BABY
BOOMER BABBLE
Magical musical tour
Now for my top 30 songs. I
ainÕt much of a country fan. I consider most of it crying. I canÕt understand
most rap songs, which is probably good. The blues make me blue and jazz makes
me crazy. So I stick pretty much to rock and roll and folk music. That sums up
the musical taste of one old hippie baby boomer.
Music is the soul of a
generation. Each has its own. The post war period had swing and the big band
sound. The 60Õs and 70Õs had rock. The 80Õs and 90Õs had nothing, and now, rap
and hip hop. The music sets the pace and the trend for what is happening in
society at the time. During the 60Õs and 70Õs, rock and folk music captured the
spirit and rebellion of the time. After all, the motto was: Sex, Drugs, and Rock
& Roll. The music, as much as anything, tells the tale.
My favorite all-time song
is from the Beatles Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band album, ŌA Day in
the Life. Ō
The song was actually a combination of two separate songs, one written by John
Lennon, the other by Paul McCartney. The lyrics, ŌIÕd love to turn you on,Ķ
became quite controversial. The mainline music industry thought it was an
attempt to get young people to use drugs. The BBC banned the song. The Beatles,
or their fans, could care less. We were already high.
Here are the rest of my top
30, in no particular order: BlowinÕ In The Wind, by Bob Dylan; Crazy, by Willie Nelson and Patsy
Cline; Fire and Rain, by James Taylor; Great Balls of Fire, by Jerry Lee Lewis; Hello
Dolly, by
Louis Armstrong; Hoochie Coochie Man, by Willie Dixon and Muddy Waters, Mr.
Tambourine Man, by
The Byrds; Night and Day, by Cole Porter; Light My Fire, by The Doors; Once in a
Lifetime, by
The Talking Heads; Piece of My Heart, by Janis Joplin; Pretty Woman, by Roy Orbison; Purple
Haze, by
Jimi Hendrix; Tapestry, by Carole King; Angel From Montgomery, by John Prine and Bonnie
Raitt; Fat Man in the Bathtub, by Little Feat; Bridge Over Troubled Water, by Simon and Garfunkel; Legend
(album),
by Bob
Marley; Moon Dance, by Van Morrison; Hotel California, by The Eagles; Chicken
Train, by
The Ozark Mt. Daredevils; Stairway to Heaven, by Led Zeppelin; Paradise
by the Dashboard Light, by Meatloaf; Like a Rolling Stone, by Bob Dylan; WhatÕs
Going On, by
Marvin Gaye; I Can Ôt Get No Satisfaction, by The Rolling Stones; Fire
on the Mountain, by
The Marshall Tucker Band; and Hillbilly Stomp, by Kid Rock.
A couple of oldies, a few
folk songs, one album, cause I couldnÕt pick a favorite, and a beauty from Kid
Rock, in honor of my new home state, Arkansas. I could easily list another 30,
but I think you get the picture. If music tells a tale about you, itÕs pretty
clear IÕm a rock and roll boomer through and through. I still like my music
loud and fast.
You other boomers out
there, send me some of your own favorites. IÕll list them in a column on down
the road. WeÕll call it The Boomer Music Festival.