MM Musician Brings Joy To Earthquake Victims
By: Peter Kramer

Music Maker artist Harvey Arnold recently lifted the spirits of several Haitian burn victims who were airlifted to Chapel Hill after the devastating earthquake.  MM musicians have always been generous in their support of deserving individuals, families, and other worthy causes, but this effort was especially poignant.

Eric Louis, who is pictured on page one of the 2/13/10 edition of the Durham Herald-Sun, is one of three Haitians who are being treated for burn injuries at UNC- Hospital in Chapel Hill. He was terribly burned when a taxi in which he was a passenger was parked at a gas station when the earthquake hit.  The gasoline tanks exploded all around the vehicle.

As a volunteer for the hospital’s Door To Door program, Harvey Arnold sang and played several songs on the night of February 12 for Mr. Louis and the other patients. Harvey sang, “Every Morning”, a Keb Mo song, to Mr. Louis from the hallway, as Yvita Louis, the patient’s wife, listened. Yvita tended to Eric’s wounds for six days before they were flown to North Carolina. Then Arnold went into “There Goes Another Love Song,” a big hit by Harvey’s group, The Outlaws, from the late 70’s. Later Harvey realized that the first verse had special relevance:

Lonesome and lonely and far from my home
Trying to get back to where I know I belong
Wishing and hoping that I was already there…...

As Arnold sings everything with 110 % effort, the song got a big smile from Mr. Louis, who speaks French. After some time in the burn unit, Arnold visited a cancer floor. On previous visits, he has visited the children’s and adults’ psychiatric wards and the eating disorders clinic.

Joy Javits, the founding and present director of Door To Door, said, “Harvey has a deeply soulful voice that goes right to people’s hearts. He has an unusual skill for connecting with patients and I’m thrilled to have him as one of our artists.”