My dad would raid

      the jukeboxes

            of North End mob joints

      and steal the soulful records

            that didn't get much play

in those deeply racist places.

It's how I ended up

      with "Rock the Boat"

            and "Everybody Plays the Fool."

      Hand-in-hand

            with "Brandy, You're a Fine Girl"

and "A Horse with No Name"

were the sounds of Detroit

      and Philadelphia.

            I was the coolest white kid

      in East Boston

            at the age of six

and didn't even know it.