Friday, July 27, 2018

But I Like It, Like It, Yes, I Do...

It was 1963, I was 9 years old, going on 10. I was still in what we called elementary school (grammar school to some), the 4th grade to be exact. A major controversary surrounded our interactions on the playground...

Beatles or Rolling Stones?

JFK was still alive. Vietnam was on the horizon but unknown to we young Vermonters back in the '60s. World War II vets were everywhere, heck, they were mostly still in their late 30s, early '40s. For a white kid in New England, it was a great time to be alive. (Not that I knew anything about it at the time, but for some folks the late '50s, early '60s sucked. In my whitebread, non-diverse world, things were pretty damned good. No one told us about the other things going on in the world. Hell, going on in our own country. But that's off topic, moving right along...)

A year later, The Ed Sullivan Show happened. My Dad was convinced that it was the end of the world. Well, in some ways it was, the end of one world, the beginning of another. Better? In many ways yes, in some ways maybe no. But from that day forth, rock and roll was my music.

Yes, I like other forms of music. One day though, I made the mistake of telling this older lady at church, after being asked what type of music I liked, that "Oh, I like almost any kind of music." After which she began to hand me a contemporary gospel CD, which I began to decline when The Missus Herself, (being far more diplomatic than I) took and thanked her for. She knows my taste in music, she knows that contemporary gospel music is very far from what I like.

I mean, give me some Rock of Ages, A Mighty Fortress, and other such old-school hymns, especially with a pipe organ providing accompaniment, and I can listen to that without a whimper. (Favorite hymn? Glad you asked, I have two - Be Thou My Vision and Eternal Father Strong to Save. The latter is also known as The Navy Hymn depending on the lyrics.) But gospel? No, no, thank you, but no. Just no.

Bagpipe music, Cajun music, anything Irish, German and French military marches and the like all float my boat and can make the hair stand up on the back of my neck. (For the bagpipes I mean that quite literally.)

What I choose to listen to, most of the time, is rock and roll.

What can I say?



FWIW, in the fourth grade?

Beatles man, all the way.

After that? The Who, Led Zeppelin, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, The Kinks, and bands of that ilk were my favorites. And still are. (Yes, The Rolling Stones as well, I learned at a young age that I didn't have to pick just one, I could have it all.)

And yes, that concert post is coming, soon mes braves, soon.

Juvat mentioned these guys...



Listened to that song a lot post-high school, still do, still gives me chills...

Loves me some rock and roll.



42 comments:

  1. In '63 I was a haole in Hawaii & it was a great time & place to be a kid! I remember the Beach Boys & the Beatles.

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    1. Hawaii? Must have been rough Rob. (Jealous? Moi?)

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  2. Heh. My dad didn’t care much for either (but would choose the Stones), so my childhood memories are mostly things like Arlo Guthrie (Iiiii don’t wanna die, I just wanna ride on my motorcy....cle) and Harry Chapin (Thirty thousand pounds ... of mashed bananas). I think it’s where I got my weird sense of humor from...

    If you forced me, today, to pick Beatles or Stones... Animals? Because Eric Burdon.

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    1. Oddly enough, I merely tolerated The Animals. Some of their stuff I liked, some I couldn't stand.

      Heh, Harry Chapin and Arlo Guthrie, fine influences on a young fellow. ;)

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    2. It’s like music is subjective, or something.

      I have the 30,000 foot view of this dinosaur stuff, so I can pick and choose songs and am not “stuck” listening to full albums. That probably changes things considerably. I demand instant musical gratification!

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    3. "It's like music is subjective, or something."

      Maybe that's why this was played a lot around my house during my last assignment in the Air Force.

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    4. I had that song in my head all day yesterday ... earworm. Listening to it now, via your link, with gratitude.

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    5. Juvat - that's a good tune, one of those I liked.

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    6. Yeah Rev. Paul, now it's stuck in mine. Way to go Juvat.

      (I have a cure for earworms, I listen to Black Mountain Side by Led Zeppelin. Clears 'em every time. But then that's stuck in your head all day.)

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    7. In A Gadda Da Vida is my go-to kills-all de-earwormer. Girl from Impanema works, too. Evil Woman by ELO is my third favorite.

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    8. And, oh, look, down below you link to the full play version. Great (and weird) minds think alike.

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    9. Ah man, really? The full play version?

      NO NO NO MAKE IT STOP AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!

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  3. Almost saw the Beatles live in Amsterdam, 1965. There was a well known night club (Mecuraries?) my buddy Stewart and I were asked to leave. Some English band was headlined. Beatles? Who are they? Stewart was a crazy Scot in the US Army as a path to citizenship. He had undertaken a mission to check if the women in the club were wearing bras.

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    1. No! Two American GIs asked to leave a club? Man, that never happens. ;)

      Sounds like a fine mission to undertake, trust a Scot to want the tough jobs.

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  4. I was at Itazuke AB, and it was a great time to be flying the Deuce. 24 on, 24 off, 24 duty. We had Kirin beer delivered in the LARGE bottles by the case to our house. The famous (!) Zash House. Well known throughout PACAF in the sixties. 5 Hun pilots, two Deuce drivers and a flight surgeon (for good measure) living in a large summer home of a former Japanese industrialist. It had been so occupied since just after the war. Good times. All members true of the Kasuga Bachelors Association. The Hun guys upgraded to the Thud, we went home when they closed the base a got the Fabulous Phantoms.
    I do remember how shocked we were to see the "long hair" on the Beatles. We, of the dollar haircut every week clan.

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    1. Funny how short their hair is in comparison to now. Would almost make it through a USAF 1976 35-10 inspection on Okinawa. Strange times those were at Kadena, post-Vietnam hangover.

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  5. Saw the Rolling Stones in Austin in 2006 (A Bigger Bang Tour), figured it might be my last chance to see them live so I jumped on it.
    Even got one of the limited edition, Austin only, shirts with Bevo (Hook 'Em Horns!) with the famous RS tongue on front. Only had 300 of them made and they sold out in 5 minutes. Should have gotten 2 or 3. Last time I looked they were selling for a couple of hundred dollars.
    https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/rolling-stones-bigger-bang-austin-texas-shirt-size

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  6. Early sixties music was pretty much defined by duty station.
    Boot camp was all martial music.
    "A" School was early Motown, with some country mixed in.
    Shipboard was almost all country, with an occasional sojourn into rock 'n roll.
    I heard the Beatles long before I knew their name.
    I was unable to identify with their appearance, too far out.
    Then, at the end of hitch, in San Diego, Wolfman Jack made his appearance on XERB, which was available on air all over the West Coast.

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    1. Kinda reminds me of the first episode of WKRP in Cincinnati.

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    2. Being overseas for a big chunk of my career, there were many bands and genres which came and went before I had even heard of them. Especially in Asia.

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  7. Wow... you're... Old...

    I remember listening to my eldest brother's Grand Funk, Steppenwolf, Three Dog Night and CCR. Actually liked the Beach Boys better than the Beatles early on, now the bugs are okay except for their weirder stuff. Middle brother introduced me to my favorite rock band and the rat bastige actually got to go to one of their concerts - Electric Light Orchestra. ELO all the way, baby.

    But I was always the weirdo, go figure. Liked some Disco, a lot. Hated some Disco, a lot. Something about some darned Bell song just makes me want to puke. Otherwise my childhood and teenage years was full of classical, baroque and romantic music, along with Spike Jones, Big Band and the smooth singers of the 50's and 60's (music that older, more fusty officer types would listen to.) And, Herb Albert and the Tijuana Brass.

    Now that that's over, let's talk about your homework, young man. Hmmmmm??? It's been almost a week, Hmmmmm????

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    1. Hey it ain't due until the weekend!

      I know, I know.

      Herb Alpert, loved that stuff!

      (Older, more fusty officer types, I knew and know some guys like that.)

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  8. HA! I was brought up on Glen Miller and Bing Crosby. Listened to Elvis ( in the late '50s ) when my mother would leave me in the car with the keys. Was in high school when the Beatles hit the U.S. An early rocker, I am.

    Thanks for the post.
    Paul L. Quandt

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  9. Oh, goodness....where to start?

    I grew up listening to "Top 40" AM radio radio in the Chicago area, mostly WLS (890 on your dial!) and WCFL, a bit further 'up the band'. Was in grade-school when The Beatles hit, but remember seeing Elvis on Ed Sullivan.

    Really got into music in high-school and saw all the big-time groups appear. Jefferson Airplane, Cream, Steppenwolf, The Byrds, BS&T, and local groups like The Cryan' Shames, The Shadows of Night, and of course, CTA, later to change their name to "Chicago" after the "real" CTA sued them.

    I loved it all, the "new" music and the horns! And due to my Music Education courses I was exposed to all the classical stuff, Broadway stuff, and "popular" music. I learned to appreciate bands like Glen Miller and Benny Goodman from my Dad.

    The 60's were quite the heyday for music. So many new things from Iron Butterfly to Peter, Paul, and Mary.

    Just amazing times.

    Oh, and we went to the Moon, too!

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    1. We certainly did. We had it all, just about to put nuke propulsion into space which would really have opened up the near frontiers, we had a huge military that was the best in the world (when it was allowed to be,) and really the best music variety.

      And you could, for the most part, still buy guns from magazines and have them shipped to you. Oh to be able to time travel just to pick up some of the surplus deals that were all gone by the time I got free cash.

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    2. drjim....Iron Butterfly? Talk about an earworm. Did they have any other song?

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    3. I think they had one other song that I considered "Listenable".

      By the time I was well ensconced in high-school, FM radio started to get big. Used to listen to WLS-FM on Sunday nights to "Brother John" play all the newest hits from less mainstream bands, and the lesser-known hits from the major groups. WLS-AM would play "Born To Be Wild" by Steppenwolf, and WLS-FM would play "The Pusher" and "Sookie Sookie". My parents came home one Sunday about 2130 to be greeted by "GODDAMN The Pusherman", and their lives were never the same again.....

      @Beans - I was down on the Equator one time with Sea Launch and there was a brilliant full Moon. I pointed at it and commented to one of my buddies, "We went there once..." and it almost brought him to tears.

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    4. Beans - Nuke propulsion in space. The thought that would warm Rickover's heart.

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    5. Juvat - AHHHHHHH!!! AHHHHHH!!!

      No more links for you, AHHHHH!!!

      ;)

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    6. Drjim - Steppenwolf AYE! Magic Carpet Ride!

      Roger that on the moon. Every time I look at the moon there's a pang of regret for what used to be.

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    7. Regarding nuke propulsion, they're actually talking about it again. Now, if they'd just do Project Orion...

      Steppenwolf is awesome. Totally. Love that wolf album cover.

      And, what, OldAFS? You no likeee the 17 minute single? Da dum dadda dum Da dum dum dum, da dum dadda dum Dum dum dum dum...

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  10. My father had a stash of rock and pop longplays that made me hooked on the Beatles and co. before I was 10.
    Fave piece? Eleanor Rigby. Awesome study on loneliness...
    I was fascinated by the Dark Side of the Moon by Pink floyd.
    Entire album was masterpiece.
    But what impressed me the most was Simon and Garfunkel with their classic acoustic guitar singing awesomne tunes.
    Those guys were playing unplugged 30 years before MTV made it hip.
    Are you going to Scarborough Fair?

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