This week my Saturday 9 will again be a bit different. Since my husband Bob, previously known on this blog as Happy King, is passionate about music and I can barely remember the names of songs that I like, I asked him to take a crack at this week’s questions. On the other hand, since my husband is so passionate about music, his answers are quite detailed. Hope you enjoy!
Saturday 9: Just Our Choices in Music
1. What was your first favorite song?
I’ve loved music for as long as I can remember, so I was thrilled when Trish asked me to sit in on her blog. Though I don’t recall exactly which was my first favorite song, I remember “Hey Betty Martin, Tippy Toe Tippy Toe” from my kindergarten class, which would have been in the fall of 1970. I recall everyone walking around on tip-toes when it was played.
I was one of the inaugural viewers of Sesame Street, and the first record I ever bought was from around this same time period. It was the 45 of “Rubber Ducky” with the flipside of “The Sesame Street Theme (‘Can You Tell Me How To Get to Sesame Street?…’).”
My parents sent me into the store to ask if they had a copy; I was four years old and it was the first time I remember doing something like that. The last record I bought at that store was John William’s score to Superman in 1978.
I have never stopped collecting music–it became a passion over the next 38 years. An early favorite song of mine was Simon and Garfunkel’s Bridge Over Troubled Water. It was one of the few contemporary pop albums my parents had, and I still love the solo gospel piano that builds to that huge wall-of-sound and Art Garfunkel’s amazing vocal and those cannon-fire drums by Hal Blaine (who has played drums on many of my favorite records over the years).
2. Who was your first favorite female singer?
The other pop album my parents had at that time was The Carpenters self-titled third album by brother and sister Richard and Karen Carpenter. Karen’s voice was one of the most distinctive and beautiful I’ve ever heard and few people had the arranging skills of her brother.
Another early favorite was Patty Andrews of the Andrews sisters. I used to see them in some of the early Abbott and Costello films that aired every weekend on one of the New York City stations that our local cable company lined in to State College because the mountainous terrain made broadcasting impractical. Patty could sing anything and make it her own and when sisters Maxine and Laverne added their harmonies, they created a vocal sound that remains one of my favorites in all of pop music history.
3. Who was your first favorite male singer?
It would probably be Art Garfunkel‘s angelic tenor (see the answer to question number one).
4. Who was your first favorite band?
That would be the Beatles. I loved the animated film Yellow Submarine, which I first saw on the Penn State campus in the early 70′s. I remember seeing the film broadcast a few years later on our black and white TV set and the hair standing up on the back of my neck when I heard the harmonies on the chorus of “Yellow Submarine.”
I also recall racing home from school on my bike the day I knew their film “Help” was going to be on the Channel 16 Dialing for Dollars Movie out of Scranton. Keep in mind this was many years before the advent of music videos, so the chances to actually see footage of a favorite band performing were few and far between.
5. Who is your all time favorite band?
I don’t have a single favorite; I have many that I try to switch between because I tend to suffer from “overplay syndrome,” so I will only listen for a season and then come back to them after a time. I’ll give my dozen favorite bands but don’t hold me to them as some get edged-out over time and all of them have some songs I hate. I usually don’t like a band’s big hits – I generally will go for more obscure album tracks, but anyway here are 12 that I have returned to most often:
- The Beach Boys
- The Beatles
- The Byrds
- The Lost Dogs
- The Roches
- The Everly Brothers
- The Ramones
- Fleetwood Mac
- Buddy Holly and the Crickets
- Guster
- Steely Dan
- The Andrews Sisters
6. Who is your all time favorite male singer?
In his prime, I would say it was Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys.
7. Who is your all time favorite female singer?
On pure vocal talent alone I like Linda Ronstadt, but I also love:
- Natalie Cole
- Emmylou Harris
- k.d. lang
- Ella Fitzgerald
- Mindy Smith
- Cass Elliot
- Enya
- Shawn Colvin, and
- Marie Armenia
I should probably add that I think the quality of someone’s voice generally has very little to do with what I like about a song or why I would buy a disc. The emphasis on “singers” is why American Idol had contributed to an astounding decline in the quality of popular music and the toxically high levels of crap that make it difficult for me to listen to the radio. For me, it comes down more to the quality of songwriting or catchiness of the music. So I’m adding a sub-column that lists some of my favorite songwriters, many of whom also perform their own works:
- Brian Wilson
- Julie Miller
- Jimmy Webb
- Keith and Melody Green
- Terry Taylor
- Michael Roe
- Phil and Marie Armenia
- Bob Dylan
- Chris Tomlin
- Joni Mitchell
- Steve Fry
- David Crowder
- Twila Paris
- Tom Waits and Kathleen Brennan
- John Lennon and Paul McCartney
- John Linnell (They Might Be Giants)
- John Flansburgh (They Might Be Giants)
- Phil and Marie Armenia
- Lindsey Buckingham
- Victoria Williams
8. What is your all time favorite LP/CD album?
I don’t have a single favorite so I’ll give you 12 that are near the top of the list:
- The Beach Boys Today!
- The Beatles The Beatles (aka The White Album)
- Julie Miller Orphans and Angels
- Keith Green For Him Who Has Ears To Hear
- The Lost Dogs Real Men Cry
- Jane Siberry The Walking
- The Ramones End of The Century
- Brian Wil
son SMiLE - Fleetwood Mac Tusk
- Lindsey Buckingham Out of the Cradle
- The Roches Speak
- Joni Mitchell Hejira
9. What was your first favorite radio station?
WMAJ in State College, an AM radio station that played the top 40 in the 70′s and put out little pamphlets that listed the top 40 singles and had pictures of the DJ’s on the front.
Thanks for indulging my husband on his stroll down memory lane! Visit Saturday 9 to find more participants and join in on the fun!
{ 5 comments }
Happy Saturday 9. Mine’s pretty boring since I can never decide what my favorites are in the world of music! LOL
I enjoyed reading this! I wish I knew the actual work of many more of these artists… I’m pretty illiterate in music history!
You’ve made me curious to the works of the artists you’ve mentioned. Thanks for this.
Since your post is all about music, I figure it’s a good opportunity to tell you about this. If you are at all a fan of Idina Menzel (if you aren’t familiar with her, think Rent, Desperate Housewives and Enchanted) then swing by for my giveaway. I have two of her CD to give away and since I screwed up my template people weren’t able to comment! I fixed the template but I think the damage is done.
I’m not trying to spam you, but you just made it too much of an opportunity with this post. hehe But if you want to – once you get this message, feel free to delete it.
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