52 Weeks of Sharing Memories - A Special Song

This post is part of the 52 Weeks of Writing our Memories by Lorine McGinnis Schulze at Olive Tree Genealogy who has challenged us to write our memories for our future generations.

When I was younger, I would listen to my parents' albums on the stereo in the living room. I'd listen to movie soundtracks like Dr. Zhivago, The Sound of Music, and Shirley Temple; crooners like Andy Williams (I loved his Moon River!) and Tony Bennett; and classical music (while I twirled around the living room like a ballerina). I vaguely remember when the Beatles came to the U.S. My friend from across the street and I loved them! I liked Elvis Presley, too, and loved watching his movies, but my music tastes changed as I got older.

One of my dad's record cabinets filled with his records.
There's another cabinet just like this one full of records.

My favorite song as a teenager was "Born to be Wild" by Steppenwolf. I loved that song from the moment I first heard it. (I still love it!) Maybe I loved it because I was far from being wild. I know I loved it for the heavy metal (believe it or not). I first heard it one summer in the late 1960s when I was in junior high. I had been invited to go with one of my friends to visit her grandmother in Florida. I don't remember the name of the town. We would go swimming some of the time in what may have been a bay off the coast. There was a long dock with a building covering part of it that had a restaurant in it (or maybe it was a restaurant/bar), and they would play music over the loud speakers outside. I was standing in the shallow end of the water when "Born to be Wild" came on over the loud speakers. I couldn't believe my ears and I couldn't get enough of listening to that song!

Image courtesy of dan / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

I loved the Monkees when they hit the scene in the late 60s, and I watched their TV show every week. I had a crush on members Davy Jones and Mickey Dolenz. I loved watching American Bandstand and Soul Train on Saturdays. There are many other bands and many songs that I liked during my teenage years. Just Google "popular music 1960s 1970s," and most of what I liked will be listed. I'd listen to pop music on radio station WVLD every night under the covers!

Catherine