Childhood Music Memories

I think that everyone must have a “soundtrack” to their life. For me it’s the music that makes up my earliest childhood memories, the backdrop to my first kiss and my first breakup, long summer afternoons with my best friend, and many hours spent alone in my room suffering from teen angst. Amazingly, I remember the lyrics to most of these songs when I can hardly remember what I had for lunch yesterday or what time my next meeting is tomorrow. These songs have become a permanent fixture in my mind.

I grew up with a variety of music, a little bit country and little bit rock n’ roll, as the saying goes. My dad liked old time country western music like Don Williams, Merle Haggard, and Emmy Lou Harris. My mom on the other hand was firmly entrenched in 1960’s-1970’s pop-rock. She taught me to do “the twist” to the Beach Boys and we listened to her Herman’s Hermits record over and over again. I remember swinging on the school playground singing at the top of my lungs that song by Barry Manilow, “I write the songs that make the whole world sing…” and belting out the Roy Clark version of “Your Cheatin’ Heart” (at my parent’s request) when I was 8 years old.

I went through a Beatles obsession when I was in high school. I even had Beatles posters hanging up on my closet door and I would jump around my room lip-synching “Can’t Buy Me Love” into my hairbrush. My favorite teenage pastime, besides reading geeky sci-fi fantasy books, was sitting next to my stereo with a finger on the record button of the cassette player, creating mix-tapes from Casey Kasem’s Top 40 countdown.

Whenever I hear a Jimi Hendrix or Bob Marley song I think of my first kiss with a boy named Josh and the song “It Must Have been Love” by Roxette brings back my first heartbreak. To this day almost any song from the 1980’s brings on a serious case of nostalgia! Who couldn’t love “Rock Me Amadeus” by Falco or “Take on Me” by Aha? I’m only slightly kidding! I currently have many of these songs on my iPod (I love my iPod by the way)!

Joel and I have a dating soundtrack all our own. We used to go for long drives in his 1973 Ford Maverick (okay, 1971 Maverick--I stand corrected, Joel) listening to Steve Miller Band, Creedence Clearwater Revival and The Eagles. We had a little “retro” thing going, before retro was cool. Joel was also into the Christian “hair-bands” like Stryper and Holy Soldier (oh my). We also loved U2 and The Violet Burning.

So enough about me! I’m curious about you! What are your favorite songs from childhood? What memories do they bring back? I really want to know! Tell me, tell me tell me! Please? Remember, I just shared my really embarrassing list of music with you. Pretty please?

Jen