February 29.2008

Which songs rocked your world?

By Stan Dyer

I was travelling to a job site a while back and "station surfing" on the radio. I was trying to find something new to listen to during the long drive, but, instead, I found an old friend. It was a song. I heard an announcer say, "Rockumentary 1972", and the song from 1972 started playing. It was Argent's "Hold Your Head Up". It was never one of my favorites, but I decided to listen because I had not heard the song in a while and it made me think of a friend from 1972 who really liked that song. It also gave me an idea.

People who know me know that music always was a big part of my life, especially growing up, and there are many songs that spark memories from the past whenever I hear them. As I listened to the Rockumentary and thought about 1972, the announcer sparked more memories talking about the big movies of that year, "The Godfather" and "The Poseidon Adventure". He also mentioned Richard Nixon's presidency, Bobby Fischer's big win and Roberto Clemente's tragic plane crash. The Dow Jones first topped "1,000" that year, the last Apollo went to the moon, and the Viet Nam war kept going despite Christmas Day bombings by America. On December 26, former president Harry S. Truman died. All those things happened in 1972, but I, just as all of us do, have memories that are more personal. As the next song came on, (it was the Eagles', "Peaceful Easy Feeling"), I listened and thought beyond 1972 back to the first song I remembered hearing on the car radio when I was very young.

It was Petula Clark's, "Downtown". I was about five years old. Oh, I heard other songs back then, especially those 78s of kiddie songs that we played over and over as we sang along, but that was different. For the first time, I took notice. I distinctly remember riding in my mom's orange, '54 Chevy with the steel dashboards, no seatbelts, and a strictly AM radio playing that song as we pulled into Arlan's on Sheridan across from Sloan Lake. Even though I was too young to really know the name of the song, who was singing, or what she was singing about, the catchy, melodic tune stuck with me. It would be years before I found out the name of the song and the artist, but I did remember the tune. By then, the Beatle's were in America and the British Invasion was claiming teens everywhere.

In the 60s, even though the British bands were big, the one song that always comes to mind when I think of that decade is Paul Mauriat's, "Love is Blue". It is probably because I never heard a harpsichord before. I remember watching "Alfred Hitchcock Presents", and playing with one of those small, cheap, Japanese transistor radios with the earplug and the nine-volt battery that had just enough power to last about half an hour when that song came on. Funny, I was station surfing then too, but this time it was just to find any station that little radio would pick up before the battery went dead. The haunting melody captured my attention. Again, it would be years before I knew the name of the song or the artist, but I did not forget the tune.

By the time the 70s arrived, I was starting to grow up and pay a lot more attention to music. There is quite a number of songs that bring back 70s memories for me. One is The Who's, "Love, Reign O'er Me". I remember that one because it was playing on the radio when I was old enough to drive New Year's Eve to visit a girlfriend from another school. It was the very girl that Argent's, Hold Your Head Up reminded me of. She, her neighbor and I spent the evening watching Paul "Bear" Bryant's Alabama Crimson Tide play some Bowl Game. I really do not remember who they were playing, which Bowl Game it was, or even who won. It was New Year's Eve and I was coming of age. Football was my second interest that night.

Another song of the 70s that comes to mind was Elton John's, "Philadelphia Freedom". I was not a big fan of Elton John, even though I respected his talent, but this song became important when I overslept before a Saturday track meet. My girlfriend and I borrowed her dad's orange, VW wagon to drive ourselves to the meet somewhere in northeast Colorado. The song must have been popular because we heard it at least three times that day during the hour or so it took to drive to the event. It stuck in my mind because that was one of my first road trips without my parents, and it showed how much our parents trusted us.

Not long after that, I was off to college, the disco era arrived, and life really started moving fast. There are so many songs that remind me of the various stages, events and times of my life, it is impossible to list them all here. I grew up with music as it went from AM, to AM/FM, to 8-Track, to Cassette and beyond. It is amazing to see where music is today, how much of it can be stored in how small a space, and how music is still a big part of people's lives. You can call me outdated because I still enjoy my turntable, my albums, and all the memories contained within, but what about you? The medium is not as important as the meaning. What meaning do you find in your music? What memories are hidden in your songs?

I wasn't the only one alive back then, and I am not the only one still around, even though it was a long time ago. I am interested in "your" Rockumentaries. When you think back ten, twenty or more years, what songs come to mind and what events spark your memories? If nothing comes to mind, think about the songs you hear now that take you back to certain places, times or events from your past, and tell us about the experiences. That was the idea I had that day, and I am anxious to see what people come up with. Anyone can put together a general Rockumentary from a year in time, but none is as unique and special as one's own. I invite you to share your Rockumentary with us and tell the world which songs rocked your world.