So, everyone has those few songs that immediately transport you back to a certain time. For me, I have a LOT. I have always grown up around music and thank my parents and my Uncle Pat for really giving me an appreciation for a broad spectrum of genres. I grew to love artists that were huge before I was even born (and remain so until this day) like Elton John, The Beatles, Journey, The Eagles... I could go on and on.
The fact that there were so many people on American Idol this past season that claimed to have never heard of The Beatles really makes me question society. You don't have to like their music or even know their names, but it's HISTORY. How do you go through life not knowing who Beatles are?? Ridiculous. So let's start with them so anyone reading this blog won't have that excuse.
"I Want to Hold Your Hand" by The Beatles
This was the band's first #1 hit on the Billboard Charts. I vividly remember jumping on the bed in my Uncle Pat's basement with my brother Taylor and cousins Marisa and Elizabeth, in big baggy Disney shirts singing this song at the top of our lungs. And just some simple history, BASICS, there were 4 Beatles: John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr. Ringo and Paul are the only one's left presently, still making appearances and performing 50 years after they made it big. Pretty incredible.
"Hotel California" by The Eagles
One of my favorite things to do on a weeknight, or weekend for that matter, is go to a small bar with a live cover band. Because it's pretty much a guarantee that they'll know this song and I'll have a chance of hearing it. It's like Pavlov's dog- I hear the opening chords and my head immediately starts swaying back and forth. It makes me feel like I should have a stiff marg in my hand, dancing at Cafe on the Beach on Anna Maria Island in Bradenton, Florida where I grew up. Just about every night when I lived there, we'd go listen to the live music and watch the sunset. This was always guaranteed to be playing.
"Benny and the Jets" by Elton John
Once again, this song takes me back to when I was living with my Aunt Mary and Uncle Pat. I remember one night in particular-which in hindsight, I'm sure alcohol was probably involved (okay I'm positive)- all 8 of us (Aunt Mary and Uncle Pat, and the 6 of us kids) were driving home from some kind of party and Uncle Pat put this song on. We all started singing and putting our hands out the windows while he purposefully started swaying the car back and forth in our neighborhood. My Aunt Mary may not have been too happy about it, but it's still a great memory :)
"Our Lips Are Sealed" by The Go Go's
This one goes out to my cousin Marisa. I think I was in 3rd grade, she was in 1st, when we had the brilliant idea to host a dance party and invite the neighborhood boys to watch us dance to The Go Go's. We wrote out invitations and put little sparkly stickers on them. But it wasn't a traditional dance party: our parents were not aware it was happening, and the boys weren't invited to dance WITH us, just to stand outside our window and WATCH us dance... can we say early promiscuous behavior much?? The funny part was that one of the boys, no older than 9 years old mind you, thought it was a legit invitation. He showed it to his mom who then called my Aunt Mary and Uncle Pat.... you can piece the rest of what happened together. Needless to say, there weren't any more dance parties at that house that required anyone to stand outside the window and watch us dance around in bikinis.
"I Saw The Sign" by Ace of Base
This song was by far my favorite, alongside Alanis Morrisette's "Ironic" when I was in 2nd grade. I can even remember watching the music video on vh1 and making up my own dance to the song. I actually even got sent home from school one day, which NEVER happened to me, because I got caught passing around the album slip (always my favorite part of getting a new CD because it had all the lyrics!) which supposedly had "suggestive, sexual content." Teachers are too uptight.
"Ode to my Family" by The Cranberries
I owe my love of The Cranberries to my cousin Jess. When I was living in Pennsylvania, in between custody battles, we spent a lot of time at my Aunt Pam's house. The Cranberries were one of Jess's favorite bands and since I pretty much idolized her, they became one of mine too and still are. I remember asking my mom (Aunt Stevie at that time since it was before she adopted me and Tay) for the purple couch CD. They had a few albums out at the time but all I knew is that it had a purple couch on the CD itself and "Zombie" was track 4. This was also 2nd grade. Album names meant nothing to me at the time. So once I got the CD, which I somehow managed to keep up with until I was a freshman in high school, it lived in my disc man and I'd fall asleep to this song playing on repeat. I probably haven't listened to the whole album in over 10 years but I guarantee I still know every word to every song. LOVE.
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