Yearning for Your love by Alex Bugnon

On hold with Walgreens 3/3/2023 at 12:11pm

The history of Oklahoma is full of stories. Long home to peoples of different language, culture, and way of life, Oklahoma has been a fertile field for growth and also the scene of largely European and White American led destruction and exploitation. Although not exhaustive, the Wichita,  Tonkawa, and Caddo peoples were some of the earliest inhabitants ¹. The United States Government forcibly deported tens of thousands of American Indians from ancestral homelands in the 1800s. The Oklahoma territory was a sizable and well known destination where many native peoples were taken to if they were not killed or died in transit. After the Civil War, a central region of Oklahoma known as the “Unassigned Lands” were ceded from native groups that had allied with the Confederacy and were then made available during the Land Rush of 1889. The land run brought many non-native groups into Oklahoma and during this time, Tulsa grew from a small railroad stop to a booming town from nearby oil fortune. The podcast “99% Invisible” has an excellent episode on how this affected the design of Oklahoma City ³.

In the early 20th century, Tulsa attracted multiracial population growth and notably a number of Black entrepreneurs who developed land for business, places of worship, tourism, and other centers of community. The center of this district was Greenwood Avenue and was home to Black prosperity until White domestic terrorists destroyed homes, churches and store fronts leaving hundreds dead (as estimated by historians) ⁴. This massacre was supported by local authorities, had long been unrecognized, buried and is still not well known by many Americans. Greenwood Avenue is however well known to The Gap Band made up of three Tulsa born brothers: Ronnie, Charlie, and Robert Wilson.

The Gap Band’s name refers to the Tulsa streets Greenwood, Archer and Pine making up the historic “Black Wall Street” area in Tulsa. According to an interview, the band was jokingly to be called “The Greenwood, Archer and Pine Street Band” which could have competed well against the E Street Band and The Backstreet Boys. Flipping through The Gap Band’s catalog wouldn’t ordinarily evoke hold music potential for fans of the funky disco group or discerning ears of hold music lovers, but “Yearning for Your Love” is a slower, maybe even gyrating ballad compared to the boogie hits The Gap Band usually produced.

Alex Bugnon’s cover of “Yearning for Your Love” is a lyric minimalized version of The Gap Band’s ballad from the 1980 album The Gap Band III. Although lacking somewhat in album title creativity, The Gap Band’s influence on the genres of disco, funk and myself, sophomore year of high school cannot be understated. Although I am more fond of The Gap Band IV for its use of synthesizers and song after song groove consistency, The Gap Band III certainly has stand outs like “Burn Rubber on Me” which is undeniably a hip and shoulder shaker. “Yearning for Your Love ” may be the best song of the album though and not because it is dripping with dimmed lights, shirts off, close and quiet singing, but because we’re yearning to turn this thing into what it deserves to be.

It’s time to stop messing around. You know it, I know it. We see the life that is possible–the joy, the stable and reliable forms of love that are mutually supporting and independently secure. You run in and out of this love because you get close to that kind of love and it scares you. Is it the genuine intimacy of being seen by a partner as a real but sometimes mediocre human instead of the imagined, consumable edition of self that we devise to be serviceable daily but exhaustive yearly? I don’t know, but you can’t keep running in and out of my life. He doesn’t just want a lover and he doesn’t just want a wife, he wants both. It’s up to him to find, discover that in his partner. To feed and nourish those feelings. This aint her job to perform, this is what we do together.

The first 30 seconds of Alex Bugnon’s version could be forgotten. I think Alex does a good enough job later on at distinguishing and giving stage to a jazz piano lead styling that makes a moody piano intro soundscape with falling twinkle sounds unnecessary. After the intro, Alex is on point with a great layering of the main theme written for piano and backed by some relaxed but still boogied bass and drum. The star burst sound that starts the original song is played with throughout the song which feels like real admiration for the sound and feel of what The Gap Band Put together. As far as lyrics, a repeat of “My heart is yearning for your love” and “Let me inside your love” is heard which, while not as sexy, it feels heartfelt which is something.

At 3:45, Alex moves into a piano solo that deserves attention. It isn’t boring and adds variety to the first version that breathes individuality into his work as a cover song. I actually really like the main theme as a piano riff with more jazz tones than funk feelings. It might not make me want to rip my clothes off but it gets me excited in other ways that are possibly more appropriate when on hold and for that Alex Bugnon hit the mark in unintentionally making a hold song. It keeps your attention, gives you something to think about but you are too horned up once the service representative picks up and helps you order cream for athlete’s foot.

If you or a loved one has a hold music story to share, email us at: holdmusicreview@gmail.com

The Gap Band was a good excuse to talk about the interesting history of Oklahoma, but I also don’t think The Gap Band would be who they are or have that sound if it weren’t for growing up in Tulsa and Tulsa’s history. The Oklahoma Historical Society is a great place to learn more: https://www.okhistory.org/index.php

Footnotes

(1) https://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry?entry=PR008

(2) https://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry.php?entry=UN001

(3) https://99percentinvisible.org/episode/the-worst-way-to-start-a-city/