Friday, February 26, 2021

"Respect Me" a song about equality by Dodie Stevens

By Dodie Stevens, 2021

I wrote and recorded this song, “Respect Me” with my daughter, Stephanie, last year, which was prompted by the protests and riots regarding racial injustice and equality, that began after the police brutality and death of George Floyd.  And it was all captured on video!  I watched, through my tears, and couldn’t believe what I was seeing!

  That’s when people started marching in the streets, violently protesting and demanding change.  But violence only begets more violence, and “shouting” your demands won’t necessarily be heard.  That’s when Stephanie and I thought about a more effective and peaceful way of demonstration, using the power of music to bring about the change we all want to see.  The word “respect” came to me, because if we all respected one another, no matter what race or nationality, ALL humanity would be living in peace and harmony.  And I began to envision people marching in the streets, “singing” about respect, and people listening and joining in!  Because music is a universal language that everyone understands, and it has a way of reaching people when other forms of communication can’t.   Every person in the world is important and worthy of respect, and that’s what our song “Respect Me” is all about!  Who knows, one day, we all might be singing it in the streets!

Singer-songwriter Dodie Stevens is known for her first single,“Pink Shoe Laces,” reaching number three on the Billboard charts in March of 1959; the record made Stevens a star, garnering her a gold record. Currently, she performs with her daughter, Stephanie, and appears in oldies concerts across the country. She also teaches singing and stage performance out of her studio in San Diego County.

Videographer Craig Cronbaugh is the director of a state office in Des Moines, Iowa. He is also an author, former professional musician (drummer), and former newspaper editor.  Dodie and Craig were connected by musical interests, and Craig contacted IPN to post this song on its website.  A previous song of peace was posted in 2016 on IPN's website.  It was called When?.  It is available to view.  A quick way to connect to that 2016 post is to click on the alert on the left side of the website, under "Most read" posts.  Craig crafted a video for that as well.


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