Week 10: Golden OldieCan't stick around for this week's party??
Next week's theme will be...
Your Favorite Love Song
And now...
Knock, knock, knock. We opened the door that Sunday afternoon to the stern face of a police officer. Apparently, a neighbor had called to complain about the volume of my dad's music. My only question: Where have you been every other Sunday my dad jams out to his music?
To say that my dad has hundreds of records wouldn't be hyperbole, exaggeration. To say that my dad collected thousands of songs on cassette tapes and DVDs would also not be an embellishment. I could say that we could run a Museum of Music out of my house with a straight face. This is all true. A whole room in our house - and several other rooms - is dedicated to my father's love for music (and film - but that's a different story). Records under the bed, cassettes stacked up in dozens of rows each piled high of 20, 30 tapes. DVDs were the latest addition to his music library. And recently, I introduced him to iTunes.
I have no doubts about a few things in life. To say that I love music because of him is one of those certainties. Although I fear that saying I love music is too boring, too underplayed. Besides heavy metal, there isn't much I don't like or won't listen to. Husband makes fun of my "eclectic" mix tapes that run the gantlet from Billy Joel's We Didn't Start the Fire to Robin Thicke's Blurred Lines. But when I think back to my education of musical knowledge, my discovery of music, I am transported back to one image. A vivid image of the vintage covers of Cruisin' Classics, a cassette tape collection my dad owned. Distributed one summer as a promotional tool, Shell Oil Co. offered a series of three different cassette tapes featuring "golden oldies" music - yes you heard that correctly - you could buy a $1.99 cassette tape from Shell gas station at the same time as you were filling up.
I was a kid who could name all of The Beatles with certainty and name that tune in 5 notes. I knew The Archies as the group that sang Sugar, Sugar and not from the comics. Penguins, Flamingos, Turtles, and Byrds weren't just animals. Cousin Brucie wasn't my actual cousin but he might as well have been because he was in our home often. I had these songs memorized better than my multiplication table (truth).
Knowing how organized and meticulous my dad was is about preserving his collections I was careful when I "borrowed" these cassettes. And though he had thousands of other collections to choose from this set is branded in my mind forever. I was born in the 80's and raised in the 90's but my building blocks of musical knowledge were founded in earlier decades.
I can't offer a favorite Golden Oldie. It would be like choosing a favorite child. Instead I'll do you one better. I'll do for you what my dad did for me, I'll offer you a collection of Cruisin' Classics that you could "borrow."
(Click on record to watch on YouTube)
I'll start you off with "Wooly Bully," a classic on top of classic in our house. This one remonds me of my dad, one of his favorites. I could still hear him singing the opening. "Uno, dos. One, two, tres, cuatro...yeah. Wooly Bully."
I prefer The Beatles version of "Twist & Shout" to The Isley Brothers. Always takes me back to Ferris Bueller's Day Off. And Jerry Lee Lewis, the original badass of Rock n' Roll and his catchy song. Can't you just see Tom Cruise and Kelly McGillis riding his motorcycle into the sunset?
"Then He Kissed Me" by The Crystals? A classic girl's song. Just watch Adventures in Babysitting
"Bad, Bad Leroy Brown" just fun. "This Magic Moment" made even better by The Sandlot. "Yeah, yeah you was.. you were swooning..."
From Classic to American to Classic Cuban. What list would be complete without Rock Around the Clock. As for Perez Prado's classic, it that will forever remind me of Sunday mornings growing up in my house. I'd never have the words to explain fully what this song means to me. (Instrumental)
I love this Ritchie Valens song and though Stevie Wonder's "Signed, Sealed, Delivered" is a bit older than the rest it's such a great song to jam to.
join us next week...
Every Monday night at 9pm the link up will go live at The Patchwork Paisley, Drinking the Whole Bottle, Momma Candy, and MrsTeeLoveLifeLaughter.
Host Follow Links:
Meg Jen Shauna Tiffany
**Don't forget to link up your post below & visit some participants to see what they're jamming out to!**
All awesome choices. I always end up in that era too when I think of oldies and I know we had a bunch of those shell cassettes floating around the house growing up! PS- Just caught Adventures in Babysitting on TV the other night! Love that opening scene.
ReplyDeleteThese are definitely great "oldies" that are actually oldies, but goodies! Our children were exposed to a variety of musics from the 60s forward. Kids their ages and their parents could not believe the musical education they had picked up. In fact, one time when DS was involved in a long distance relationship with a girl who was a year or two younger, this girl's grandmother was convinced DS was a 30 year old man just because of his taste in music. I just rolled in the floor laughing over that one. Anywo, it was fabulous meeting you on Tunesday Tuesday. I'm now following you. I hope you'll decide to join me on Monday's Music Moves Me. We would love to see you on the dance floor!
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