{"id":4480,"date":"2019-02-22T16:13:27","date_gmt":"2019-02-22T16:13:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mjyoung.net\/weblog\/?p=4480"},"modified":"2019-02-22T16:13:27","modified_gmt":"2019-02-22T16:13:27","slug":"286-blind-seer-ken-medema","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.mjyoung.net\/weblog\/286-blind-seer-ken-medema\/","title":{"rendered":"#286: Blind Seer Ken Medema"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>This is <i>mark Joseph &#8220;young&#8221;<\/i> blog entry #286, on the subject of <i>Blind Seer Ken Medema<\/i>.<\/p>\n<p>I had heard of Ken Medema, and even heard one or two of his recordings.&nbsp; He was the Christian version of the blind piano player singer-songwriter, and was a dynamic performer by all accounts.&nbsp; It was said that when you spoke with him personally, his sense of space was so good that he appeared to be looking directly at your eyes.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.mjyoung.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/img0286Medema.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.mjyoung.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/img0286Medema.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"244\" height=\"241\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-4481\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>When his best of collection, <i>Ken Medema&#8217;s Finest&#8230;Lookin&#8217; Back<\/i>, reached us at the radio station around 1980, I recognized at least two of the songs.&nbsp; One, which closes the collection, was the title song of his debut album, <i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=NIUBdBxxDDs\">Sonshiny Day<\/a><\/i> (yes, there is a pun in the spelling).&nbsp; It was what we would have called Contemporary MOR&#8211;a technical term in the industry for &#8220;Middle of the Road&#8221;, the stuff of adult contemporary radio stations and inspirational radio in Christian circles.&nbsp; It was strongly jazz influenced, but without being Jazz, and his piano playing was always as good as anyone.<\/p>\n<p>The other familiar song is probably his signature piece, the one known by most people who have ever heard anything by him, although it is almost more a dramatic performance than a song.&nbsp; I&#8217;ve seen someone do interpretive dance to <i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.godtube.com\/watch\/?v=WLGZ7LNX\">Moses<\/a><\/i>, and although I don&#8217;t think I could ever do the entire song, I find myself singing fragments of it from time to time.&nbsp; It is one of those songs you really should hear at least once in your life.<\/p>\n<p>We later received a quiet relaxing solo album, mostly just Ken, his voice and his piano, entitled <i>Sunday Afternoon<\/i>.&nbsp; I found a discography for it on his own site, but nowhere else, and I find no videos of the songs I remember&#8211;particularly the title song which opens and closes the album (&#8220;I know the feeling will not last, &#8217;cause Monday&#8217;s comin&#8217; soon, and How can I hang on after Sunday&#8217;s gone, how can I hang on to Sunday afternoon?&#8221;), and the dynamic <i>On Jordan&#8217;s Stormy Banks<\/i> (&#8220;&#8230;I stand and cast a mournful eye to Canaan&#8217;s fair and distant land where I shall never die.&#8221;)&nbsp; It is a wonderfully relaxing recording throughout.&nbsp; It ranks among my favorite quiet albums.<\/p>\n<p>Born December 7, 1943, he is reportedly still here and still performing.<\/p>\n<p>*****<\/p>\n<p>The series to this point has included:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>\n<i><a href=\"http:\/\/www.mjyoung.net\/weblog\/index.php\/232-larry-norman-visitor\/\">#232:&nbsp; Larry Norman, Visitor<\/a><\/i>;<\/li>\n<li>\n<i><a href=\"http:\/\/www.mjyoung.net\/weblog\/index.php\/234-flip-sides-of-ralph-carmichael\/\">#234:&nbsp; Flip Sides of Ralph Carmichael<\/a><\/i>;<\/li>\n<li>\n<i><a href=\"http:\/\/www.mjyoung.net\/weblog\/index.php\/236-reign-of-the-imperials\/\">#236:&nbsp; Reign of the Imperials<\/a><\/i>;<\/li>\n<li>\n<i><a href=\"http:\/\/www.mjyoung.net\/weblog\/index.php\/238-love-song-by-love-song\/\">#238:&nbsp; Love Song by Love Song<\/a><\/i>.<\/li>\n<li>\n<i><a href=\"http:\/\/www.mjyoung.net\/weblog\/index.php\/240-should-have-been-a-friend-of-paul-clark\/\">#240:&nbsp; Should Have Been a Friend of Paul Clark<\/a><\/i>.<\/li>\n<li>\n<i><a href=\"http:\/\/www.mjyoung.net\/weblog\/index.php\/242-disciple-andrae-crouch\/\">#242:&nbsp; Disciple Andra\u00e9 Crouch<\/a><\/i>.<\/li>\n<li>\n<i><a href=\"http:\/\/www.mjyoung.net\/weblog\/index.php\/244-missed-the-archers\/\">#244: Missed The Archers<\/a><\/i>.<\/li>\n<li>\n<i><a href=\"http:\/\/www.mjyoung.net\/weblog\/index.php\/246-the-secular-radio-hits\/\">#246: The Secular Radio Hits<\/a><\/i>.<\/li>\n<li>\n<i><a href=\"http:\/\/www.mjyoung.net\/weblog\/index.php\/248-the-hawkins-family\/\">#248:&nbsp; The Hawkins Family<\/a><\/i>.<\/li>\n<li>\n<i><a href=\"http:\/\/www.mjyoung.net\/weblog\/index.php\/250-original-worship-leader-ted-sandquist\/\">#250:&nbsp; Original Worship Leader Ted Sandquist<\/a><\/i>.<\/li>\n<li>\n<i><a href=\"http:\/\/www.mjyoung.net\/weblog\/index.php\/252-petra-means-rock\/\">#252:&nbsp; Petra Means Rock<\/a><\/i>.<\/li>\n<li>\n<i><a href=\"http:\/\/www.mjyoung.net\/weblog\/index.php\/254-miscellaneous-early-christian-bands\/\">#254:&nbsp; Miscellaneous Early Christian Bands<\/a><\/i>.<\/li>\n<li>\n<i><a href=\"http:\/\/www.mjyoung.net\/weblog\/index.php\/256-harry-thomas-creations-come-alive\/\">#256:&nbsp; Harry Thomas&#8217; Creations Come Alive<\/a><\/i>.<\/li>\n<li>\n<i><a href=\"http:\/\/www.mjyoung.net\/weblog\/index.php\/258-british-invaders-malcolm-and-alwyn\/\">#258:&nbsp; British Invaders Malcolm and Alwyn<\/a><\/i>.<\/li>\n<li>\n<i><a href=\"http:\/\/www.mjyoung.net\/weblog\/index.php\/260-lamb-and-jews-for-jesus\/\">#260:&nbsp; Lamb and Jews for Jesus<\/a><\/i>.<\/li>\n<li>\n<i><a href=\"http:\/\/www.mjyoung.net\/weblog\/index.php\/262-first-lady-honeytree-of-jesus-music\/\">#262: First Lady Honeytree of Jesus Music<\/a><\/i>.<\/li>\n<li>\n<i><a href=\"http:\/\/www.mjyoung.net\/weblog\/index.php\/264-how-about-danny-taylor\/\">#264:&nbsp; How About Danny Taylor<\/a><\/i>.<\/li>\n<li>\n<i><a href=\"http:\/\/www.mjyoung.net\/weblog\/index.php\/266-minstrel-barry-mcguire\/\">#266:&nbsp; Minstrel Barry McGuire<\/a><\/i>.<\/li>\n<li>\n<i><a href=\"http:\/\/www.mjyoung.net\/weblog\/index.php\/268-voice-of-the-second-chapter-of-acts\/\">#268:&nbsp; Voice of the Second Chapter of Acts<\/a><\/i>.<\/li>\n<li>\n<i><a href=\"http:\/\/www.mjyoung.net\/weblog\/index.php\/272-to-the-bride-live\/\">#272:&nbsp; To the Bride Live<\/a><\/i>.<\/li>\n<li>\n<i><a href=\"http:\/\/www.mjyoung.net\/weblog\/index.php\/276-best-guitarist-phil-keaggy\/\">#276:&nbsp; Best Guitarist Phil Keaggy<\/a><\/i>.<\/li>\n<li>\n<i><a href=\"http:\/\/www.mjyoung.net\/weblog\/index.php\/281-keith-green-launching\/\">#281:&nbsp; Keith Green Launching<\/a><\/i>.<\/li>\n<li>\n<i><a href=\"http:\/\/www.mjyoung.net\/weblog\/index.php\/283-keith-green-crashing\/\">#283:&nbsp; Keith Green Crashing<\/a><\/i>.\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This is mark Joseph &#8220;young&#8221; blog entry #286, on the subject of Blind Seer Ken Medema. I had heard of Ken Medema, and even heard one or two of his recordings.&nbsp; He was the Christian version of the blind piano player singer-songwriter, and was a dynamic performer by all accounts.&nbsp; It was said that when &hellip; <a href=\"http:\/\/www.mjyoung.net\/weblog\/286-blind-seer-ken-medema\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">#286: Blind Seer Ken Medema<\/span> <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,42],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4480","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bible-and-theology","category-music"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.mjyoung.net\/weblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4480","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.mjyoung.net\/weblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.mjyoung.net\/weblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.mjyoung.net\/weblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.mjyoung.net\/weblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4480"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.mjyoung.net\/weblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4480\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4482,"href":"http:\/\/www.mjyoung.net\/weblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4480\/revisions\/4482"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.mjyoung.net\/weblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4480"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.mjyoung.net\/weblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4480"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.mjyoung.net\/weblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4480"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}