Imagine being a kid in the early 1960s, before you had access to your own music. How could you express your choice? One way, for me, was to ask my parents to play certain songs when eating out at a greasy spoon with a jukebox.
I remember this was my brother's favorite song circa 1964:
I hated that song -- I still do. Why would a grown man sing like that? I sensed that even then.
This was my favorite song then. I'd ask my parents to play it every time we went out for a Friday night fish fry:
62 comments:
My father, trained in classical music, for some reason liked "Walk Right In". Must have been the sound of the 12 string. Or perhaps it was the thought of letting his mind roll on. We shall never know.
Me, I preferred "Green Onions" by Booker T and the MGs.
I agree. Who sings like that?
I have a thing for roof top music.
A favorite Blue Grass tune from 1929 Walk Right In. I first heard it in the early 60's by the cited group...then at the annual summer Blue Grass Festivals in Northville, Michigan I learned more of its history. Man I thought you were/are much younger than me.
A Local "cover group" I followed, who also had their own orignals, always played at the festival ... here they are on I Will Whisper Your Name. Bobby Lewis, vocal & lead guitar, Dave Ebersole (sic?) on bass guitar, Robbie Stawinski on drums, and I can't recall the keyboardist...they changed fairly often. Not sure where Dave and Robbie wound up after Bobby Lewis retired.
I do remember being at the mercy of my older brother and my parents for music exposure. It was limited back then, even for me in the early 70's.
My parents had a stack of 45's that I know are long gone. Bummer, that.
Some really cool stuff in there, including purple people eater.
Ari, I am a few years younger than you, EPR is 10 years younger than I am. If my math is right you are about 17 years older than the Chicken Man.
Are you dating yourself, Sixty?
Sounds about right....I'm 71, however I was addicted to music from the 40's onward, played classical piano, etc but leaved toward jazz( I still play a vinyl of BG & GK's Sing Sing Sing at Carnegie Hall occasionally)....used to go to Baker's Keyboard Lounge with fake ID, etc. They knew and allowed me in anyway because I didn't ask for a drink other than soda. I appreciated it because in those days it was THE only place I could get up close to national jazz musicians like Ahmad Jamal. In that period some music appealed to all, young and old....although in my 20's I didn't think I was very old :)
Here is a great "up on the roof" song from the 1960s: The Drifters.
Here's one from the late 1970's: Even The Losers
El Pollo ... don't blink, the time passes in a flash. I am sure I was only 29 yesterday.
El Pollo Raylan wrote "Are you dating yourself, Sixty?"
Only until someone else comes along.
Walked into a diner at the age when I had the sign *punk* plastered all over me, went straight to the juke box and selected "Baby, The Rain Must Fall," which I thought was a pretty cool selection. Boy did I get dirty looks.
Oh yes, you remember those chilling moments of naked hostility. How do I know why it didn't sit well with that crowd? It just didn't. I got out fast.
This is one way I know I am both old, yet young...my passion for horses, dressage particularly has long ago met modern music in the free style. Hip Hop Yo and Lady Gaga - Born this Way.
When the suffy and conservative crowd around three day eventing and dressage clap for the equine interpretation, a threshold has been crossed.
Moorlands Totilas is one of a kind (and should never have been sold out from under Edward Gal) and I'd have given everything I have to ride him just once, or the mare, Blue Hors Matine, before as well. Music + horses = magic. Believe it.
The Four Seasons? What about "Walk Like a Man?" sportsfans? Same sound only somewhat better..
Want a great 50s pre-Elvis/rock& roll tune still hip today? Try the "Blue Tango."
Aridog/ I also have the BG Carnegie Hall vinyl.. I also have a commerative set of 45s of all of Glen Miller's greatest hits (and lots of Artie Shaw 45s) as well as 78s of lots of the Duke, Count Basie, and Glenn Grey and his Casa Loma orchestra. Also lots of Miles Davis (Kind of Blue, Three-Penny Opera, etc.) Hell, I've only scratched the surface..
I don't know that I've ever learned all of a song's lyrics just by listening to the actual song itself.
When the suffy and conservative crowd around three day eventing and dressage clap for the equine interpretation, a threshold has been crossed.
Aridog, you sure those aren't just synchronized mash-ups? I was under the impression that the de Blasio crowd -- the same ones who detested and attacked Ann Romney and her horse -- thought anything equestrian was tantamount to waterboarding. In any case it's way too white for them. Please correct me if I'm wrong.
El Pollo ... I doubt the World Equestrian Games would subborn a mash up. Totilas has performed to so many different pieces, he's capable of anything. At the price level of Gran Prix equestrian events, no one needs to make a mash up...and most could buy de Blasio and have him park their cars. But they'd never say that. In the horse world, you are allowed to do your best. No one will mock you if you try hard. I could never attain Gran Prix level but never felt scorned because of it. There is a common love and it isn't of money. But money sure helps.
What is whiter than eating pizza with a knife and fork?
Nothing!
Benny Goodman and Gene Krupa - man, those guys were awesome. My father went to see BG in concert in the early '60s.
But I preferred Louis Armstrong and his Hot 5 and Hot 7 - we had a huge stack of 78s and I really enjoyed listening to that music.
El Pollo said ...
In any case it's way too white for them. Please correct me if I'm wrong.
I can't speak for New York, but I can tell you de Blasio is an ass regarding horses.
Locally (Detroit Metro Area) there are several trail riding clubs, some white, some black, most mixed. It is expensive to keep a horse and you give up many things to do so if not very rich. I am not rich. You shouldn't even try if you don't have the time several times a week to ride and care for you horse(s). Main point, the horse is the focus among horsemen, not rider skin color. Several fairly famous western cowboys were black, and rode working cow horses every day...the history is there.
de Blasio is a punk who displays his ignorance with pride.
I think the fact the both wild horses and wolves managed to domesticate man and vice versa says a lot about what matters....and it is not unusual for those who feel inferior (afraid of) to horses and wolves/dogs to dislike and disparage them.
Just an aside...but one of the coolest things about New York City to me in my younger days, such as when I attended the 1864 World's Fair for a week (and drank copious amounts of Columbian Beer), was Central Park...back then they had horse trails and stables where people could keep their horses, which I assumed was prohibitively expensive. Not sure that exists anymore.
Aridog said...
I could get up close to national jazz musicians like Ahmad Jamal.
I would have liked to have seen Jamal myself. His live album is a small masterpiece.
1864 = 1964 ...I'm not quite that old, yet.
Aridog said...
I can tell you de Blasio is an ass regarding horses.
I can't see this myself. The horses look miserable during the summer months when they are busy. They spend a lot of time sitting around in traffic with blinders on and then have to lug a heavy carriage in summer heat. It does not look like a lot of fun.
I guessing you didn't care too much for this one either?
Our high school band played at the 1964 World's Fair. I was hoping to hear more about the 1864 version, alas, it was just a typo.
I liked seeing The Pieta.
ARM ... Jamal is in Dublin Ireland later this month. Wish I could go...I would like to see "Dervish," with Kathy Jordan, live as well. Jamal's 2014 USA tour dates have not been announced...the fact he still tours at 83 or so is amazing.
As for the carriage horses, I'll take you word for it, they may not be being cared for as they once were...it is very expensive.
de Blasio still knows less about horses than I forgot by the age of 10. Carriage draft is not cruelty per se, if otherwise cared for properly.
Lem said...
I guessing you didn't care too much for this one either?
Yes. Men singing and wearing falsies is...well....I just can't say it.
I'm OK with being called a bigot on that too.
I loved Jersey Boys. I guess chick wouldn't.
@ndspinelli: Damn straight I don't
Anyways, I'm off to a Chargers party down the street. See you all in few hours.
@ndspinelli: He left out one option in that intro: In 1962 you could move to California if you were smart. Don Draper knew that but muffed it.
Coolest feeling in the world? Being in driver's ed, pulling onto the the highway listening to this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HJ7w9MTCqs
8 Track tapes in the new olds. We kept that old green Plymouth for as long as possible.
8-tracks were the worst :)
LOL. hehehe. yeah. Pretty much.
"Walk Right in" still sounds contemporary. That's the sign of a timeless song.(imo)
Here's my fave version of this one:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFywYCzAIf0
I can remember going in to small town diners in the American West - as a little kid - and they'd have little juke box things on the table. You'd flip thorough and put in a quarter ( or was it a dime) and it'd play the music. Sometimes there was just a jute box.
One time I convinced my Mom to play "sugar sugar" which was about as "hip" as these places got.
I just liked the song because it seemed to be about candy.
I swear I cut out my copy of "Sugar Sugar" from the back of an "Alphabits" cereal box.
Here's the cartoon version: link
Me too! It really is one of the best songs EVER. Might it have been Apple Jacks?
"Sugar, Sugar" was the gateway song which led directly to the Bonaduce family.
@Deborah, it could have been Apple Jacks. I liked them too, along with Cap'n Crunch.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5f1D9kHogq0
Who would have ever figured that Danny Bonaduce would end up cuter than Sean Cassidy??
I remember Sugar Shack fondly, myself.
Daddy was a serious country fan - twangy awful stuff. Here in East Tennessee it was on the radio and TV all the time. I didn't appreciate it until technology cleaned up the sound, a lot.
deborah said...
Who would have ever figured that Danny Bonaduce would end up cuter than Sean Cassidy??
Not me. I was watching Susan Dey.
She was so darn cute. Did great in L.A. Law, also.
Christy, Seventies country was deplorable. Current stuff is much better. Not a great fan, but more listenable if you have a family member so inclined. And some songs are quite good, like this one (I think the music video misses the mark though):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RV-Z1YwaOiw
@deborah: your links fail to sway my opinion on Franki Valli and the Four Seasons however I do like Adele.
No hard feelings, chick :)
Christy, that reminds me. Now this is a song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SOryJvTAGs
Wait a sec.
Danny Bonaduce and David Cassidy appeared together in The Partridge Family.
Shaun Cassidy, while related to David and to Shirley, has his own narrative. They all interconnect, of course, but I see no good in confusing, much less conflating, them.
Deborah, I'm old enough to remember Dolly Patton on the Cas Walker Show -- before she hit the big time with Porter Waggoner over in Nashville. ;) By the 70s I was choosing my own music. The Allman Brothers and Blood, Sweat and Tears mostly.
rcommal, what would I do without you to keep my conflationary ways in check? I admit, Sean didn't sound quite right...what was Shaun famous for?
Anyway the sentiment stands, Bonaduce turned out pretty handsome, and I think more attractive than David Cassidy.
Okay, Christy, this one's for you:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2RKWJD5ops
'Night, my fellow babies.
Deborah: I know that your question [what would I do w/o you]was a rhetorical one. Still, and anyway, I want to say and acknowledge: just fine and better than fine; excellently, in fact.
There's boy songs and girl songs.
John & Ken's John Kobylt said he was puzzled as a kid by some of the songs on the air. Who's buying this crap?
Girls.
They program them separately.
I woke up this morning to the strange realization that Tony Orlando and Dawn had two big hits and they were both a guy in love and insecure asking a woman for an unambiguous sign of her devotion.
Aridog, you right. GK's drum solo in Sing, Sing, Sing is the best drum solo ever recorded. Innagadddada vita does not hold a candle.
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