Everyday Creation
This show has to do with different kinds of creation: human, divine, and a third kind that connects the two. Our human creativity is easy to talk about because clearly we're prolific creators. We make music, we write, we cook; we establish businesses, we design gardens, we invent things. The list goes on and on. Another kind of creation is divine. We feel its presence when, for example, we contemplate birth, death, our life purpose, or have a quiet realization that there's something bigger than us. The third kind is perhaps a little more difficult to grasp and yet, with a little practice, it's easy to put into action. This is the personal power each of us has to direct our thoughts, words and actions every day toward what we want in our life and world, rather than what we don't want.
This sounds heavier than it is. For me, this show is an acknowledgment that while we're all here to learn and grow and do our best, there's still plenty of opportunity to relax, laugh, love, and enjoy this playground we call life. So my hope is that you'll get some enjoyment and illumination out of these episodes. Here you'll find interviews with delightfully creative individuals; short stories about some who have passed away; and essays about personal power.
I'm Kate Jones, host and creator of Everyday Creation. Thank you for following my show.
Everyday Creation
David Jolicoeur and De La Soul Never Duplicated the Success They Had with Their First Album
Writer/editor Sheldon Zoldan pays tribute to David Jolicoeur, co-creator of the colorful rap trio De La Soul. This is one of 44 short yet illuminating episodes about significant figures in the music industry who passed away in 2023.
In addition to these tributes, Sheldon writes Song of the Day, a music-related story sent daily to an email list of subscribers. To get on his Song of the Day list, email shzoldan@comcast.net with the subject line ADD ME TO SOTD.
To listen to De La Soul's most successful song, “Me Myself and I,” visit YouTube. If you like it, check out the entire album, "3 Feet High and Rising." Here's a link to it on vinyl. You can see the album's cheerful cover design in the thumbnail for this episode and in the chapters.
Also in the chapters, you can skip my introduction and go right to where the tribute begins; feel free to skip my closing remarks too. I put them there as context for those who haven't listened to the other tributes yet.
Audio engineer/musician Mike Villegas edited all the audio for this series. Hope you enjoy these intriguing glimpses into the lives of the people who made some of the music we love.
This is Kate Jones. Thank you for listening to Everyday Creation, available on YouTube and in podcast directories including Apple, Audible, iHeart and Spotify.
Kate:
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Hello, and welcome to Everyday Creation. This is
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your host, Kate Jones, with one of 44
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tributes
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to significant figures in the music industry
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who passed away in 2023.
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My guest Sheldon Zoldan,
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a longtime writer and newspaper editor,
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wrote these short biographies
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and recorded them.
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Each one is an intriguing
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glimpse into the life and impact of someone
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who contributed
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to the soundtracks of our lives. Here's what
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Sheldon has to say in this tribute.
Sheldon:
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The obit for David Jolicoeur
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was as much an obit about the hip
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hop group he helped create,
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De La Soul.
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The publicist for the group confirmed his death
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on February 12th
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but didn't say when or how he died.
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Jolicoeur talked in recent years about his battle
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with congestive heart failure.
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He was 54.
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Jolicoeur
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and two high school friends created the rap
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trio.
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He took on the name Trugoy the Dove.
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Trugoy was yogurt spelled backwards
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and his favorite food.
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He was also known as Plug
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and Dave.
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The trio was unlike most of the rappers
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at the time.
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They wore colorful flowered shirts and their songs
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were whimsical and positive,
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unlike the rap of NWA
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and Public Enemy.
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They were an immediate
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success. Their first album,
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"3 Feet High and Rising,"
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came out in 1989
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and reached number 24
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on Billboard's 200 album chart.
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Our Song of the Day, "Me, Myself and
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I," was a single from that album.
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It was the trio's most successful single.
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It reached number 1 on Billboard's
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R&B chart
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and 34 on Billboard's Hot 100
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Singles chart.
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De La Soul never recreated
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their early success,
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partly because of legal issues.
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The group would use samplings in their songs,
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snippets from other recordings.
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The group the Turtles filed a lawsuit against
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them and settled out of court.
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Their music was hard to find because streaming
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services wouldn't make it available because of the
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copyright issues.
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The trio finally reached a settlement where their
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catalog would start streaming March 3rd,
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a month after Jolicoeur's
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death.
Kate:
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This is Kate again. Please go to the
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description for more information and to hear the
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song that Sheldon referenced.
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If you enjoyed this tribute, please check out
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the rest of them. Although some of the
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names are not as familiar as others,
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the biographies
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are equally intriguing.
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Thank you for listening to Everyday Creation.
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Please share this episode with anyone who might
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enjoy it.
