Lane College administrator Richard Donnell and alumnus Howard Rambsy (Class of
’73) have collaborated and produced the song entitled, If Something is Wrong with
Obama, in honor of the 44 th President of the United States. In association with vocalist
Patricia Cooper, the song has been released to coincide with the last week of the
Obama presidency. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of the song will be
donated to Lane College to assist graduating seniors with the payment of outstanding
balances. The song is available for sample and download at
www.cdbaby.com/cd/richarddonnellpresentspa.
Donnell is the motivating force behind the conception of the
song. His insight into the creation of the song is best
expressed when he declared, “The inspiration for If Something
is Wrong with Obama began with the realization that the
President has waged a hard-fought battle to amicably serve
the American people. Despite all the obstacles that the
Republican party and its leadership have placed along his
path, President Obama has still achieved significant
milestones (e.g. health care for millions, environmental and climate safeguards, lower
unemployment rate, lower dependence on foreign oil, etc.). Now, with the election of
a new president who has declared that he may rollback many of the President’s
signature legislative or executive action accomplishments, the legacy of President
Obama may be diminished. Accordingly, in my view, the President will be wronged if
the incoming president implements his threats. Thus, if something is wrong with
Obama, something is wrong with me!”
As he had done throughout his entire professional career, whether in law or as a
college administrator, the first thing that Donnell did was to secure the commitment of
a musical professional who could clearly see his concept. This pursuit led to the
participation of Howard Rambsy, Sr.
Rambsy, a retired music educator, served a term as a
military musician in the United States Army. One of the
highlights of his military career was the formation of a
band that included Chris Miller, the son of Memphis
music producer “Bow Legs” Miller. Rambsy worked
with the late Jim Cottin during the heydays of the Music
Mill in Nashville, that led to having a couple of songs
published with ATV Music. He also had the opportunity
to develop a relationship with Willie Mitchell of
Memphis before becoming an independent
songwriter/producer of R&B and gospel music.
After doing a rewrite of the lyrics to the Sam and Dave standard “When Something Is
Wrong with My Baby” to fit into Donnell’s concept, Rambsy went about the task of
locating a vocalist who could deliver the song. This was a short-lived search that took
Rambsy to Patricia Cooper, a gospel artist for whom he had produced a couple of
albums. Once the services of Cooper were secured, Rambsy set about preparing a
musical arrangement that would enhance and support Cooper’s voice.
For Patricia Cooper, singing has always existed as one of
the necessities of her life. When she was three years old,
she sang the lead part to a song with the Mercer (TN)
Baptist Church Choir and from that moment on singing
has been one of the major driving forces in her life. Even
though she was only three when she sang with the choir,
to Patricia she was a veteran. About the only thing that
she could remember taking place in her life before that
day was singing. Her mother, Mrs. Willie Lou Fuller,
insured that all her children were introduced to music at
an early age.
Music would become a very important part of family
togetherness for Patricia and her siblings. This togetherness led to the formation of a
family singing group known as “The Brooks Sisters” that featured Patricia and her
sisters Luticia and Annette. Two of the key musicians for this group happened to be
their brothers, Joe Fuller on lead guitar and James Fuller, Jr. on bass. Thelma Jane
Thompson, a friend of their mother, would later join the group, and they became a
featured attraction performing at many churches and religious events in West
Tennessee.
While “The Brooks Sisters” was Patricia’s main tool for musical expressions as a
teenager, she sang a lot of the music of Michael Jackson on programs at school. Her
favorite Jackson song to perform was “Who’s Loving You?” Patricia found the music
of Jackson to be very spiritual in its expression. To her, Jackson was a very loving and
caring person. The love and care for people that she detected in Jackson mirrored her
personal feelings. This feeling of love and care for other people became the
motivating factor for her musical directions.
