I love music and I always have. My mother even wrote in my baby book that I loved to listen to all the popular songs on the radio. I guess it started right away for me!
It’s not surprising, really. I remember my parents often playing music, and usually singing along with the songs. I’m sure they did it before I was born as well, and there is some thought that babies can hear sounds before birth. I’m sure I heard my parents singing before I was born; especially my mom, of course. I guess my love of music is at least part genetic! Some of the earliest songs I remember hearing were by Elvis Presley, Kenny Rogers, Neil Diamond, Helen Reddy, and Yvonne Elliman. Of course, there was also whatever played on the radio during the sixties, seventies, and eighties, too. My dad’s friend once gave him a cassette tape with songs from the fifties and early sixties, which we called the Sheila tape because one of the songs was called Sheila by Tommy Roe. I’ve often wondered whatever happened to that tape. I could remember most (or all?) of the songs on it, though (in order, even – we listened to it so often, especially in the car), so I searched and bought them all and made a replica of it that I put on CD years ago. I also still have most of the albums (such as Neil Diamond’s “You Don’t Bring Me Flowers”, for example) I remember hearing as a child, and I still listen to them sometimes. I even have some of my parents’ records from decades ago, including Beverly Bremers Don’t Say You Don’t Remember and Topsy by Cozy Cole. Years ago, I found and bought the MP3 recordings of the ones that I could find, and burned CDs of them for my parents, too.
At Christmas, my dad would play Ray Conniff & The Ray Conniff Singers album, “We Wish You a Merry Christmas”. My dad would play act along with the songs, especially The Twelve Days of Christmas. He made us really laugh with his antics!
As I mentioned, my parents sang along to songs all of the time, and they both had pretty good voices. I really wish I could hear my dad sing again. I’m hoping to someday come across a recording or video that someone has of him singing. I remember hearing that he was in a band when he was young, and that they sang Purple People Eater. Of course, I made sure to get the MP3 file of that song by Sheb Wooley as well.
Much of the music I listen to was introduced to me by people I know or knew in the past. Friends or family members would listen to music, which is how I would first get to hear it. Some examples are Yaz, The Alarm, and the Violent Femmes. A good friend introduced me to a few songs such as Frankly, Mr. Shankly, and My Wife and My Dead Wife. Of course, in high school, much of my music came from listening to the radio.
Now I listen to quite a variety of music. Of course, I listen to much of the music I heard on the radio throughout my life. I like most of whatever my parents played on records or cassette tapes. I like music I heard while I was at college – Pink Floyd, Violent Femmes, and the Beastie Boys. I like some music from the fifties and sixties. I like some mellow music, some opera, some country, some R&B, some spiritual, some classical music, some rap/hip hop, and some rock. My husband introduced me to music from around the world. So far, it’s limited to certain areas until I find music from other areas.
When I’m not actually listening to music, I often am thinking about music. Different music holds different memories for me. It can also energize me, cheer me up, or relax me when needed.
