Loeb was born in Nyack, New York, near New York City. At a young age, he listened to Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Cream, Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and Bob Dylan. According to a 2005 JazzTimes article, the first song he learned on guitar was Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone", which he would later play at a guest appearance with Dylan. He discovered jazz when he was sixteen through the music of guitarists Wes Montgomery, George Benson, John McLaughlin, and Pat Martino. At that point, Loeb chose to become a musician and "never thought of doing anything else".
He studied with local music teachers, then traveled to Philadelphia and became a student of jazz guitarist Dennis Sandole. In New York City, he learned from Jim Hall. For two years he attended Berklee College of Music in Boston, then left in 1976 to seek professional work in New York City.
In New York, Loeb played with Chico Hamilton, Ray Barreto, and Hubert Laws. Starting in 1979, he was a member of Stan Getz's group.[5] Getz later became the best man at his wedding to singer Carmen Cuesta. Loeb and Mitchel Forman, who was also in Getz's group, formed the jazz fusion band Metro (1994). In the 1980s, he was a member of the group Steps Ahead, which included Michael Brecker, someone Loeb credits as an influence. He replaced Larry Carlton as guitarist in Fourplay (2010).
Loeb and his wife have recorded together, with Cuesta providing vocals on his albums and Loeb playing on Cuesta's albums, and their daughters Lizzy and Christina contributing vocals.
Loeb began a solo career in 1988 with his debut album My Shining Hour on the Japanese record label Pony Canyon. He released subsequent albums on DMP Digital Music Products until receiving commercial success with Shanachie Records on The Music Inside (1996). The title song from the album held the number one position on the jazz charts for six weeks. Later, he produced Moon, the Stars, & the Setting Sun (1998), Listen(1999) In a Heartbeat (2001), and All There Is (2002).
Loeb's music has appeared on TV shows, commercials, and movie soundtracks, including The Untouchables, You've Got Mail, and Hitch.
Loeb died on July 31, 2017, aged 61 after suffering from cancer for several years.
In A Heartbeat
Chuck Loeb Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
From day to day
Thinking things will never change
But every moment is a miracle
Waiting to unfold
I saw your face
I felt your eyes
The street became a paradise
The hand I was meant to hold
In a heartbeat
Your life can change forever
In a heartbeat
Things may never be the same
In the blink of an eye
In the time it takes to say the words "I love you"
You can give your soul to someone
In a heartbeat
Was it just luck
Or destiny
The left-hand turn that led you to me?
A flash of lightning in the dead of night
Darkness turns to gold
What will we do?
Where will we go?
Where this road leads we just don′t know
This brand new life remains a mystery
A story yet untold
In a heartbeat
Your life can change forever
In a heartbeat
Things may never be the same
In the blink of an eye
In the time it takes to say the words "I love you"
You can give your soul to someone
In a heartbeat
In a heartbeat
Your life can change forever
In a heartbeat
Things may never be the same
In the blink of an eye
In the time it takes to say the words "I love you"
You can give your soul to someone
In a heartbeat
Chuck Loeb's song "In A Heartbeat" is an ode to the unexpectedness of life and how a person can quickly and completely change one's life by merely meeting someone. The song tells a story of encountering someone who makes life worth living and brings about the realization that everything up until that point was leading to that moment. The lyrics describe the feeling of the street becoming a paradise, and everything coming together effortlessly, as if it was destined to be. The singer acknowledges that there is a mystery to this brand new life that has yet to unfold, eluding to the endless possibilities laid out before him.
The lyrics are reflective and remind us that, at any moment, our fortunes can take a turn, either for better or worse, and that it's essential to appreciate the people and things we have in our lives at any given moment. It's a thoughtful message that inspires us to always be mindful of the present and to remember that every moment, good or bad, is fleeting, and everything can change in an instant.
Line by Line Meaning
We live our lives
We spend our time doing various things every day
From day to day
As time passes, things change without us realizing it
Thinking things will never change
We become complacent and believe things will always be the same
But every moment is a miracle
Each moment in life is a special and miraculous experience
Waiting to unfold
Anticipating what will happen next
I saw your face
I experienced a powerful moment when I caught sight of you
I felt your eyes
I had a sense that you were looking at me
The street became a paradise
The ordinary setting around us transformed into something beautiful
In that instant I knew I found
I had the feeling that I had discovered something special
The hand I was meant to hold
The person who I was destined to be with
Was it just luck
Did chance lead us to meet each other?
Or destiny
Was it written in the stars that we would cross paths?
The left-hand turn that led you to me?
The direction you took that brought you towards me
A flash of lightning in the dead of night
The sudden and unexpected moment when everything changed
Darkness turns to gold
The once difficult and challenging circumstances turned into something positive
What will we do?
What is our next step?
Where will we go?
What are the possibilities that lie ahead of us?
Where this road leads we just don't know
The future is uncertain and what will happen next is unpredictable
This brand new life remains a mystery
Since everything has changed, it's hard to know what's coming next
A story yet untold
Our lives will continue, full of new possibilities and experiences we have yet to discover
In a heartbeat
In an instant
Your life can change forever
Life can suddenly take a range of new directions
Things may never be the same
Life can change to a point where you can’t ever go back to the old ways
In the blink of an eye
In an incredibly short period of time
In the time it takes to say the words "I love you"
In the fleeting moments it takes to express the profound feeling of love
You can give your soul to someone
You can connect with another person in a deep and meaningful way
Writer(s): Charles Loeb, Jonathan A Werking, Ilene Kristen
Contributed by Jayce G. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Craig Scott
on Sierra Nevada
Nice!!!!!!!!!!!!