Sunday, July 6, 2014

MORE MUSIC MEMORIES

In my teens, my taste in music turned mostly to "rock and roll."  One of the firsts that I remember, from my junior high days, was Rock Around the Clock by Bill Haley and the Comets. It was always played at our dances.

Of course I was a fan of Elvis Presley!  My favorite aunt, Aunt Jo, was in the Army and was stationed at Fort Hood when Elvis served there. She said that he was so polite and very soft spoken.

There were so many songs that I loved in my teens, and I had a pretty good record collection. I mostly liked slow songs, but not exclusively. Of course I watched Dick Clark and Bandstand every day after school.

My brother liked country music, and for a couple of years I listened to a lot of his records.

One group that I never really cared too much for were The Beatles.  They had a few songs I liked, but I wasn't a big fan.

Since those days, my taste in music has leaned more toward country, although I don't care for the newest country artists.

I had planned to expand on my music tastes a bit more, but after thinking so much about it when I couldn't sleep at night, I have become totally bored with the subject. So, as this is my blog, I am taking the liberty of cutting this short.  

Friday, June 6, 2014

MUSIC THROUGHOUT MY LIFE

I have always loved listening to music, mostly vocal music.  While never a fan of opera or rap, I like most other types.

When I was a child, we always cleaned house on Saturday mornings.  My mother always had the radio on, and we would listen to the hits of the time as we cleaned.  Some of my mother's favorites were DEAR HEARTS AND GENTLE PEOPLE, sung by Bing Crosby; HARBOR LIGHTS by Sammy Kaye; RED SAILS IN THE SUNSET, also by Sammy Kaye, I think; OLD LAMPLIGHTER by various artists; WAYWARD WIND by Gogi Grant; and THEY CALL THE WIND MARIAH, by Ed Ames.  There were many others, but those were the ones I remember. 

In the late forties or early fifties, every Friday night we watched Your Hit Parade on television., My favorite singers on this program were Gisele MacKenzie and Snooky Lanson.  One of my favorite songs from that time period was THIS OLD HOUSE. 

In my younger years, my brother and I would go to the movies every Saturday afternoon.  Most of those movies were westerns, and they all had their theme songs.  For Roy Rogers it was HAPPY TRAILS TO YOU, for Gene Autry it was BACK IN THE SADDLE AGAIN, and of course the Long Ranger galloped onto the screen to the sound of WILLIAM TELL OVERTURE. 

A few years later westerns nearly took over television, again with catchy theme songs; MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE, BIG IRON, RINGO, BATTLE OF PALADIN/HAVE GUN WILL TRAVEL, RAWHIDE, HIGH NOON, GHOST RIDERS IN THE SKY, SHIFTING, WHISPERING SANDS and MULE TRAIN.

Other movie songs I really liked were BORN FREE and BLESS THE BEASTS AND THE CHILDREN, as well as most of the songs from South Pacfic.

As I grew older, a different type of music began to appeal to me.  I will list some of those songs in my next blog.

Any of these bring back memories for you?