Music Memories- Part 1

June 14- Music Memories

-Mom’s Christmas albums- Nat King Cole, Elvis, Bing Crosby, Dean Martin, Mario Lanza, Kate Smith, and Doris Day. She bought us the Chipmunks but that got old by 1979. Dad had Johnny Cash, which we took from him. I think that he went to one of his concerts- maybe in the late 60s or early 70s.

-Mom went to a Bobby Darin concert. She has the souvenir book. I wonder if she had a crush on him. I think that she had one on Roy Rogers. She has a lot of scrapbook stuff about him, mostly from the 1990s to present. I’m pretty sure that she told us that she actually met him.

-I still have my music/jewelry box that plays Lara’s Theme,” Somewhere My Love”. This was in one of my parent’s favorite movies, Doctor Zhivago. They used it as their wedding song.

-We had a big TV/Stereo cabinet with sliding doors, a space for records on the side, and the record player on top back in the 1970s. Ed had to replace the picture tube a lot on that TV. We kept this in the basement until the late 1980s after getting our new Panasonic TV in 1981 or 1982.

-I was listening to Dad’s little light blue radio in the dark in the cellar. I’m not sure why I didn’t turn on the lights.” The Devil Went Down to Georgia” was on and this was kind of scaring me. I think that I was about 10 years old.

-I remember Mom and Dad being upset the day that they heard about Elvis’ death on the radio.

-America’s Top 40 hosted by Casey Kasem. I think that this was on WPLJ. I’m pretty sure that there was a segment during it called Long Distance Dedication.

- My friend Kelly’s mom loved the music of Barry Manilow.

-I remember listening to The Monkees Greatest Hits album with my cousin Missy at her house in the early 80’s. We played my Lionel Richie Can’t Slow Down tape in Allison’s (her brother’s girlfriend) car when she took us to see Star Trek 3 at the Quakerbridge Mall theater.

-Billy Idol’s” Eyes Without a Face” was playing during the Matterhorn ride that Missy and I were on in Great Adventure.

-My first cassette was a dubbed one of An Evening with John Denver that Aunt Ann gave me.

-My cousin Janice gave me some of her old clothes a few times. Once there was a sleeveless yellow top with a hood that had YES on the front of it but I didn’t know at the time that this is the name of a music group.

-I have a vague memory of watching some variety shows with our parents –“ The Mandrell Sisters”,” Hee-Haw”,” Donny and Marie” and” Sonny and Cher”.

-Should I be embarrassed to admit that we watched “Solid Gold” and “Dance Fever”? Cindy had a crush on the host of the latter.

-I’ve only ever stolen stuff twice in my life. Once it was a pack of gum at Shop Rite. Mom saw this and made me return it. The other time it was 2 pins, Journey and Def Leppard, from U.S. 1 Indoor Flea Market. I wasn’t even overly into them and just liked a few songs by each in the early 80s. I started liking them both more later on in that decade.

                                     

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                     
              
                                              

 

 

These 2 photos are from the internet

 

3 Concerts - 1991

I didn't go to my first concert until August 1991. My brother paid for my ticket to a Styx concert because I drove him there. It was at the Garden State Arts center. Tommy Shaw was not a part of the group at the time and they did not perform Mr. Roboto which was disappointing. We went to see John Denver there a week later. Lawn seats then. He did a song called Home Grown Tomatoes and dedicated it to our state. My brother went off on his own. About a month later we went to the Brendan Byrne Arena and saw Rod Stewart. He wandered off during that a few times. Rod said "Hello NY " or something like that and I was thinking we are in NJ, Rod, not NY. I didn't go to another concert until 2000. Well, there was an Oak Ridge Boys one at Great Adventure in 1992 that I was at.

Guilty Pleasure #1 - John Denver

This week is pledging on our PBS station which usually means there are music type programmes on instead of the regular stuff. I found this out when I went to watch Mystery and there was a John Denver special on. I only caught the last 10 minutes or so but kind of wish that I had seen the whole thing. I used to be ashamed to admit that I like his music but I don't care what people think anymore. I hadn't listened to anything of his in a very long time until 2 nights ago when I put this live cd into my discman.

I actually have a tape of it that my Aunt Al dubbed for me in 1980. It was the first tape that I ever really owned. She let me look through her albums and pick out whichever one that I wanted. She had his greatest hits 1 and 2 and I thought about choosing those but I went with An Evening with John Denver instead. About 2 years later I decided that I hate live albums and dubbed my own tape of it trying to leave out as much of the talking parts and clapping as I could. I got the cd version of it for free only to discover that a few of the songs that I like aren't on it which was disappointing.

I do have a special 2 CD box set that mom got me which I haven't listened to in a long time either. I should get that out of my storage container soon. I was laughing a little when I was listening to the live cd and heard him say "Far out!" It is hard to read the little print on the booklet included with this. I miss albums. The 4 songs that I was really getting into was Rocky Mountain High, Rocky Mountain Suite, The Eagle and the Hawk and Take Me Home, Country Roads. I think that one of the songs left off of it is Boy From the Country.

I was thinking about when he was on the Muppets and did Grandma's Feather Bed and the Garden Song. I loved the Christmas special that he did with them too. I used to have the 8-track of that.

My John Denver and Nat King Cole tapes used to be the go-to music for when I was feeling sad and anxious in the 80's and early 90's. Some people may say that his music is super corny and I do agree that it is a bit cheesetastic but I like it anyway.

Favourite 70's songs

I was listening to Saturday night 70's last night and really enjoying this. It got me to thinking about other songs that I like from that decade. They are mostly mellow and some country crossovers. This list is in no order of preference.

1. Knock Three Times - Tony Orlando & Dawn
2. Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me) - The Temptations
3. Take Me Home, Country Roads - John Denver
4. Let's Stay Together - Al Green
5. I'll Be Around - The Spinners
6. (If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Want to Be Right - Luther Ingram
7. Before The Next Teardrop Falls- Freddie Fender
8. Lonesome Loser - Little River Band
9. Let Your Love Flow - Bellamy Brothers
10. I'd Really Love To See You Tonight - England Dan and John Ford Coley
11. You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine - Lou Rawls
12. Use Ta Be My Girl - The O' Jays
13. Here You Come Again - Dolly Parton
14. Escape (The Pina Colada Song) - Rupert Holmes
15. Fire - Pointer Sisters
16. After The Love Has Gone - Earth, Wind & Fire
17. Reunited - Peacher & Herb
18. The Devil Went Down To Georgia - The Charlie Daniels Band
19. The Gambler - Kenny Rogers
20. You Are The Sunshine of My Life - Stevie Wonder
21. My Life - Billy Joel
22. Sail On - The Commodores
23. How Much I Feel - Ambrosia
24. Nobody Does It Better - Carly Simon
25. I Love A Rainy Night - Eddie Rabbit
26. Smokey Mountain Rain - Ronnie Milsap
27. Do You Know the Way to San Jose - Dionne Warwicke
28. Back In Love Again - LTD
29. Midnight Train to Georgia - Gladys Knight & The Pips
30. Rhinestone Cowboy - Glenn Campbell

I'm pretty sure that 19, 25 and 26 are the 70's. I should look this up in my Billboard book but I don't feel like going into the basement for it.

Concerts

I never was really that into going to concerts until 2000 when I saw Bon Jovi for the first time. I did go to a few in 1991, or was it 1992? My brother wanted to see Styx and didn't drive so he offered to buy me a ticket if I took him. I wasn't that into them but I did like some of their songs. Major disppointment to us both that they did not do Mr. Roboto. No Tommy Shaw either. This was at the then Garden State Arts Center. We saw John Denver there a couple of months later and Rod Stewart at the then Brendan Byrne Arena shortly after that. I saw the Oak Ridge Boys at Great Adventure a year later.

I enjoyed that Bon Jovi show in Philly so much that I just had to see them again. My boyfriend took me and we joked about Bad Medicine alot. He tried getting tickets for the Meadowlands but they were sold out. We saw them in Camden about 8 months later. I don't think that he was too pleased when I told him that I got tickets to see them at Giants Stadium for later that week. It was a last minute thing. Part of the reason I did this is because I was mad at myself for not using the binoculars at the Camden show. We got there late and missed a little of the opening act, Sugar Ray. I loved the fireworks at the end. This show was taped for a VH1 special that we watched.

I went with this same boyfriend to see The Monkees at a small club in Delaware and Brian Wilson at the PNC Center. He also got us tickets to see Duran Duran at the latter venue in the summer of 2000. I refer to it as the Simon and Nick show because it wasn't the 5 original members. Embarrased to say that I really wished that John were with them then.

I went to see Mellencamp in 2002. My brother was supposed to go with me but he was in the hospital. My mom came with me so the ticket wouldn't go to waste. She knew nothing about his music but said that she enjoyed the show. My brother did get to see him 3 years later at the same venue - PNC Center. We went to the Hall and Oates concert there a couple of months later. I went to 2 shows there that summer also but I never told him about them- Donna Summer and Duran Duran. Maybe I should've, but I just wanted to go on my own for a change.

We did go to the Def Leppard concert that fall at the Continental Airlines Arena. It was a very rainy day and the weatherguy Bill Evans said don't drive anywhere unless you absolutely have to. He'd probably think we were nuts for doing this. It was really scary. My driving anxiety gets worse when there's bad weather. Bryan Adams also performed at that event.

My brother went with me to see Bon Jovi at the new Prudential Center in Newark in the fall of 2007. Daughtry was the opening act. That was the seventh time that I saw Bon Jovi. My brother thinks that I've seen them 4 times. I was afraid that he'd tease me and say that I'm obsessed with them. He already does this enough. I went on my own to MSG in 2005 and Giants Stadium in 2006. I wish that I could afford to see them at the new Giants Stadium this spring but I'm saving for something else.

I have been to 7 Duran Duran concerts as well, although part of me says 6 because it doesn't officially count the one without John Taylor. That is so mean. I was so excited when I first saw him at the MSG concert almost 5 years ago. Should I be ashamed to admit that? I just had to see them again when they were at PNC a few months later. I went to one of their Broadway shows in 2007 only it turned out to be at Roseland because of the strike. I went to both of the Central Park shows in the spring of 2008 and a week before my birthday in December that same year saw them at the Wellmont Theater.

I'm usually in the nosebleed sections at these events or close to that but for the last three DD shows I was pretty close. It almost felt surreal being there. It was general admission which is why I was able to be in that spot. I wish that I could have gotten that close to Bon Jovi. I do have this crazy afterlife fantasy that your spirit gets to go to any concert or other event in whatever time period you want. I hope that this is true. God is probably laughing at me.

I definitely will be posting more about my Bon Jovi and Duran Duran concert experiences in the future. I've gone on enough about this subject for one day, plus I have some laundry to do now-real exciting.

Ooops- how could I forget about Genesis and Phil Collins? I'm sure that there are some people who would like to forget that they even exist. I had been into Genesis since 1986 and was so glad when I got to see them in 2007 at Giants Stadium with my brother. He went with me to the Phil Collins MSG show too- I think that was 2004.

My music

My memory has been pretty craptastic lately yet I can remember the 45s that I had as a kid, which was only about 10. Gloria, Hungry Like The Wolf, Africa,On The Wings of Love, Shadows of the Night, Goody Two Shoes, Mickey, Do You Really Want To Hurt Me.

I still have some records but not many. I foolishly got rid of alot of my music stuff in the late 90's. Mom has some Rosemary Clooney 78s. I like some of my parent's music like Elvis, Sinatra , Nat King Cole and Doris Day. I am ashamed to admit some of the music that I like though but I might as well try to get over that. Bon Jovi and Duran Duran are my favourites. I didn't really get into them until late though-2000 for Bon Jovi and 1993 for Duran Duran but only a little then. Mostly into country music in the 90's so mainly the past 4 years for them. I could go on and on about this subject but I'll save it for the future. this blogging stuff is new to me. Seems like fun. Don't know if anyone will be interested in what I have to say but might as well try to connect with others. I would like to post my concert experiences also.

I didn't really get into going to concerts until 2000. My brother and I did go to 3 in the early 90's-Rod Stewart,Styx, and John Denver. Should I be ashamed to admit to the latter? Whatever. Hopefully I will be going to a Duran Duran concert in December. My brother thinks that I've only been to 3 Bon Jovi concerts but it was really 7. I don't admit this to him because he is always teasing me about JBJ . He is pretty immature-still teases me about my childhood crush Don Mattingly . Well, time to watch CSI-NY. More to come soon.