Posts

Nothing Like Finding a Forgotten Song

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  Once upon a time, there was no Internet. No Pandora, Spotify, YouTube or Google. In many ways, those were better times.   We listened to the radio, which we all know could be hit or miss.  Maybe we'd have to listen extra carefully to hear the DJ list the songs they played before a commercial came on. Or we'd actually call and talk to the disc jockey (or whoever answered the phone). Once you knew what the mystery song was, and who recorded it, it was time to either buy the 45, or LP. Or be on the ready with the portable radio/cassette player to tape it the next time it played on the radio. If you got tired of waiting, you could request it, and then wait some more. I mostly listened to "Classic Hits" or "Album Oriented Rock" stations. Sometimes if there wasn't anything good on those, I'd check the "Oldies" and "Soft Rock" options, and finally, contemporary or Mixed channels. By the end of the 80's there really wasn't much ...

They Don't Make Songs Like This Anymore!

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  Every so often you can hear a song or an artist from a long time ago. And it transports you back in time. How about Johnny Mathis? He was amazing, and so was the "sound" he had in all those old recordings.  How can you resist that lush orchestra, reminiscent of Nat King Cole? Johnny Mathis was a great singer too.  My personal favorite of his songs is "It's Not For Me To Say". The tickling of the piano keys is very appealing to me for some reason. I went online to try and find out who was playing the piano.  I found out quite a bit, but not who the piano player was. For example, the song was recorded in 1956, and released in February 1957. It peaked at number five in the US.  It was written for a movie I've never heard of. "Lizzie". The music was composed by Robert Allen and the lyrics by Al Stillman.  Ray Conniff 's Orchestra played in the song as well.  (By the way, I don't know what I did before Wikipedia.)  But I still don't know w...

An old song can make you young again!

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  Do you ever hear an old song unexpectedly, and find yourself feeling they way you did way back when? That happens when I hear songs that used to be on the radio. Back in the olden days, before streaming and YouTube.  There were so many good songs. Back when I was a child, I didn't always know what group or artist did a song I heard if it wasn't a big hit. I may not even know the title, unless it was really obvious. Here's a song I really love from the early 70's.  Jackie Blue.  It's so catchy! I never get tired of hearing it. Back then the lyrics probably didn't mean anything to me, I'm sure I didn't hear it enough times to analyze them. I just feel the vibrations of my childhood when I hear it, and that's a nice thing, now that I'm old. What songs bring you back to your childhood? I have dozens more, but I'll save them for another day. I'm trying to get in the habit of posting more often!

So Much Music, So Little Time

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Welcome to my first post! I've been thinking about starting this blog for quite a long time. I listen to a lot of music, and I often lament that there is so much music, and not enough time to hear it all.  I enjoy listening to music I already love, but it's nice to discover "new" old music too. What is your favorite group? Favorite song? Favorite genre? The topics we can discuss are unlimited.  I almost don't know where to start. I haven't figured out exactly how I will format this blog, I think I will just write what inspires me on a given day. And that usually stems with what I'm listening to.  Things have sure changed in music accessibility since the internet came in. I remember how hard it used to be to find an obscure song or "45", or even an album. It was so gratifying to be able to either find a friend who had the song and could tape it for you, or search for it among the collector magazines like Goldmine and DISCoveries. Even better to fi...