Bob-Dubery
My parents were big on Sinatra and Tony Bennet. Also Peggy Lee. They didn't have a lot of money so once they got a record player (the sort of standalone thing you got back then) they had to be picky when buying records because they couldn't afford a lot of them. Interestingly I was always reading the sleeves. I developed that habit early on. So, for EG, I learned how Frank Sinatra used to prefer Nelson Riddle to do the orchestrations.
My parents bought a Reader's Digest anthology of classical music. It was good for kids to grow up knowing the classics. I don't remember much of it sinking in, though there were lots of liner notes - which I read. The only tune I remember from that set is The Blue Danube (which I now am not partial too). They also bought a recording of Peter And The Wolf which was regarded as a good way for young people to get familiar with the orchestra and it's layout. I think Peter Ustinov was the narrator. I read the liner notes and I can still whistle the main theme.
I don't recall paying a lot of attention to popular music up until about 13. OK... there was the Beatles. They were just omnipresent in late 60s UK. Hard to not be aware of them.
When we came to SA things changed. No TV. So I spent a lot more time listening to radio. My brother and sister started school pretty much straight away, but the powers that be decided that as I would be going into high school I should sit it out until the start of the next academic year. So I spent lots of time sitting at home listening to the radio, became aware of hit parades. Then I discovered LM radio when I got my own little portable radio.
Kids at school in SA seemed much more concerned about music and exploring music than kids in England. Neil Young was big, so was Bowie. There was "underground" but I never quite figured out what that was. Friends of mine's parents had a lodger who introduced me to Dylan. In my mind and imagination things were starting to explode....
philicon
I remember when I was like 5 years old or so my first favorite song ever was "Moon Shadow" by Cat Stevens lol!
Bob-Dubery
The first song I recall really liking was "The Wild Mountain Thyme". I probably knew that from The White Heather show on British TV. When I was about 3 or 4 I heard Elvis singing "Fever". It sent a shiver right up my tiny spine. I remember that to this day.
Tonedef
Jethro Tull, lots of Led Zep, Dire Straights, lots of Creedence, Stevie Wonder, lots of Michael Jackson, the stones, beatles, that sort of thing.
My dad loved "Lola" by the Kinks.
inflames
My parents played allot of Shakin Stevens, CCR, ABBA and afrikaans music like David Kramer etc.
So I have to thank them for my strong Afrikaans bond with music!
Squonk
I was born in the early 60's, So i grew up on the The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Beach Boys, Donovan,
I started very early and my Dad bought me "Pet Sounds" for my 6th Birthday(1969) Became a complete music nut and with the help of family in the UK absorbed the whole Glam Rock scene in the Early 70's ; Slade, Roxy Music, T-Rex, Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel, etc etc
My biggest musical discovery was this older boy next door who introduced me to The Who, Frank Zappa, Neil Young, Nektar, Pavlov's Dog, Yes, van der Graaf Generator, James Gang and plenty more, this was in 1973 (I was 10), So was a bit of a looney at school because no one understood my music taste at all. I do remember the girls all having a huge thing for David Cassidy!
In 1975 when my Dad moved to Hillbrow also opened up huge musical doors for me, I discovered the Hillbrow Record Center and I started buying Pink Floyd, Genesis, Incredible String band, Strawbs and as so much more.
The first song I have memory of is "Misery" The Beatles, whenever I got upset or angry, my Mom used to play it ?
Also have a strong memory of 16 tons, the Tom Jones Version.
Jack-Flash-Jr
My parents were musically illiterate, I had to steal my first Stones tape at 12. Before then it was Springbok Nude Girls and Movies that provided snippets of what music could be...
singemonkey
My parents are not dedicated music people like a lot of us, and were already scaling back listening to popular music when I was little. So, like Bob, I suspect, I recognise and can follow a lot of melodies from classical pieces that I couldn't actually name. I keep meaning to listen to more.
My Dad liked Paul Simon a lot. And I remember listening to a lot of that in the car on trips. Also some Abba mix tape ? There was a bit of Leonard Cohen to be heard on my old man's cassettes, most of Joni Mitchell's Blue, which remains a favourite to this day.
But what really knocked me out from when I was really little, was Elvis, and The Beatles. I've never lost the joy of those two sounds. Elvis, who could sing Twinkle twinkle little star and sound like he really freakin' meant it. And the Beatles who just couldn't do anything wrong. Every song was more exciting than the last.
There's one other standout who still kills me like he did when I was 5. Buddy Holly. They had a couple of cassettes. One was called, Golden Greats or something, and another had the soundtrack to American Graffiti - complete with Wolfman Jack coming in after every couple of tunes - and something (I think another soundtrack) called Let The Good Times Roll on the other side. These reminded them of their teenage years in the late fifties (my ma had her seventieth last Sunday).
Anyway, these tapes had things like Smoke Gets In Your Eyes, The Wanderer, Johnny B. Good, Teenangel (always used to skip that saccharine, but depressing little number), and Surfin' Safari. But what I was always waiting for was Buddy. Holy crap. That man could do no wrong. Some kind of genius. I recently got his complete works (Jeez, he was just a kid when he died. Ritchie Valens was 17 or something when he died in the same crash). His song-writing abilities almost seem supernatural.
Those were things I was grooving to before I knew anything at all. After we moved to Cape Town, my brother would listen to the top 40 and get tapes from my cousin, so I was exposed to most of the eighties pop sensations. There were some good ones too. Ah Ha was the Swedish band that really did something good. Any of you other fogeys remember Howard Jones? Madonna. Depeche Mode. Tears for Fears. But this was all my brother's music. And I kept up my little obsession with '50s and '60s music until meeting a guy in high school who also liked The Beatles. And he knew a couple of other things too. The Rolling Stones. Zeppelin. Sabbath...
chris77
My folks played mostly radio. One of my first memories of becoming musically aware is Walk of Life. Also had a lp of David Kramer named Bakgat Boogie IIRC. Loved that one.
singemonkey
Squonk wrote:
Roxy Music, T-Rex, Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel, etc etc
Have summa this:
singemonkey
chris77 wrote:
Also had a lp of David Kramer named Bakgat Boogie IIRC. Loved that one.
Well I'm a rooker,
I play snooker,
And ek smaaks my branderwyn,
And I've got me
Some chommies,
And they is jus' the same
I want to cover that one day.
Keira-WitherKay
anyone remember "record library's where just like book library's one could go become a member and take out vinyl LP's and keep em a week and bring em back ..... i listened to so much then ....... all the jazz , miles davis made an early impression .....so did herbie handcock..... frank zappa intuiged me , crosby stills,nash and young was my acoustic choice , i totally overplayed the woodstock (triple lp )if i recall till it was worn out by me...grea mix of acoustic and electric playing ..... joan baez's set at woodstock was incredible.... still saw the doccumentary of woodstock on old reel to reel ..and sat mezmerised the whole time and lastly i'm greatful for having access to the red and blue beatles lp's ( their greatest hits) ..all of this on vinyl of course........
and yeah don't you miss the record sleeves .that had fabulous photo's and a wealth of information .now days with cd's it's too small to be as "impressive" as a vinyl record sleeve . those sleeves are an art form in themselves....
but the jazz intruiged me the most ..despite my parents not being jazz fans'
Bob-Dubery
singemonkey wrote:
My parents are not dedicated music people like a lot of us, and were already scaling back listening to popular music when I was little. So, like Bob, I suspect, I recognise and can follow a lot of melodies from classical pieces that I couldn't actually name. I keep meaning to listen to more.
You have that too? I think I know zip about classical music, but it turns out that I know a lot of them tunes, I just don't know what they're called and who wrote 'em. Maybe some of that Reader's Digest collection did sink in. Some years ago I went to see the movie "Immortal Beloved" about Beethoven. What amazed me most was that I knew nearly all the music, just hadn't known that it was Beethoven.
singemonkey
Stratisfear wrote:
The Bee Gees: that yellow cassette with a compilation of their early stuff - I think '67 to '70, IIRC
I had this on heavy rotation when I was about 9. Knockout tunes. What's that tune, Something Mining Disaster? Just brilliant.
Jack-Flash-Jr
singemonkey wrote:
Squonk wrote:
Roxy Music, T-Rex, Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel, etc etc
Have summa this:
My son Jack's favourite song is 20th Century Boy, he calls it the "heavy one"... he's just turned 3. Wait... what thread am I in? it's confusing when the parent thread is the one about kids. Wait... whatever.
Bob-Dubery
singemonkey wrote:
Stratisfear wrote:
The Bee Gees: that yellow cassette with a compilation of their early stuff - I think '67 to '70, IIRC
I had this on heavy rotation when I was about 9. Knockout tunes. What's that tune, Something Mining Disaster? Just brilliant.
New York Mining Disaster 1941. Great song. I play that one and I always enjoy playing it. Early on the Bee Gees had some good songs - much better than the disco-era stuff.
dee
"Liewe Heksie en die helikopter."
I kid you not. This thing was on permanent rotation on the LP player. Don't blame me. I was young and impressionable.
My first real exposure to music was my brothers CD's. Green Day, Led Zeppelin, Soundgarden. I did not really pay much attention before that.
singemonkey
Jack Flash Jr wrote:
My son Jack's favourite song is 20th Century Boy, he calls it the "heavy one"... he's just turned 3.
I think Marc Bolan invented the rock and roll star. You just need to see Zeppelin before and after T-rex. Jimmy Page is night and day. Every guitar player saw that and though, "Hell, so that's what you've gotta do to look the part?" and went to the mirror to practise pouting.
