Source: AP.com

President & First Lady Honor Stevie Wonder at White House 02/25/09

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Also out this week is a new collection from Sony called Mariah: The Ballads. It features 19 of her biggest ballads from the 90s, but also features gems like  “The Roof” “Can’t Let Go” and the “Thank God I Found You (Make It Last Remix)” .  Definitely worth checking out.  Amazon also has an exclusive new video and recording of “Hero” from Mariah, which unfortunately isn’t embeddable but you can go check it out here.

And just for fun, Mariah Carey and the talented Trey Lorenz (another favorite here at GFM) singing “I’ll Be There” (also included on The Ballads) on Top of the Pops in 1992.

I’d also recommend checking out her new single Right To Dream from her new movie Tennesee, produced by Lee Daniels. It’s stripped down to just an acoustic guitar (played by Willie Nelson) and Mariah’s raw voice and lyrics.

Wow. What an amazing day, moment and time we’re blessed to experience. There’s not muchthat I can add to the many discussions, thoughts and emotions that have been expressed today. I’ll just say, that as great as this moment is, we have not arrived, but only just begun. We’ve got A LOT of work to do, and it’s incumbent upon each one of us to fulfill our obligations to ourselves, our families and our communities.

“In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of short-cuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the faint-hearted – for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame.

Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things – some celebrated but more often men and women obscure in their labor, who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom.

For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled across oceans in search of a new life.

For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West; endured the lash of the whip and plowed the hard earth.

For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sahn.

Time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction.

This is the journey we continue today. We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions – that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking

America. For everywhere we look, there is work to be done. The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act – not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth. We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together. We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology’s wonders to raise health care’s quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. And all this we will do.”

Martin Luther King “I Have a Dream”

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Aretha Franklin “2009 Inauguration”, Washington D.C.

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President Barack Obama Inauguration Speech (Part 1)

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From Hidden Beach:

The Perfect Present

Dear Friends and Family –

Thank you for being a part of the Hidden Beach Family and for supporting Real Artists & Real Music…

As you may or may not know, “Yes We Can: Voices of a Grassroots Movement” is the only official musical release approved by the Barack Obama presidential campaign and is now on sale.

“Yes We Can: Voices of a Grassroots Movement” is a collector’s item featuring musicians such as Stevie Wonder, Sheryl Crow, Ozomatli, Jill Scott, John Mayer, Los Lonely Boys, Shontelle, John Legend, Lionel Richie and many more.

This season spread the positive messages of “Change” and give the gift of music to your family, friends, co-workers, neighbors and loved ones. This CD makes a great stocking stuffer, too!

Currently, we are offering a few special promotions only available at The Hidden Beach Shop.

* Gift Wrap & Send “Yes We Can” CD for $13.48 (Save 10%)
Use the coupon “GIFT” in our store to receive this discount. Specify an alternate Shipping Name & Address and we will wrap the CD and send it as a holiday gift from you to the person on the shipping address. We can also send the CD to your address.

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* Download “Yes We Can” for only $11.48 (Save $1.50)
Use the coupon “GIFT”, save money on downloading the album. You may already own the album but now you call tell your friends and family about this special download promotion only available through December.

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* Buy 5 “Yes We Can” CDs for only $63.65 and (Save 15%)
A great solution for some of your holiday shopping. Give your friends, family, and co-workers a gift they will cherish for a lifetime.

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* Buy 10 “Yes We Can” CDs for only $149.80, Get FREE SHIPPING (a $25 value) and “My Christmas Prayer” CD (an $8 added value)
Buy in bulk and accomplish most of your gift shopping this season in just a few clicks. We’ll ship you a box of 10 CDs for FREE and throw in BeBe Winans’ “My Christmas Prayer” CD (an $8 value). “My Christmas Prayer” features Rob Thomas and was seen on Oprah’s “My Favorite Things” show and was available exclusively at Starbucks a few years ago. Now you can enjoy wrapping your gifts this holiday to critically-acclaimed Christmas music.

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* Buy More Than 10 CDs — Contact Us.
If you want to purchase more than 10 CDs for your club, organization, classroom or company — please contact Alex at sales@hiddenbeach.com for pricing. Please specify the quantity desired and the destination. Email Us

We hope you continue to enjoy the spirit of the “Yes We Can: Voices of a Grassroots Movement” and take the time to discover Hidden Beach’s rated “Q” for Quality music catalogue.

Thank you for your time and consideration. Have a wonderful holiday season.

Hidden Beach
Real Artist, Real Music..

Photo Credit

Cold Play “High Speed”, Blue Room, (EMI), 1999

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To carry the hopes and dreams of so many people on your shoulders?

I can’t take credit for this one, pic or caption, but it was too powerful not to share.

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Good lookin’ out Nabs.