Center | 5ive Songs

In the 52^nd edition of 5ive Songs (2022), we select five songs that are associated with the CENTER in some form or fashion.

Welcome to 5ive Songs, where we keep things short and sweet – no extra calories or needless fluff! There’s a theme/topic, five songs, and a short blurb.  Yes, it’s a playlist, but it’s a miniature playlist that shouldn’t take much time to consume.  In the 52^nd edition of 5ive Songs (2022), we select five songs that are associated with the CENTER in some form or fashion.  Okay, let’s get into it!

1. Capital Cities, “Center Stage”

💿 In a Tidal Wave of Mystery • 🏷 Lazy Hooks, LLC / Capitol • 📅 2014

“There’s a good time to do it on your own / There’s a good time, now it’s time to go.” Okay, 🎙 Capital Cities, we see you! “There’s a good time, to do it for a change / There’s a good time, step out from the cage.” Those fun, feel-good lyrics hail from 🎵 “Center Stage,” which appears as the fifth track on the alternative duo’s 2014 album, 💿 In a Tidal Wave of Mystery. “Center Stage” is a total vibe.

What makes “Center Stage” a total vibe, you ask? Well, it’s thanks to an infectious groove and a colorful palette of sounds including keys, programming, and guitars.  The bass line is robust, adding to the tremendous flavor that is “Center Stage.”  The big takeaway is that “Center Stage” is lighthearted and a total blast to listen to.  Furthermore, the vocals are sweet. The best part is the chorus, which is the crème de la crème – the centerpiece!

“Every day I walk away

With the feeling that I’m center stage

There’s a good time

There’s a good time.”

2. Richard Smallwood, “The Center of My Joy”

💿 Textures • 🏷 Word Entertainment • 📅 1987

“Jesus, You’re the center of my joy / All that’s good and perfect comes from You,” the gifted 🎙 Richard Smallwood sings at the beginning of his acclaimed gospel classic, 🎵 “The Center of My Joy”.  Such laudatory, powerful lyrics that speak to being indebted to God for everything.  Smallwood continues singing, in the chorus, the centerpiece, “You’re the heart of my contentment / Hope for all I do / Jesus, You’re the center of my joy.”  Yes, yes, yes!

“The Center of My Joy” famously appears on Smallwood’s 1987 album, 💿 Textures.  It’s easily the most renowned song from the LP, as well as one of the biggest songs of his career (🎵 “Total Praise” might get the edge).  This anthem of praise celebrates God’s goodness and mercy, period. In the first verse, Smallwood asserts, “You’re the compass for my way,” as well as “When I’m all alone, Your hand is there to hold.” It’s a similar scenario in the second verse, where Smallwood proclaims, “You’re the source and finish of my highest dreams.”  Even if you aren’t a person of faith, it’s hard not to admire Smallwood’s dedication to God.  Besides the memorable, tuneful chorus, and the poetic, thoughtful verses, the vamp section, centered around “Jesus, You are the center of my joy,” is utterly sublime.  Smallwood riffing atop a gospel choir is nothing short of awesome.  Also, shout out the music! If you weren’t aware, Richard Smallwood is a trained musician, who graduated with a music degree from Howard University.  “The Center of My Joy” has been covered by many and is sung in churches regularly around the world.  Now that’s music that lifts!

Appears in 🔻:

• Richard Smallwood, “The Center of My Joy”: Music Lifts 🎶 🏋 18 (2022)

3. Thomas Rhett, “Center Point Road” (Ft. Kelsea Ballerini)

💿 Center Point Road • 🏷 Big Machine • 📅 2019

🎵 “Center Point Road” served as the sixth and final advance single from 💿 Center Point Road, the fourth studio album by 🏆 Grammy-nominated country singer, 🎙 Thomas Rhett.  On the reminiscent record, Rhett tapped a fellow 🏆 Grammy-nominated country musician, 🎙 Kelsea Ballerini for the assist with positive results.  The album, and obviously, the title track, are named after a place where Rhett lived – 📍 Center Point Road in Hendersonville, Tennessee.

“Center Point Road” has plenty of pros. The songwriting (Rhett, 🎼 ✍ Amy Wadge, 🎼 ✍ Cleve Wilson, and 🎼 ✍ Jesse Frasure) and the production (🎛 Dann Huff) are big reasons why it’s a roaring success.  Regarding songwriting, the record is reflective, remembering youthful, fun times and experiences. The sound of this record is ‘country enough,’ but it also thrives with its pop/rock sensibility. Rhett and Ballerini do a superb job performing their respective parts.  Rhett sings the first verse and chorus, while Ballerini provides contrast in the second and following chorus.  They join forces on the bridge, before ending strong on the chorus and outro.  The chorus is the crème de la crème.

“We wrote our own destiny

In parkin’ lots and empty streets

Yeah, we got high on you and me

Jumped over cracks beneath our feet

And we thought it would never end

Then watched it go like summer wind

When growin’ up was just a dream

And Friday night was everything.”

Appears in 🔻:

• 17 Songs Characterized by Their Place
• 11 Songs with Eyes Fixed on the Road
• 13 Songs That Get Straight to the Point

4. Anthony Green, “Center of It All”

💿 Boom. Done. • 🏷 Born Losers • 📅 2022

“I don’t know / If I can be alone again / And I don’t think / That I can make it through.” Well, lyrically, that sounds like a bummer, sigh.  In 2022, 🎙 Anthony Green, of 🎙 Circa Survive fame, quietly released a new solo album, 💿 Boom. Done. On the fourth track, 🎵 “Center of It All,” Green definitely makes our ears perk up.  “Center of It All” commences with dreamy-sounding music, even as Green ponders loneliness.  “I promise I’ll do better when / If I, I get a second chance,” he asserts in the brief second verse.

During the course of “Center of It All,” Green delivers beautiful, expressive vocals. I heart the ripe sound of his tenor vocals.  Following the dreamy opening verse, the record is anchored by a compelling rhythmic groove, which gives it more life, more punch.  Fittingly, this occurs during the main attraction, the chorus:

“I don’t wanna be the center of it all

We can get the fire up

We can get the fire started

We don’t need a new record of your debt

You don’t wanna make it right

You just wanna make me hurry up.”

Besides the memorable lyrics during the chorus, there is lovely orchestration, with the inclusion of horns. This only amplifies the color of this record.

5. The Clark Sisters, “Center Thy Will”

💿 You Brought The Sunshine • 🏷 Sound of Gospel • 📅 2002

“Lord, I just want to be / Rooted and grounded in thee.” Amen 👏, 🎙 The Clark Sisters, amen! Please, continue, ladies: “Lord, place me, Lord place me / I want to be centered in thy will.” The iconic gospel collective has received renewed attention in 2022 thanks to 🎙 Beyoncé.  Queen Bey controversially sampled the Clark Sisters’ 🎵 “Center Thy Will” on her secular, sexual record, 🎵 “Church Girl” from her critically acclaimed (and controversial) seventh studio album, 💿 RENAISSANCE.  Here, we celebrate the uplifting nature of the Clark Sisters’ beloved gospel classic as opposed to the polarizing repurposing by Bey.

“Center Thy Will” was written by 🎼✍ Ebernita Clark, best known as 🎙 Twinkie Clark.  The sound is idiomatic of traditional black gospel, with the use of both piano and organ, as well as soulful, vocal harmonies.  The vocals are high-flying, chocked full of spirit.  Clearly, The Clark Sisters wholeheartedly believe in God, looking to him to guide their lives. “Lord, I just want to be / Highly favored in thee,” the Sisters sing in the second verse, adding, “Lord, make me / Lord, Lord Jesus, place me in the center of thy will.”  The big takeaway: to live and be more like Him, JESUS.  

Appears in 🔻:

• The Clark Sisters, “Center Thy Will”: Music Lifts 🎶 🏋 15 (2022)

Center: 5ive Songs No. 52 (2022) [📷: Atlantic, Big Machine, Born Losers, Brent Faulkner, Capitol, Clovis Cheminot, Lazy Hooks, LLC, The Musical Hype, OpenClipart-Vectors, Pixabay, Sound of Gospel, Word Entertainment]