Seventy Years of Soundtrack

As I rock ‘n’ roll toward my seventieth birthday, I can’t help but reflect upon all the music I listened to, that helped get me through these past seven decades on the planet. I have lived through the 1950s where Elvis and Buddy Holly changed the face of popular music forever. I spent the 1960s in grade school and welcomed the sights and sounds of the Beatles and the Stones and the Supremes in the lower grades and felt the (flower) power of the Haight-Ashbury scene and Dylan, Eric Burdon and the Spoonful as I reached my last year in Grade 12. In the first half of the 1970s, I attended university and met new friends who introduced me to new music from the Dead and Zappa. I was around when the icons of rock music died – Hendrix and Morrison and Joplin – and I remember how their music moved me and how it changed the way I looked at the world. In the second half of the 1970s, I became a farmer and Cash and Owens and Haggard and Kristofferson became my minstrels of choice. Eventually, they gave way to the sounds from Elton John and Purple Sagers, Prairie Leaguers, Daredevils and Eagles. In the 1980s, I started my work life as a teacher and, out of necessity, or convenience – I’m not sure which – I began listening to Steve Earle and Hank Williams Jr. The Boss and Billy Joel and Elton John, Van Halen, Police and Duran Duran. By the time the 1990s were well into swing, my music collection had transformed mysteriously into a Country & Western collection with contributions from Faith Hill, Tim McGraw, Garth Brooks, Alan Jackson, Martina, Reba and so many others. At the turn of the century, I began to cultivate my once-long-ago attraction to Canadian artists. Gordon Lightfoot and Neil Young, The Hip and Blue Rodeo along with Joni Mitchell and Bruce Cockburn became my ‘musique de jour’. In 2011, I remarried and moved to China. While in Asia, my wife's performance background in music, helped me to become reacquainted with all of the music I had listened to for the first 60 years of my life. It was then, I came up with the idea of listing 30 songs and/or albums that were most meaningful to my life to that point. The list I came up with is featured below. The songs are not listed chronologically as far as their release dates are concerned but rather in the order of my life when I used them to help explain and narrate my day-to-day world. Neither are the songs listed in order of importance or personal popularity. No song on the list is any more or less important than any other song – just like no friend or family member is any more or less important than any other – they all contributed to who I have become, and they should all be included in the soundtrack of "ME". I have also included one short personal blurb with each entry on the list, to tell a little about my life and to demystify why the song was important to me.

1. Ballad of a Teenage Queen – Johnny Cash; (single) “There’s a story in our town . . .” possibly the first record (78-rpm or otherwise) I ever recall listening to as a kid. I believe it was part of my sister’s collection and, my brother and my sister and I played it at least once a day for several years of my life.

2. All Shook Up – Elvis Presley; (single) I also heard this song for the first time on a 78-rpm glass record from my sister’s collection. I played it over and over until finally, it dropped on the floor one day, and shattered into oh so many pieces. I repurchased the song many years later on an Elvis compilation vinyl record. Hearing it now, is a reminder of my childhood in our little house on the prairies.

3. The Young Ones – Cliff Richard / Shadows; (album) This is the first entire album I will include in my list. I saw the movie at our local town cinema and fell in love with the joy and the music that was included in its soundtrack. Luckily, I was actually able to find the vinyl album in a local limited-catalogue record store. It was one of my favorites for a long, long time. It is interesting to note that one of my friends on Facebook today, was actually a member of the band - The Shadows.

4. Twist and Shout – Beatles; (album) Although there were several different Beatles albums that I could have purchased back in the spring of 1964, I chose this one because of John, Paul, George and Ringo jumping excitedly on the pinkish-colored cover. My mom eventually grew to like this album too, and in particular, the title track, of which she commented about the lyrics, “that sounds like a story about someone on the toilet during a constipated bowel movement.”

5. Supremes A-Go-Go – Supremes; (album) I was so in-crush with Diana Ross by the time this album was released in 1966. Although it was the first Supremes album I owned, it was by no means the last. I managed to pick up both earlier and later releases in the months and years after "Supremes A-Go-Go". I practiced my falsetto version of “You Can’t Hurry Love" in front of our full-length mirror for about a year after I got this album.

6. Axis Bold as Love – Jimi Hendrix Experience; (album) “There must be some kinda way out of here said the Juggler to the Thief . . .” I got this album for my 15th birthday from my cousin Randy who was an expert at the time, on both the Beatles and Rock music in general. I must admit, I didn’t “get it” at the time but, I kept listening because I thought that would make me a cool guy. I eventually grew to love it, along with the psychedelically-designed album cover, which was definitely Jimi Hendrix’s best.

7. Nashville Cats – The Lovin’ Spoonful; (single) “Well, there’s 13 hundred and 52 guitar pickers in Nashville . . .” I think there was a time when I had every Spoonful album available. I thought that John B. Sebastian was one of the most talented songwriters and versatile musicians on the music scene. My favorite Spoonful tune was “Jug Band Music” but I couldn’t get all the words right when I tried to sing it so I most often leaned toward “Nashville Cats” whenever friends requested a song from me at parties. Eventually, it became my favorite song to sing and remains so to this day.

8. Hey Jude – Beatles; (single) In my senior year of high-school we had an old-style 'record player' at the back of our classroom, on which we played repeatedly several albums of the day, including the "Beatles’ White Album". I had always loved the Beatles and, the "White Album" was one of my favorites. However, I will never forget the single – "Hey Jude" (which was NOT on that album, unfortunately). If "Hey Jude" played on the car radio, my friends and I would have to listen to ALL the “na na na na”s before anyone could think about leaving the car. Everyone in my class voted to have "Hey Jude" as our graduation theme song, but, no one in our town could sing it, so we went with “Climb Every Mountain” instead.

9. Looking Out My Back Door – Creedence Clearwater Revival; (single) In my first year of University, I would daily meet up with a couple of new friends in the student hangout cafeteria in the basement of the Memorial Union Building. There was a Wurlitzer Juke Box in one corner of the seating area. The song played most often was "Looking Out My Back Door" by CCR. I knew every word (I think!!) by the time my first year ended. I still love this song.

10. Sit Down Young Stranger – Gordon Lightfoot; (single) A year of university life brought out the folky side of me. I had gone to see a concert featuring Gordon Lightfoot as the headliner. He performed “Sit Down Young Stranger”, among a lot of other very 'Lightfootian' favorites. I thought that it might be cool to be able to play guitar and sing that song. So, I bought a guitar, but I never learned how to play it until many, many years later. One of the songs I finally learned how to play and sing was Gordon Lightfoot’s “Sit Down Young Stranger”.

11. American Pie – Don MacLean; (album) Don MacLean’s voice was about the mellowest voice I had ever heard to that point in my life. I loved the way he did the songs “Winterwood” and “Vincent”. Of course, I loved to imagine that I knew the full story behind the long version of “American Pie” – as did everyone else. “A long, long time ago, I can still remember how that music used to make me smile . . . “

12. Thick as a Brick – Jethro Tull; (album) I am not sure how I ever came across this album to begin with, but I do know for certain that I have never listened to any other album, from start to finish, as many times as I have listened to “Thick as a Brick”. There isn’t even a close second. In my third year of university, my flat-mates and I would, every single evening, indulge in 'whatever' and listen to this album, in its entirety, three or four or more times. We would “Ride ourselves over the fie-e-e-e-e-lds, and we would make all our animal de-e-e-e-e-als . . .” and we would always end up feeling “Thick as a Brick”!

13. Smackwater Jack – Carole King; (single) In my last year of university, when I wasn’t listening to Jethro Tull, I would listen to Carole King’s “Tapestry” album for some 'brick relief'. More often than not though, I would just play one cut off the album and that cut would be “Smackwater Jack”, because it always put me “In the mood for a little confrontation.”

14. Madman Across the Water – Elton John; (album) It is sort of a toss-up between this album and “Tumbleweed Connection” as to which one I listened to more. I had an 8-Track cassette player in my half-ton pick-up truck with a full assortment of cassettes and a rat-tail comb to insert into the play slot with the tape to keep the player from double-tracking. I had it worked out so that I could play “Tiny Dancer”, skip a track, and then play “Indian Sunset”, skip another track, and then play “Madman Across the Water”. Even though I played those tracks a lot, I did play the entire tape much of the time and it was the album playing in the background for much of my life in the 1970s.

15. The Adventures of Panama Red – New Riders of the Purple Sage; (album) In one of the summers of the mid-1970s, my brother and I and two other guys rented a cabin at a nearby lake so that we would have a seasonal retreat for parties and a place to crash on some of the wilder nights when we couldn't drive home. The cabin had no running water and no electrical outlets – only two light sockets shared amongst the four rooms of the place. In order to provide music for parties, I would pull my truck up to the front of the cabin and roll down the windows, lift the hood and, play my stereo as loud as possible in the direction of the open front door. That door was always open, rain or shine, day or night and the music was invariably New Riders of the Purple Sage. My personal favorites were “Lonesome LA Cowboy” and, of course, “Panama Red”.

16. Desperado – The Eagles; (album) There have only been a few music albums in my life, in which every song on the album, start to finish, was fantastic. “Desperado” is definitely one of them. I can remember days in the barn and doing chores - I would sing all the songs. The livestock knew all the words as well, I'm sure. I have always loved the Eagles and "Desperado" is definitely my pick of their work. This album's songs and lyrics were more than just a backdrop in my life for a long, long time. "Desperado" was my life theme.

17. Chicago Transit Authority, Chicago II, Chicago III – Chicago; (albums) A few of my long-time childhood friends were members of our school band and the off-shoot stage band. Many of the songs performed by the stage band came from one or more of these three albums.“25 or 6 to 4”, “Ballet for a Girl in Buchanan”, “An Hour in the Shower” were some of my favorites with wild guitar solos by Terry Kath and horn segments led by Jimmy Pankow always seemed to reveal something new every time I listened to these albums. They will always be included on my playlists for the rest of my days on this planet.

18. It’ll Shine When It Shines – Ozark Mountain Daredevils; (single) At one point in my life, I learned how to play the harmonica. The Daredevils use a fair bit of harmonica in their songs, so I think that is what attracted me to their music. I went to see them in concert one time and I remember how they did this song. “The old cat on the roof, he could stand a little push. ‘Cause he’s got nine good lives to live.” I remembered those words, because at that point in my life, I think I was stagnating – I needed a little push myself, to start doing what I was capable of. When I used to get impatient with things in my life, my aunt would tell me, “It’ll get here when it gets here.” Same thing, I reckon.

19. An Innocent Man – Billy Joel; (album) Along with “Piano Man”, this album and that one are my favorite Billy Joel compilations. I love biographies and “Keeping the Faith” on this album is my absolute favorite story told by Billy Joel. I could have simply picked it as a life list single, but there are so many other good singles on the album (“For the Longest Time” and “An Innocent Man”), I had to pick the entire record. You know how it goes, eh?

20. Jump – Van Halen; (single) In my first decade of teaching, I was primarily a physical education instructor and a multi-sport coach. Students in my gymnasium classes always wanted to play their favorite music during warm-ups, laps and calisthenics. One of the most commonly played albums by my students during that time period was Van Halen’s “MCMLXXXIV” with the number one played cut on the album being, “Jump”. I grew to love the song, because it always made everyone feel like working a little harder – it was dynamic and alluded to the same physicality that David Lee Roth portrayed in his MTV videos. I will always think of this song when I think of my early teaching days.

21. Born to Boogie – Hank Williams Jr.; (single) Just as Van Halen’s “Jump” served as the background for my early teaching life in the gym, “Born to Boogie” was the main musical interlude for most of the road trips I made as a coach with my volleyball, basketball and track teams. The upbeat tempo and quick lyrics of this song, definitely put everyone in the mood to pick up the tempo on the field or court when we finally arrived at our opponent’s school.

22. Gentle On My Mind – Glen Campbell; (single) When I was in the skiing years of my life, it was before ear-buds, i-buds and blue tooth, so I had to just make up music in my head as I swished and slalomed through the trees and over moguls. If the trail was quiet and peaceful, I sang the lyrics to “Gentle on My Mind” as I skied. It kept my head together and kept me focused and on track. That was one of my go-to songs for the decade that I skied the western mountains with my pals.

23. Jessica – Allman Brothers; (single) The other tune that I played in my head when I was skiing was an instrumental released by the Allman Brothers with the help of Dickey Betts. I, of course, could not sing this one so it just played cerebrally as background when the terrain was a little speedier and trickier. It was the theme song to "Top Gear", but more importantly to me, it was my skiing mantra on all the ‘black diamond runs’.

24. Like a Rolling Stone – Bob Dylan; (single) Of all the Bob Dylan songs that there are out there, this one is my absolute favorite. When I was in Grade 9 and I was trying to imitate Diana Ross, I remember looking through some 45-rpm records to find songs by the Supremes. I came across “Like a Rolling Stone” and noticed that the playing time was over 6 minutes long. That was unheard of. I couldn’t believe it. So, I bought it. The way the song opens will always bring back memories for me in many different eras of my life. It was a song for slow-dancing, yet it was dynamic and got even more so by the end when it built to its finale. I will always remember watching Carole King play the piano for this song on David Letterman’s 10th Anniversary Special. She was alive and pounding, and her hair was wild and crazy. She was this song!!!

25. Cadillac Ranch – Nitty Gritty Dirt Band; (single) Part of the job of a Physical Education teacher is to teach various forms and types of dance to the students. Social partner dances are often difficult because some students end up feeling uncomfortable being that close to or touching a partner. As it happens then, Line Dancing was always a favorite of most students. One of the best songs for teaching any of the dozens of line dances was “Cadillac Ranch”. It had a pretty up-tempo rhythm and it is in 4 / 4 time so it coincided nicely with what you have to do in a line dance. Thirty- two years of teaching dance to students and I still think it worked for everyone from Stoughton, Saskatchewan to Pender Harbour, B.C, to Wuhan, China – any of the hundreds of students that have learned line dancing from me (and including me), rise to their feet immediately and hit the dance floor when they hear the opening bars of “Cadillac Ranch”.

26. Pure Country – George Strait; (soundtrack album) I always thought George Strait was one of the best and coolest of all the country and western singers out there. He was a real live cowboy for sure. When he made the Movie “Pure Country”, it all came to fruition for me. I got to see his cowboy style and I got to hear some great music coming ‘Strait’ from the best. “I Cross My Heart” was one of the prettiest and sweetest love songs ever. I’m sure that for a couple of years in the mid-nineties it was the most popular wedding song going. Two other songs from the soundtrack album (both with the same title) were actually my favorites though. One was “Heartland” sung by George Strait himself and the other was “Heartland” with a lead-in by George Strait’s son and then finished off by Dad.

27. Bobcaygeon – Tragically Hip; (single) I spent a couple of years in the late 1990s working at a Science Museum with a bunch of cool young people who were all into a band from Canada named, “The Tragically Hip”. One of the guys was actually friends with Gordon Downie. He would be working in the office and then he would stand up and profess, “In Gord we trust!” Then he would put on a tape and play some ‘Hip’ songs. My favorite was always “Bobcaygeon”. It always reminded me of a simpler time in my life when I made a trip to Toronto just to hang out and see the sights and go to clubs and hockey games and ride the subway. It was my ‘laid back’ song for quite a few years and I still play it when I want to just be mellow or nostalgic.

28. Bat Out of Hell – Meatloaf; (album) Wow!! This album came into my life in such a quirky way. I was in my farming years and it was during harvest. I was a truck driver so I had to spend a lot of time sitting alone, out in a grain field for long hours, day and night. I was also a big baseball fan at the time. One clear night, I decided I would try to tune the old truck-radio to an American station and see if I could catch a ball game from south of the border. I finally got a station that seemed to be broadcasting a game, but there was music interfering with the play by play. I kept trying to make adjustments to get a more clear reception, but eventually the game was gone and there was just music – a song I’d never heard before. The song, as I later found out, was “Paradise by the Dashboard Light” and the ball game that it was drowning out, was actually Phil Rizzuto’s one-take addition to the middle of the Meatloaf song to enhance Jim Steinman’s idea of “going all the way”. I bought the album and loved all the songs, but “PBTDBL” was a party-time singalong favorite ever after that. I even learned to recite the baseball clip so I could do it while everyone else was singing.

29. Heart of Gold – Neil Young; (single) When we moved to China to teach school, my wife happened to find three fellow teachers who were as interested in playing music as she was. They decided to form a band and they played together at various staff functions and school performances. They even played together at some of the Blues Clubs in downtown Wuhan. My wife was always trying to find songs with harmonica parts that could be played to include me as part of the band. They learned to do “The Weight” and another Blues song which I wrote in Chinese. My favorite though was a song by one of the best Canadian rockers ever – Neil Young. A lot of his songs had harmonica parts and usually in the key of ‘G’, which is my favorite key, but the one they eventually played the most was “Heart of Gold”. The rest is history.

30. Angel From Montgomery – Patti Layne; (single) John Prine wrote this song and did a really good version of it on a couple of his albums. Then Bonnie Raitt came along and gave even more service to the number. It was actually the version I liked the best. The best that is, until my wife started singing it. “Angel From Montgomery” is one of the songs she does in her performance gigs to mix with her own original compositions. She plays it whenever she practices at home so I get to hear it a lot. Her version has grown on me in the last 10 years and has really become a big part of my life’s soundtrack.

And, there you have it - the soundtrack to my life to this point. I think that music says a lot about the musician, but also a lot about the person who listens to it. Hopefully, I have a few more good listening years left so that I can add several more tunes before the end of the movie.