Or getting to know me, getting to know all about me
The other day, my son Alex was telling me how his younger brother sometimes calls him Al. I told him, well that’s awesome, Call Me Al could be your new theme song. He didn’t know the song, so I pulled it up for him and it got me thinking how much I loved Simon and Garfunkel as a kid. We didn’t listen to much music at home, but I think my father had an 8-track player in his Cougar XR7 (I still love saying Cougar XR7 outloud, doesn’t that just so 1970’s badass?). When I hear these songs, I’m instantly transported back into that car, listening to my mom singing along in her Korean-accented English. I think all kids should have a memory of their mother singing and that’s why I sing to my kids, even though ____ (insert tone deaf cliche here).
My father played the flute and we were always so impressed that he could play along to this song. Also, that he could play the Sesame Street theme song. I can’t say that I was emotionally precocious enough to truly understand the lyrics of most of the Simon and Garfunkel songs we sang along to back then, but I did know that I liked the way the words brought pictures to my mind and I think it was my first appreciation of poetry.
I don’t remember if we had an 8-track of this song or if it just came on the radio a lot, but it was one of my mom’s favorite songs to sing to. Every time I hear the beginning of this song, I think of my mom.
I was an adult before I realized that James Brown wasn’t saying Papa’s got a brand new van. I think this song is why I am so funky.
Again, I was an adult before I found out this song was by Sonny and Cher. When I was a child, I remember thinking how incredibly sad it was that the singer had no parents.
One of my all time favorites. I remember me and my sister sliding around on the back seat singing along. All kids should be raised with a hefty dose of Ray Charles. This is the one parenting rule I have to put my foot down on.
What can I say? I got my excellent taste in music from mom and dad.
I really had no idea they were gay until the longest time. I just thought that’s what grown men were like. After all, my dad was in the Army and wore a uniform.
Diana Ross was awesome!
I admit it, a lot of classic songs and musicians I heard on Sesame Street or the Muppet Show first.
What songs do you remember from your childhood? Share, please!
{ 36 comments… read them below or add one }
This explains so much.
What comes to mind when I think of my childhood is Barry Manilows “This One’s for You” album, the Grease soundtrack and REO Speedwagon’s Hi Fidelity. There were a lot of really bad shows put on in our living room in the 1970s. Good times.
Oh Grease! Remember having to wait for movies to come on tv instead of being able to just rent them?
We had ABBA and The Seekers in the car. And my father’s collection of inappropriate country and western music.
I’m a little mad at my parents for not introducing me to ABBA. Think of all those wasted years!
I have this vivid memory of riding in the car with mom listening to “Same Old Lang Syne” by Dan Fogelberg. Every time I hear that song I am taken back to that night in the car and can remember precisely where we were driving.
And Saturday mornings were always cleaning day at our house. My mom would start loudly playing her music way before we ever wanted to get up. I’d complain about it being so early and about her lame music. Would it kill her to play a little Poison? But we cleaned to the Beatles, John Denver, Neil Diamond, Barry Manilow, etc every time. I still clean to music, and often I wake up my kids early on a Saturday morning to the music of those same artists.
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I clean to Hermes House Band. My husband hates it, so you know, if he wants me to clean he’s either going to have to suck it up or leave the house.
I love El Condor Pasa of Simon and Garfunkel!
Funny how your children can suddenly bring this kind of memories back. I had the same last year, when I was searching for videos on Youtube.
So far I found a lot of classical music that I really love and uploaded some videos to my blog.
But then my son was listening to a video of the Dire Straits, Brothers in Arms. And it lead me to my whole pre classical life again.
I found all kinds of music on Youtube that I really loved a lot in my early teens.
Whiskey in the jar of Thin Lizzy, In-a-gadda-da-vida of Iron Butterfly with an amazing drumsolo, Stairway to Heaven of Led Zeppelin, Comfortably Numb and a lot of others of Pink Floyd and most of all, a band that I really loved a lot, but kind of lost track of when I got into classical music, Camel.
I really loved to see all the Youtube videos from the liveshows of Camel, bought some of their dvd’s and even started a weblog about their music. And even now, a year later, I listen much more to their music than I listen to classical music.
All because my son played one video of a band I loved in my youth…
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Can you believe I never heard of Camel? Checking it out now, thanks!
I’m really curious what kind of music my boys will like when they are older. I hope I like it!
“All kids should be raised with a hefty dose of Ray Charles.” Amen, sister! And I just listened to that one and boy, did that get me goin’ on a Monday morning. Look out, world! Here I come!
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You know what I realized I forgot? Sam and Dave! We used to rock out to Sam and Dave. Man, I love those old Stax artists.
This is so great Tracy. I remember my brother and I making a recording (on one of those portable cassette players where you had to press down play and record) and singing our version of ‘I Got You Babe’ by Sonny and Cher.
My dad was also a big fan of artists like The Dooby Brothers and early Stevie Wonder and The Bellamy Brothers (Let Your Love Flow) so that would be the music of my childhood.
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Oh I remember singing into those old tape recorders! And later, using them to tape music off the radio when the weekly Top 40 would play, since we couldn’t afford to buy them and anyway, really all you wanted were the hit songs.
I remember my mom singing Wake Up Little Susie now. That was particularly funny with her accent.
I did that too! I did that too! And weren’t those presenters annoying when they kept cutting into the song when you were trying to record. Sooo anoying!
I used to pride myself on being super quick with the record button so as to get as much of the song as possible without much of the dj’s voice.
You know, I can’t help but think our kids would benefit and gain patience and quick reflexes if they had to do the same.
Oh, my gosh. I listened to Simon and Garfunkel songs over and over. El Condor Pasa??? I haven’t heard that song in ages. Cecilia, The Boxer . . . memories.
I was also a huge Sonny and Cher fan. I remember getting a live album for X-mas. That was awesome.
My parents won some kind of contest where the prize was 100 record albums, so we always had a wide variety of music. Ferrante and Teicher, Glen Campbell, Andy Williams.
But then my brother brought home a 45 that would change my life.
It was the Beatles’ “Revolution.” I don’t remember if “I Saw Her Standing There” was a B side, but I remember listening to that around the same time. It was mind-blowing. And when I look at the year those songs came out, I should’ve been too young to remember them, never mind appreciate them, but I VERY CLEARLY DO REMEMBER.
It was a feeling like no other.
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I always wonder what memories will stand out for my kids. Probably not the ones I expect. It’s amazing when you can see something light a spark in them.
Abba family here – that and my Dad obsessively playing his saxophone! I also remember a Simon and Garfunkel album that had on one side the heinous Bright Green Pleasure Machine right after the awesome Feelin’ Groovy. I used to dread Feelin’ Groovy ending.
Life I love you all is groovy!
Tracy–we love all the same songs and the same groups. Of course, we’re roughly the same age, so that makes sense. I didn’t know the Village People were gay, either. I always loved the construction guy the best. Of course, I didn’t know the difference between gay and straight back then anyway. Mom was an artist and had a lot of gay friends. She would prep us before such people came to the house, saying that we couldn’t call each other names like “gay” and “fag” (which were insults that were all the rage back in the 70s, even though we had no idea what they meant). So my brothers would call each other “yags” and “Gafs” instead.
I’ve always wondered something and I think you might know the answer. The song that I believe is by Donna Summer. Is it “I’m coming up” or “I’m coming out”? And if it’s the latter, is it about coming out of the closet or is it about becoming famous?
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I think I told you this before, but I grew up on a military post overseas and didn’t really meet any openly gay people until college. Which I’m afraid tickled me pink in a cringeworthy way as I was a bit of a yokel. Who knew you could grow up in Europe and be a yokel?
A squealing, indiscreet 18 year old 5′10″ Asian Yokel. “Oh my gawd, you’re a homosexual! Wow! I always wanted to meet a homosexual! I never knew that was an actual real life thing that people did that weren’t in history like Oscar Wilde!! Will you be my friend?”
I’m Coming Out was Diana Ross and I think it was about transforming from a wallflower to a vibrant disco era personality.
That song is from Diana Ross as well. according to songfacts.com: “Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards wrote this and produced it. They were the leaders of the ’70s Disco band Chic, and brought that Disco sound to Ross for this album. Rodgers got the idea for the song when he went to a transvestite club in New York City. He went to the bathroom, and while he was standing at the urinal, he saw 3 men who looked like Diana Ross. “Coming Out” means coming out of the closet and being openly gay.”
Source: http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=4855
I never knew that! It must have been a wild ride to go from being a Motown artist to a disco diva. I just Diana Ross.
Does anyone remember the movie The Wiz with Diana Ross and Michael Jackson? My sister and I loved that more than the original Wizard of Oz.
Tracy´s last blog ..The music of my childhood
Funny stuff. Yes, many of those songs take me back. I remember building blanket forts in my living room on the weekends and sleeping inside them with my 45 record player in there with me. I hooked up headphones and listen to YMCA, Funkytown, Pina Colada, Cars by Gary Numan, and others over and over with the record player set to repeat. Often I’d wake in the morning to one of them still playing in my ears. Think of the subliminal damage it probably caused!
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Looking back now, I have no idea how I used to sleep with headphones on. Ouch. Actually, my sister and I shared a room and she used headphones on her non-Sony brand walkman and I just listened to the radio very quietly on my non-Sony brand boombox. Then one night, I was listening and they played Rock The Casbah to announce the beginning of Gulf War I and decided no more radio in my sleep.
Here is my favorite cover of Funkytown: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YdArUGPJk3w
Tracy´s last blog ..The music of my childhood
Call Me Al is one of my favs of all time.
I remember in my early teens living in Taiwan. it was 1974/75 and Elton John was just skyrocketing. I would buy his albums on the Taiwanese “black market” – The albums were pirated there, I guess and the lyrics were printed on the back. Er, at least the lyrics as understood and translated by a nefarious Taiwanese Record Pirater. Man, those were a hoot!
George
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Ahhh! If only we’d had blogs back then. You would have had an awesome one!
Elton John is one of my all time favorites but I didn’t start listening to him until high school. That’s where I learned all the music that my friends had grown up with.
Tracy´s last blog ..The music of my childhood
The Cab Calloway clip was awesomeness.
Neil Diamond wrote the soundtrack to my youth. I am, I said. Also this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3D27dmGp2zU
I love how he is so unabashedly himself. Him and Tom Jones are awesome. Awesome!
Tracy´s last blog ..The music of my childhood
I just tried to play it all for my kids and they have a huge range of music appreciation – and we all love to dance to the new stuff and it starts great conversations…but I find myself going back to my childhood favs when I am working something thru..
nice post…thanks I enjoyed reading here today and Tara’s referral and tweet
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I think there is something very comforting about familiar music.
My kids are always amazed that I know the words to almost every song. That’s so cute.
Tracy´s last blog ..The music of my childhood
I love this post and now I want to copy you and do one too
A couple of songs stick out at me from my childhood … Delta Dawn (the Helen Reddy version), I Got You Babe by Sonny and Cher and Love Will Keep Us Together by the Captain and Tennille.
I with Tara on those old cassette players – when I was like 12 I would record songs like Funky Town off of the radio.
Wow, I think I’m way cooler now
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I forgot about Love Will Keep Us Together. I loved that! We used to watch Solid Gold all the time, too.
You should do a post! I’d love to read it.
You were a child of the 70’s, right?
(So was I)
I was born in 1974!
When my kids do their music of childhood posts in 20 years, people will think they were born in the 1980s – they listen to Pet Shop Boys a lot and their all time favorite song is Eye of the Tiger. We have Eye of the Tiger singalongs in the car; we are just.that.awesome.
Really?
HAHAH!
I’m born in 64 and this is all stuff I grew up with. Therefore, I assumed you were roughly the same age (but I was puzzled because your avatar looks too young to be a 45 year old)
But I’m kinda like you. I really like the Beatles and all the 60’s music. As a teenager, my taste music was 15-20 years behind the times.
I think my parents were probably a bit behind the times, too! I remember being a teenager and discovering the punk bands of the 1970s/80s and just being blown away. I guess in a few years I’ll get to the stuff that was popular when I was an actual teen.