Music moves me

Music through the decades and the memories they evoke….

I’m a baby boomer, through and through. My pre-teen years in the 50s brought a love of doo-wop music as well as the classics from Rick Nelson, Paul Anka, Neil Sedaka, Frankie Avalon, Everly Brothers, Dion & The Belmonts, Del Shannon, and many others.

The rock music moved on through the 60s and the beach sound arrived along with the start of the war protest songs. The Beach Boys, Sonny & Cher, The Mamas & The Pappas, The Beatles, The Animals, Grand Funk Railroad to name just a few. Some groups were often referred to by initials: BST (Blood, Sweat, & Tears), DC5 (Dave Clark 5), CCR (Creedence Clearwater Revival).

Most think of disco music when they think of the 70s. I was divorced with two children and remarried and had a third. My ex-husband’s taste was country and I listened to it most of the time. Kenny Rogers, Dolly Parton, Conway Twitty, Loretta Anderson, Charley Pride, Johnny Cash, Glen Campbell, and Roger Miller were some of my favorites. Many of my favorite rock songs were discovered when I moved in to the 80s and 90s. Between marriages, I was introduced to Janis Joplin, Led Zeppelin, The Moody Blues, Steppenwolf, The Eagles, Pink Floyd, and other rockers.

Flowing into the 80s, I continued listening to country with a dash of rock as I flowed from a nasty divorce to into a marriage with my soulmate. Rock became the word again, nothing really hard, but new classic sounds for me. ZZ Top, George Thorogood, Billy Joel, Bob Seeger, Heart, Chicago and way too many more to name.

In the 90s, I rediscovered country music thanks to the new sound of artists like Garth Brooks who brought more rock into the music. I still listened to my classic rock, but added some country with Brooks & Dunn, The Oakridge Boys, Alabama, Clint Black, Alan Jackson, Rascal Flatts, Vince Gill, and Big & Rich. 

During the late 90s and early 2000s, I also added in a new love of the blues – classic and new – with Buddy Guy, Muddy Waters, Etta James, John Lee Hooker, Stevie Ray Vaughn, and Robert Randolph & The Family Band.

When the 2000s arrived my musical tastes didn’t change much, but my life did – with the death of my soulmate in 2004. I pretty much stuck to classic rock with a dash of the blues. It was comforting, something familiar.

Twenty years later, classic rock is still my number one, with blues a close second. I listen to country when in the car with current husband (and even attended the Country Music Fest in Nashville a couple of times), but have added a few twists to my playlists. I have soundtracks for several television shows downloaded – Copper, Peaky Blinders, and Defiance. I also have a playlist for soft classical instrumentals which are great for background music when writing.

But yes, classic rock RULES!