Kansas City Playlist: Happy Father's Day 2025

More than anything, this year we notice that local fathers don't get a lot of love and that's unfortunate. 

TKC has "never slipped one past the goalie" so we can't speak from personal experience but from what we've seen, fatherhood in contemporary American society seems like a thankless job.  

And maybe that's why it's quickly going out of style as population numbers across the developed world continue to plummet. 

Nevertheless, here's what we know for certain . . . 

Fathers are the cornerstone of human civilization and, clearly, without them the whole thing starts to crumble if what we're seeing in American society is any indication. 

TKC has been lucky . . . 

Despite the work that's taken for granted by society my Dad is the very best. The Shaft of dads coming through 10 times out of 10 . . . Burdened even to this day by having to be as dependable as the rising sun. There are a lot dumb reasons TKC never had a nuclear family but one of the big ones was the ABSOLUTE CERTAINTY that I could never live up the quality of my dad -- That doesn't sound like a compliment but it's the greatest one I could think of if only because my dad also encouraged a bit of foresight ahead of serious commitments. 

And before this post gets too sappy and only because TKC is, obviously, the "Fredo Corleone" of my family and forgot to get a card today . . .

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!!! I LOVE YOU, DAD!!!

We note it out loud, in public and with no hesitation if only to encourage our readers to do the same if they're lucky enough to have their Dad around. 

And all this leads us to our www.TonysKansasCity.com playlist tonight to the topic of fatherhood with some songs that TKC heard as a youngster . . . (I guess I did listen to a lot of James Brown) . . . And a couple others just for fun . . . 

Here's the Saturday trip down memory lane . . .  

"Papa's got a brand new bag" isn't at all sentimental but it's redeeming social value might be the mere reference to what a big role that fathers play in the lives of family and community.

"Dat dere" is one of the lesser standards from the great American songbook but we really like this version by Mel Tormé because it includes a nice little story and classic crooning.

"Papa don't take no mess" is probably the most underrated track from the James Brown catalog and deserves respect if only because it's one of the last times that a tribute to male "assertiveness" was celebrated in popular culture.

Sure, Frank Sinatra wasn't known for his skills as a family man BUT "That's Life" is filled with practical rough & tumble advice about life that might resonte for those of us struggling against the grind on a generational scale . . .

Finally, a tradition for Father's Day on this blog . . . "Papa Was A Rolling Stone" by The Temptations always reminds us our dad not because of the lyrics but because he often hummed it on his way to and from work.

As always, thanks for reading this week and have a safe & fun Saturday night.