Life's Soundtrack: Part One

I believe that we are the first generation (Baby Boomers) who live with a soundtrack in our heads. 

Our parents were born in the 1920's and grew up in the Depression.  They listened to radio programs, went to movies, and marveled at TVs invading their homes in the 1950's.  Music was important to their generation; they sang and danced to the jazz and big band styles that were popular.  Rosemary Clooney, Artie Shaw, Count Basie, Dizzy Gillespie, Cab Calloway, Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, and the Dorsey Brothers defined 1940's music and provided a lot of the soundtrack to our parents' generation especially during WWII.  After the war our parents settled down, raised families, and music often took a backseat to the TV in the home. 

Most of us Boomers don't remember the days before TV.  Most of us grew up with Saturday morning double features.  I think I can say, though, that we are the generation where music became our constant.  The first of the Baby Boomers embraced the rockabilly sounds of Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Little Richard.  Hank Williams brought country and western music to a national audience.  And then there was Elvis.  A lot of parents and people in authority didn't like Elvis's music and dancing, and that just made him all the more appealing to the younger generation. 

Middle Boomers thrilled to the emergence of Rock'n'Roll and the British invasion. Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Joni Mitchell, and other artists contributed to the restlessness of the younger population unhappy with the war in Viet Nam, corporate and government corruption, and the status quo. The Civil Rights Movement would not have been the same without its own soundtrack of We Shall Overcome, Oh Freedom, and Blowin in the Wind.

What set both Black and White Boomers apart from their parents, I believe, was the transistor radio.  We were the first to carry around a small radio with an earplug so we could listen to "our" music any time we wanted.  We could listen by ourselves or share with our friends.  We carried radios to the beach, to picnics, and family barbeques. 

In addition to my transistor radio I had a record player and later a small stereo in my bedroom, and that's where I spent all of my spare time.  I danced and sang to all my favorite artists.  I inserted their lyrics and their songs into my life as my soundtrack.  When I left home for college the most important piece of equipment I took with me was my stereo.  It didn't matter that my roommate had one, too.  We sampled each other's favorite artists (on 8-track tapes by then) and found our horizons expanding.  We went to sleep to her radio every night.

This love of music and having it around all the time has continued throughout my life, except when I was first married.  I got married in 1973 and had my first child in 1976.  I don't really remember a lot of music during those years, but when I go back and research those days, I see the popularity of The Who and the Rolling Stones, neither of which were my favorites.  The Beatles had broken up and I was not fond of John Lennon at that time.  I liked some Chicago songs and bought one of their albums, but it never was a favorite.  Disco?  Uh, no.  No wonder there was a gap.  And remember, in those ancient days before CDs, iPods, MP3s, and the Internet, there was just the radio for music.  And not a lot of choices there. 

Certain songs bring back times of my life so vividly that I can see, smell, and almost touch those days. 

The Name Game written and recorded by Shirley Ellis (1964): After school - late afternoon -playing outside and hearing that song for the first time  - wow, what was that?  Play it again!


Elton John's Crocodile Rock and Carly Simon's You're So Vain (1973): Winter quarter at Reinhardt College, first time living away from home, having a boyfriend and being in love.

Billy Joel's I Love You Just the Way You Are (1977):  Driving my baby to the babysitter's house before work, and picking her up after work, and singing that song to her at the top of my voice. 

Jimmy Buffet's Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes (1977) Dancing around my living room with my baby girl.

What about you?  What songs evoke vivid memories for you?