You may be wondering how a Brooklyn girl came to love country music. I'm gonna try to explain. They say to know where you are and where you're going, you have to look back. That's where I'm going in this post.
It was the mid to late 60's when I first became aware, musically speaking. Back in those days, here in NYC there were 2 stations that teens and tweens listened to and they were both on the AM dial: WABC and WMCA. I was 10 when I got my first transistor radio which was the iPod of it's day. I took it everywhere except to school. In those days, things were simpler. Top 40 radio meant just that. All hits all the time. Those hits ran the gamut from rock to pop to jazz, instrumentals, standards and country. Thing is, at 10 I didn't make those distinctions and neither did any of the DJ's. All I knew was that I liked it or I didn't. And if I didn't, I switched to the other station or waited 3 minutes till it was over and something more pleasing hit my ears. It wasn't until many years later that I learned that most of my favorite songs from those formative years were country songs. Even as I grew into my teens in the early 70's, country continued to be a major influence, even though it was never defined as such on my new favorite stations, WOR-FM, WNEW-FM and WPLJ.
I have come to realize just how much those early "radio days" of mine have shaped my love of modern country music. Did I have any idea, listening to Aime on WNEW-FM that Vince Gill would be one of my favorite artists 2 decades later? I had no idea who was in Pure Prairie League back then. I just liked the song. When I discovered the connection, it was an "ahh haaa" moment; it made perfect sense. Discoveries like those go on and on. There were so many artists on rock and pop radio back then that I later discovered came from country roots. Likewise, there are a lot of artists who today are cited as influences by modern country artists who were never, or only marginally considered country artists back in the day. The point I'm trying to make is, in the end, good music is good music and that is always subjectively based on who's listening. What it's called shouldn't matter. Putting labels on it only serves to alienate potential listeners. To think of what I might have missed out on if my mom hadn't sung You Are My Sunshine to me as a child and taught me 16 Tons when I was a bit older is thought provoking. She learned those songs from the pop radio of her day.
From grade school through high school, I lived in a high rise apartment building on the 16th floor in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn. Our terrace looked out onto the beach, the Atlantic Ocean and Brighton Beach Baths... a beach club with 3 pools, tennis courts, playground, plenty of lounging areas, both concrete and sandy, and a small arena with a small stage.. Every summer afternoon at 5, there would be dancing there for the "old" people. They got all dressed up in their dancing clothes and shoes. And every day they would dance to the likes of Make The World Go Away, King Of The Road, and It's Only Make Believe. To this day, I can picture those couples dancing every time I hear one of those songs. They are part of my earliest musical memories. I can't imagine where I'd be today, musically speaking, without those early experiences.
They say it all begins with a song. For me, a kid from Brooklyn, I'm glad the songs that I began with were country songs.
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Harriet, I am so proud of what you are telling all of us. Of course many of us already knew what you had to say and how well you say it. It's good to see that you are putting it "out there" for everyone to see! And to think I knew you back when 10 to 13 years ago when you were KountryKitty or something to that effect. We have come along way since that meeting.
ReplyDeleteCarol
Carol, I thank you for your kind words... kntrykitty seems like ages ago and at the same time, like yesterday... a lot of water under the proverbial bridge since then, sistah! damn those miles, as judy would say!
ReplyDeleteKeep it coming.
ReplyDeleteSo much of what you wrote is the same as my musical influence. I am a little bit older than you and my mom played Glenn Miller and Artie Shaw all the time so I know that music, as well. I agree that they limit what we hear and like by labeling the music today. Love your insight and cannot wait to read your next blog.
ReplyDeleteThese are GREAT Harriet!
ReplyDeleteHarriet, I remember sitting by my bedroom window with my transistor radio listening to WMCA and WABC. Do you remember the blackout, was it 1966 or 67? I was in 6th grade. I sat in the dark of my room listening to the radio that night. I think it was from that point on that I realized how important my radio (and music) were going to be in my life. From then on, I became an avid listener! Thanks for reviving my memories!
ReplyDeleteInes
Thank you all for your kind comments. Ines, I do indeed remember the blackout.. I was upstate in sleep-away camp at the time, but my mom had to walk down 16 flights of steps to get out of our apartment building!
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