I didn’t get to be a music nut overnight. It started at a very early age. Below are some of my favorite music-related memories from childhood:
When I was a kid, we had an old Beatles 45 that used to be Mom’s, with “Hello Goodbye” on one side and “I Am the Walrus” on the other. We played it constantly, nearly drove Dad nuts. Another 45 that we played into the ground was “Beep Beep” by the Playmates.
When I was really little I liked “Puff the Magic Dragon,” by Peter Paul & Mary and some song that was something like “Blue Blue My Love is Blue,” but I thought it said “My love is Goo…” Everyone got a kick out of that. (I believe it was “Love Is Blue” by Paul Muriat.)
I really got into music in 1976 as when I was in 5th grade. Some of the songs I liked then were “Telephone Line” and “Livin’ Thing” by ELO; “Love Roller Coaster” by The Ohio Players; every song I ever heard by Stevie Wonder; “The Things We Do for Love” by 10cc; “Convoy” by CW McCall (and all that other CB radio/trucker stuff that was a big deal back then); and “Strawberry Letter 23,” by the Brothers Johnson.
Mom and Dad really liked Glenn Campbell and Jose Feliciano, and we used to listen to them on trips. They also had a cassette by this group called The Match that sang in harmony and kind of sounded like The Association (I’ve tried in vain for years to track that one down – way too many false “matches”).
Dad was always playing classical music records. He was a band director and was an excellent clarinet player. He could play the Rondo from Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto… Mom played piano, and sometimes they got together at the piano and sang. They also used to play duets on recorders, usually Irish songs. Always some kind of music going on in the house…
I think it would be neat if others could chip in with their own early music memories. When did you first get into music and what were your favorite songs?
