Category Archives: Music Memories

Animal Instincts

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Teenage Eve

Teenage Eve

It was time to graduate from 45s. Cleaning, ironing, and babysitting for neighbors were about to pay off in a new musical adventure. I had scraped up enough from my various after-school jobs to buy an album–a 78 LP!

There was no lack of exciting new sounds to choose from in 1966. Yet, it didn’t take much time flipping through the records at my local W.T. Grants before I found it, under ‘A’ for ‘Animals.’ “House of The Rising Sun” was getting lots of airplay on WABC. There was something haunting and gritty about the sound, which set it apart from the bubble-gum pop tunes and ballads of the early 60s.

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First Kiss

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Early Beatles

I was caught up as much as any 12-year-old female in the Beatlemania craze. Every girl I knew had to declare who her favorite Beatle was. John appealed to those drawn to bad boys. Paul, on the other hand, was irresistibly cute and seemed safer to take home to meet your parents. Ringo was the choice of those big-hearted types who melted over sad-puppy eyes. Girls like me, who were drawn to the quiet brooding type with soulful eyes, went bonkers for George.

Yes, George Harrison was the Beatle for me, until I met my first real boyfriend, Mike M. He looked just like Paul McCartney. Everybody said so. Except for his coloring, sandy-blond hair and blue eyes, he could have been his twin. Continue reading→

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SeeSaws

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The Ronettes

We were allegedly in school to learn, but the thing my fellow sixth-graders and I wanted more than smarts was to be cool. It was 1964. Music was the magic link that would connect us to the ‘in crowd.’ You had to stay up-to-date with the most popular tunes if you didn’t want to be labeled ‘a square.’

Teachers played tug-of-war with our attention as we fidgeted and watched the clock, counting the minutes ’til recess. At the sound of the bell we raced out to the far end of the asphalt playground and jockeyed to get a ringside spot at the seesaws. That’s where we’d gather every day at two o’clock, hovering around Bobby C’s portable radio. It was tuned to WABC radio, New York’s premier rock ‘n roll station. Every day at 2:00 they would play the current #1 song. If you didn’t know what WABC’s #1 song was, you’d be on the fast track to social oblivion. All the cool kids knew, and liked, the #1 song.  Continue reading→

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First 45’s

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In 1964 I was twelve, my cousin Kate was eleven. There was no special rite of passage for us as we stood on the brink of puberty, so we created our own. We headed downtown to Woolworth’s, running, skipping, and giggling along the way. We each had a dollar and we were on a mission.

That day we would purchase our very first phonograph records. We could afford one ’45’ each and still have enough to treat ourselves to an ice cream soda. Continue reading→

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Travelin’ Girl

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DJ "Cousin Brucie"

DJ “Cousin Brucie”

“AM Radio and rock ‘n roll … it was like a thread that ran through my life.”        – Mare Winningham to Paul Simon in One Trick Pony

When I heard this line it jumped out of the movie screen and etched a permanent groove in my mind as I realized how true this was for me too. Music, and especially song lyrics, were much more than a thread, however. Music shaped my thoughts and attitudes at least as much as school, parental influence, and peer pressure as I was growing up. My connection to music, and being deeply moved by it, must have started in infancy, though my recollections don’t go back quite that far. Continue reading→

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