. Now I’m grinning like crazy.

The Three Ravens are halfway through the third song when a woman pokes her head in and asks if we’re ready to go across the street. Dwayne checks the clock and says we’d better wrap it up. I ask Melody what’s across the street, and she says it’s the Artist Development, a school where musicians learn everything besides music, how to dress, dance, act, and talk to reporters.

I’m surprised they learn all that. Melody nods. Motown stars do, and that’s why they look so polished. I think of Diana Ross on TV, so elegant and graceful, and wonder if that’s from taking lessons.

A few minutes later, Melody and I watch a man with a gray beard teach The Three Ravens choreography. Artie and Phil practice their footwork, wobbling now and then but never laughing it off. They’re working hard.

I turn to mention that to Melody, but she’s gone, standing in the doorway watching something across the hall. When I join her, I see a woman coaching a teenage girl on how to walk gracefully. I ask if Melody knows the girl. She doesn’t, but maybe we will someday. I try to memorize her face to look up when I get home.

The woman tells the girl to stand taller, to show she respects herself, because then other people will respect her too. I whisper that that’s exactly what Grammy used to say. Just then Dwayne steps into the hall and says he’s going to run an errand for a producer, cruising in a brand-new Mustang. Do we want to come?

Melody’s eyes light up. She’s never ridden in a Mustang before. Then she glances back at the girl taking lessons. But we’re having fun here too. She turns to me and asks what we should do.