Last Friday, while checking news articles during lunch, I noticed a story about Wrigley Field. The content of that article really isn't relevant to this post, but what is relevant is that the article got me thinking about the North Side of Chicago ( where Wrigley Field is located - I took a road trip there 11 years ago ). Thinking about the North Side of Chicago got me thinking about the South Side of Chicago, which immediately made the song "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown" start playing in my head ( The song starts with the lines "The South Side of Chicago / is the baddest part of town. / And if you go there / you better just beware / of a man named Leroy Brown. " ).
"Bad, Bad Leroy Brown" is one of those songs the will always be ingrained in my memory, because I probably listened to it about 100 times in the backseat of the family car when I was a young child. My parents were both born in the 40's ( Dad in 1943 and Mom in 1947 ), and as such, they were among the first generation of parents to really pass Rock n' Roll music down to their kids. My parents pretty much always had the radio on when they drove, and it was always playing the most popular music of the day ( Actually, whether my Mom or Dad was driving, I think my Mom pretty much controlled the radio. Back in the 60's my Mom was one of these screaming teenage girls you would see at Beatles concerts ( She was at one of the Beatles groundbreaking Shea Stadium concerts ) ).
I think there's something special about the memories we develop as a young child. We see the world differently as children, so reflecting on those memories gives us a perspective other memories can't. I think that music makes special memories too. I think almost all of us have our own personal "soundtrack of our lives". We all have memories of special songs which we associate with key moments in our lives. So, with that in mind, I think there's something extra special about the music we associate with our childhood. After thinking a bit about "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown", I started to reflect upon the songs that really caught my attention when I would listen to music in the back seat of my parents' car in the early to mid 70's. I quickly jotted down the first 10 songs that came to my mind. Those 10 songs ( in no particular order ) are ...
American Pie
I said this list would be in no particular order, but I decided to list Don McLean's "America Pie" first, because when I was three years old, I considered this to be my favorite song. I think there's something about the lyrical richness of this song that would enchant just about any small child. Listening to this song was almost like listening to a bedtime story. It was a story I really enjoyed, despite that fact that I had no idea what a levee was, and the song always made me wonder how somebody could possibly drink rye bread.
Saturday in the Park
This may be the best feel-good song of all time. The lyrics by themselves are really feel-good, the music puts you in a good mood as soon as your hear the first few piano notes, and I dare anyone not to crack a smile when the first brass notes play at the 18 second mark. This song ( understandably enough ) seems to be a staple these days at Saturday afternoon baseball games.
Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head
This is just a great song by one of the greatest American songwriters ( Burt Bacharach ), though I must admit that it was the lyrics ( by Hal David, Bacharach's long-time collaborator - Burt did the music and Hal did the lyrics ) that enchanted me as a child, despite that fact that a some of them don't make a lot of sense when you really think about it. I mean - I've always loved the image of the "guy whose feet are too big for his bed", but considering that I've never heard that expression in any other context ( Has anyone actually ever complained that his/her feet were too big for a bed? ), I don't think it makes any sense to say "Raindrops keep fallin' on my head. And just like the guy whose feet are too big for his bed". That being said, those lines still stick in my head all these years later, so I guess it's a great lyric.
Let Em In
I no longer consider this to be my favorite post-Beatles McCartney tune, ( I think I like both "Band on the Run" and "Maybe I'm Amazed", better than this one ), but back when I was a kid it was my favorite. There's something really kid-friendly about the repetitive lyrics, especially the parts where Paul calls out the names of all the relatives.
Cats in the Cradle
This is another one I loved as a kid because of the way it tells a story. Of course, now that I'm an adult with sons of my own, I find this song especially poignant today. This one can still choke me up a bit. This song really is to music what "Field of Dreams" is to movies. Perhaps only men can really "get" this song ( My wife still doesn't understand why "Field of Dreams" makes me cry. I, for my part, have no idea why she cries at the end of "Ghost'. ), but all men pretty much "get" it.
Love Will Keep Us Together
Did "Captain and Tennille" epitomize the the cheesiness of the 70s?
Undeniable.
Is this song incredibly catchy?
Undeniable.
Superstition
If this song doesn't make you move, you just might be dead.
Rich Girl
As a kid, I just loved the line "You can rely on the old man's money". Of course, as a little kid, I had no idea that "old man" meant "father". So every time I heard this song, I envisioned an elderly guy with huge bags of cash.
Paradise by the Dashboard Light
Considering the subject matter of this song, perhaps it's a bit inappropriate that I liked this song so much as a child. Of course, I really had no idea what they were singing about. I just knew a loved the back and forth during the "Will you love me forever / Let me sleep on it" part.
Squeeze Box
OK, so this song is really inappropriate for a child - but I swear when I heard the lines "Mama's got a squeeze box, Daddy never sleeps at night", I thought they were singing about an accordion!
Rich
P.S. I don't know how many responses I'll get to this post, but if you do respond, I'd love to hear your own lists of childhood songs.
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