Getting your loving groove on (I give you permission to!)

I had a particularly amazing Thanksgiving in November because of John Mayer. And no, I was not breaking bread with this rockstar ;-)

But first some backstory. I was a huge John Mayer fan in 8th, 9th and 10th grade.

My mom (bless her soul) in 9th grade drove me and two friends from Washington, DC to Reading, Pennsylvania for a John Mayer concert. My fangirling was obsessive and over the top (perhaps so was your teenage obsession?), including getting a cake with John Mayer’s face and searching the music section of my local Barnes & Noble to listen to 30 second clips from his EP that I didn’t want to buy, but wanted to hear. 

By the time the fall of 10th grade came around, I was upset at my friends, who were also John fans and rather than productively deal with the conflict, I got rid of all my John Mayer records and didn’t listen to his music for years. OY!

At some point in my early 20s, I’d occasionally hear a John Mayer song and think, this music is good. In my late 20s, I purchased my first track of his in a decade, “Who You Love” with Katy Perry. It was a deliberately snail’s pace crawl back into his catalog.

Fast forward to this past November to the day before Thanksgiving. I’m a subscriber to Sirius XM and logged into the app to listen to music. There on the Home Page was a photo of John Mayer carrying a guitar case with the title “Life with John Mayer.” I clicked play and learned a John Mayer DJ-ed channel was premiering that afternoon. 

When 3pm came around, I put on the channel and it was John Mayer, my teenage crush and music icon, live on the radio, dedicating heavy metal songs to 4th graders, creating a playlist to talk a walk with your cousin and sharing jingles. I was smitten and freaking out (in the best kind of way). Gushing of energy. Smiling across the universe.

One of the things I love from that channel is being exposed to new music, including from musicians that I have long admired, but don’t know their full catalog. And one of those songs is “Love’s in Need of Love to Today” by Stevie Wonder, which was the opening song on John Mayer’s Thanksgiving set. 

Stevie croons:

That Thanksgiving evening when I arrived at dinner, having spent a few hours soaking in the music of Stevie Wonder and “Life with John Mayer,” I felt my heart bursting with love and ready for connection. Yes, I was feeling like a 13 year old with a massive crush. And I was full of joy thanks to a totally unexpected radio channel of my teen idol. The channel was like an infusion into my soul that “Love's in need of love today/Don't delay/Send yours in right away” and I found myself connecting and present with family.  

Energy, particularly the sonic kind, is quite infectious and there is so much evidence that music helps to cope with challenging emotions or shift our mood.

For me, listening to “Love’s in Need of Love to Today”, The O’Jays “Love Train” or John Mayer’s “Stop This Train” puts me in a loving head and heart space.

So you dear spoker, what song speaks to you that gets you in the groove for love and connection? Tee it up or if a song isn’t coming to mind, put on one of my favorites. Then, put down your phone and soak in the groove! Sing and snap along. Dance to its rhythms. Close your eyes and let the music sink in! 

The world is in dear need of love today and perhaps that 5 minute break to dance and groove will in a small, but mighty way be ever so transformational.

I am curious what song puts you in a loving groove? Send it right away to [email protected]. I’d love to hear from you! 

Wheels up, 

Ellen