The group sings in a contemporary style, integrating R&B and jazz influences into their devotional songs and has 10 Grammy wins, 10 Dove Awards, one Soul Train Award and two NAACP Image Award nominations. They won Grammy Awards in 1989, 1990, 1991, 1995, 1998, and 2003 and have collaborated with Stevie Wonder, Whitney Houston, Don Henley, Ray Charles, Queen Latifah, Joe Sample, Quincy Jones, Marcus Miller and Gordon Goodwin.
In 1980, Claude McKnight formed an a cappella quartet, The Gentlemen's Estate Quartet, at Oakwood College in Huntsville, Alabama, a Seventh-Day Adventist College, where he was a freshman. He auditioned fellow students for the hobby group. The Gentlemen were rehearsing in a campus bathroom (later said to be in Peterson Hall), getting ready for a performance, when Mark Kibble walked by and heard them singing. He joined the harmonizing, adding a fifth part, and ended up singing with them onstage that very night.[1] Mark later invited Mervyn Warren to join the group. The group performed under the moniker "Alliance".
The group performed in local churches and on campus over the next years, with members changing due to college's inevitable comings and goings. In 1985, the lower half of the group (bass, baritone, and second tenor) left upon graduating. At that time, Alvin Chea, Cedric Dent, and David Thomas joined.
The group was signed to Warner Brothers in 1987, and quickly changed its name to "Take 6" after a name search revealed that "Alliance" was already being used. Their eponymous debut album, released in 1988, won them two Grammy Awards and resulted in top ten appearances on both the Billboard Contemporary Jazz and Contemporary Christian Charts. Take 6's swinging, harmony-rich gospel sound attracted a flurry of attention, and the group went on to record or appear with a number of luminaries, including Quincy Jones, Ella Fitzgerald and Stevie Wonder.
In 1991, after the release of their second album, So Much 2 Say, Mervyn Warren left the group to pursue a career as a producer. Joey Kibble, Mark's younger brother, was invited to round out the vocal lineup. The group added instrumentation to their purely a cappella sound beginning with the record He Is Christmas; Join The Band and Brothers continued their streak of success, and Take 6 amassed a total of seven Grammys and eight Dove awards, as well as topping the Downbeat Magazine's Reader's and Critic's poll for seven years' consecutively.
Take 6's 1998 release, So Cool, brought the group back to its a cappella origins.
In 2006 the group launched Take 6 Records and the 2006 release Feels Good was released on that label.
The group currently lists Nashville, Tennessee as its home.[2] All members grew up Seventh-Day Adventist.[
Do You Know What It Means To Miss New Orleans
Take 6 Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
To miss New Orleans
And miss it each night and day
I know I'm not wrong
The feeling's getting stronger
The longer I stay away
Miss the moist covered vines
Where mocking birds used to sing
And I'd like to see the lazy Mississippi
A hurrying into spring
The Mardi Gras memories
Of creole tunes that filled the air
I dream of oleanders in June
And soon I'm wishing that I was there
Do you know what it means
To miss New Orleans
When that's where you left your heart
And there's something more
I miss the one I care for
More than I miss New Orleans
The song "Do You Know What It Means To Miss New Orleans" by Take 6 is a nostalgic tribute to the city of New Orleans. The song expresses the sentiment of missing the city, its sights, sounds, and culture. The lyrics are a reflection of the deep connection that the singer has with New Orleans and how they long to be there. The song is a classic example of a love song to a place, and the emotions that come from longing to be in a specific location.
The opening lines of the song set the tone for the rest of the song. The question, "Do you know what it means to miss New Orleans?" is a rhetorical one because, for the singer, missing New Orleans is a feeling that is hard to put into words. The repetition of the line "and miss it each night and day" reinforces the idea that the longing for New Orleans is constant. The lyrics describe the singer's longing for the "moist covered vines" and the "tall sugar pines," which evoke the natural beauty of the city. The reference to the "lazy Mississippi" conjures up an image of the river, which has played a significant role in the city's history, culture, and economy.
The lyrics "I miss the one I care for, more than I miss New Orleans" adds another layer of meaning to the song. The song is not only a tribute to the city but also a love song to the person the singer left behind. The emotion in the singer's voice conveys the feeling of longing and the utter devotion they have towards the person. Overall, the song is a testament to the power of love to transcend distance and time and how it can connect us to places and people.
Line by Line Meaning
Do you know what is means
Do you understand the significance
To miss New Orleans
Of longing for the city of New Orleans
And miss it each night and day
To feel the absence every moment
I know I'm not wrong
I am sure of my sentiment
The feeling's getting stronger
The emotion is intensifying
The longer I stay away
As time passes without returning
Miss the moist covered vines
To long for the lush, watery landscape
The tall sugar pines
The majestic pine trees
Where mocking birds used to sing
Where the birds sang freely
And I'd like to see the lazy Mississippi
To witness the slow-moving river
A hurrying into spring
As it rushes towards the new season
The Mardi Gras memories
Recollections of the celebratory festival
Of creole tunes that filled the air
The lively, cultural music that resonated
I dream of oleanders in June
Fantasizing about the summer flowers
And soon I'm wishing that I was there
Desiring to be there soon
Do you know what it means
Do you truly comprehend
To miss New Orleans
The magnitude of missing New Orleans
When that's where you left your heart
The place where a part of you remains
And there's something more
In addition to that
I miss the one I care for
The person I love is missed more
More than I miss New Orleans
Than the city I yearn for
Lyrics © MUSIC SALES CORPORATION, Kanjian Music, BMG Rights Management, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Eddie De Lange, Louis Alter
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind