I was driving along in my car the other day and all of the sudden realized I was bopping along to "Evacuate the Dance Floor" by Cascada. I was not totally embarrassed to realize this but new full well that I would be looked on with disdain by teenagers of all ages and, most particularly, mine, should they ever catch me.
I imagine that I would have been similarly disturbed had I caught either of my parents be-bopping away to the Rolling Stones or the Beatles. The bands of the sixties seemed so intrinsically your own, God forbid that your parents might trespass on such hallowed ground, besmirching it.
Having said that, I'm sure that every youthful generation believes its music is the only real and valid type of music and that their parents just don't get it and couldn't possibly ever understand its validity. I went through this as a kid with my parents and have been lucky enough to go through this with two different sets of kids of my own.
So, as I'm grooving to Cascada, it occurs to me that if you grew up in the sixties and experienced what seemed like such a monumental shift in musical tastes then it isn't likely that anything since is going to throw you for a loop. Another fascinating thing I've discovered is that the youth of today are also prone to appreciating the Beatles, Stones, Zeppelin et al. Occasionally they even end up becoming more familiar with the music than you are. So, in a tit-for-tat kind of way I figure I'm allowed to know a little something about Lady Gaga, Cascada, Pit Bull et al.
Self-indulgent me, I now take the opportunity to describe my own personal musical journey.
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| Harry Belafonte |
As a very young boy, the music I first heard and became fond of was my parents'. Listening to Sing along with Mitch Miller every week introduced me to all the old classics (Beer Barrel Polka, Bicycle Built for Two, Surrey With the Fringe on Top, etc.) My parents had a couple of Harry Belafonte Live at Carnegie Hall albums and they were always being played. When my parents weren't playing them I was. His version of Danny Boy and La Bamba should not be missed. It seems very odd to say, but one of my biggest musical influences at the time was the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. For whatever reason, my parents had one of their albums and I found myself enthralled by the power and majesty of the music. It got to the point where I would put the album on at bedtime and listen to it from the down the hall, lying in my bed, with a ruler as a baton, directing the music as it played. Nerdy, eh?
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Mormon Tabernacle Choir
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Soon after this period, I entered into a more mature form of adolescence and began an interest in contemporary music. One of my closest friends had a Simon and Garfunkel album Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme and soon I had my own copy. It had such a combination of lyric and melodic orchestration that I couldn't stop listening to it. More than this, though, it was mine, the first album that I owned.
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| Simon and Garfunkel |
Subsequent S&G albums ensued and the generation gap between my parents and I grew. It was nothing strained or tense but I clearly remember my Dad listening to El Condor Pasa and saying something to the effect that "That was kind of silly--who wouldn't rather be a hammer than a nail...?" Okay, I guess one of us didn't get it.
One evening I was sitting in the living room watching the Johnny Cash show. His guest that night was Joni Mitchell. I was only vaguely familiar with her. The song she played that night was For Free, a very haunting piece, to piano accompaniment. I immediately went out and bought Ladies of the Canyon, the album that song appeared in. I was then hooked on Joni Mitchell. She had all these songs that used love and loss as their themes and this resonated strongly with a lovelorn teenager. Her songs were also filled with beautiful poetry.
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| Joni Mitchell |
I have always been a sucker for beautiful poetry. So I became a fan of Leonard Cohen. I remember the first time I heard Suzanne on the radio. It was so unlike anything else I'd ever heard and even his voice struck a chord, unorthodox as it was. The poetry of the song challenged me and this was unlike most other singers. I was in high school at the time and we even studied this song (anything to get young high school kids studying poetry!) My parents were aghast at my love of Cohen. They thought he was simply the most depressing-sounding singer they'd ever heard and they were sure that I must be just as depressed if I found anything about his music attractive. I can almost see their point, now.
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| Leonard Cohen |
I think what I liked about the man and his music was that he was dealing with situations which were not well. As teenagers, we are all dealing with things that don't seem well or fixable. And here was this singer who I could identify with and, not only that, he seemed to acknowledge and deal with those things I was having a hard time with. Sometimes it was only by talking about it but that seemed enough. For me, anyway.
In 1970, a song called Lay Down (Candles in the Rain) began to appear on the radio. It was sung by a young lady named Melanie Safka and she was backed up on the song by a group called the Edwin Hawkins Singers, essentially a gospel group. It was a very powerful song and touched on her experience performing at Woodstock the previous year and looking out at the huge sea of faces, many of whom had lit candles. Listening to the song on the radio and hearing how the voices meshed, I could only picture some young southern black girl standing in front of this group of black gospel singers, belting it out. Imagine my surprise to find out she was a white girl from Queens, New York! Lay Down was one of her biggest hits, along with Brand New Key and a cover of Ruby Tuesday.
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| Melanie Safka |
I have discovered with many singers over the years, though, that sometimes their hits are not even close to being the best songs they did. This would be true of Melanie and you would be well-served to download samples of her other music. Some of my favourites are Momma Momma, Birthday of the Sun (not the live version), Leftover Wine and Bobo's Party.
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| Cat Stevens |
Soon I said hello to Cat Stevens, he of the incredible voice. Wild World was on the radio all the time and it, as well, resonated with a lovelorn teen. Once again, I found that many of my favourite songs of his were not the ones you heard most often on the radio. You could take a boo at such songs as 18th Avenue, Sad Lisa, Lady D'Arbanville, Into White, Longer Boats, and many more, actually. A drawback , however, was that my wannabe girlfriend at the time thought he was absolutely gorgeous and swooned around pictures of him constantly. Later in his career, he became a Muslim and took the name Yusuf Islam. Humourously, recently one of my young stepsons was watching a music video on You Tube of an older gentleman singing Father and Son. He remarked on how much this guy sounded like Cat Stevens. I took a quick look and said, "Uh, that is Cat Stevens". He said, "No, it says Yusuf Islam!" I then explained it to him.
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| Harry Chapin |
Harry Chapin showed up about then, with a song called Taxi. This was an epic storyteller's song, through and through, and very emblematic of how he wrote. My favourite of his is an even more epic song called Sniper. The subject material was a little dark (a man goes to the top of a university tower and starts shooting--based on the story of Charles Whitman in the sixties) but is a fairly involved psychological study of what motivates desperate people. Certainly, not all Harry's songs were dark. Please check out 30,000 Pounds of Bananas and Flowers are Red. They were also introspective songs such as Cat's in the Cradle, possibly his best-known song. Heartbreakingly, Harry passed away in a car crash at the height of his popularity, leaving behind legions of true believers.
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| Kate Bush |
I have to mention the theatrical, whimsical Kate Bush. I must have discovered her by accident as I don't remember ever hearing her on the radio or seeing her on television. Once again, a distinctive voice captures your attention. Many of the songs are thought-provoking and sensual. Some of my favourites are Cloudbusting (see the video with Donald Sutherland), The Man With the Child in His Eyes, Wow, The Sensual World and Wuthering Heights.
I could probably end my little journey here. But if I did who would I be omitting? Let's see....in no particular order there would be the Moody Blues, Bruce Cockburn, Doug McArthur, Peter, Paul and Mary, Gordon Lightfoot, Elton John, Tori Amos, Loreena McKennit, and Judy Collins, among others.
I'm sure I've neglected to mention many who were important to me and will likely slap myself later for not including them. I have, though, touched on the ones who shaped me the most and as much as music can.
