I was listening to the radio on the way back from the airport the other morning and a Seals and Croft song came on the radio. The song, took me back to the summers on Timber Lane in Illinois when I was 10 or 11, and just hanging out with my girlfriends, and probably playing some sort of cards or a board game.
My very first 45 was “Downtown” sung by Petula Clark, loved that one!! For those of you too young to know what a 45 record is I am including a picture for you. I could probably get money for this on eBay, but it’s just too sentimental for me.
The song, “Saturday in the Park”, by Chicago, takes me back to a car ride with my mom going to pick up my dad at O’Hare airport after a working trip he had taken to Puerto Rico. I believe he was gone for a month, and we were so glad to have him back home.
Fleetwood Mac, Rumours album the entire album, takes me back to the summer of ‘ 77, our first summer living in California. Totally reminds me of spending days at the beach or next to the pool.
Hotel California by the Eagles, again the entire album, was the nickname for our parents’ house when we had friends from out-of-state vacationing and staying with us, or with friends who lived there with us.
Elton John’s song, “Blue Eyes”, takes me back to around ’81 or ‘82 singing the song to my first-born daughter, Naomi. She has the bluest eyes I had ever seen. Loved those lyrics:
Blue eyes baby’s got blue eyes
Like a deep blue sea
On a blue, blue day
Blue eyes, baby’s got blue eyes
“God Bless the USA”, by Lee Greenwood holds a special place in my heart. My baby boy, Zachary, sang this song to me during one of his medical procedures for his leukemia treatments when he was 10 years old. I believe it was when he was going in for a spinal tap, and I got so teary eyed that my sweet baby boy was singing in the middle of everything he was going through that every time I heard that song for the next few years I could cry on the spot. My husband and kids would tell you it still bring tears to my eyes to this day, but not so much anymore.
And my favorite love song with my soul mate (you know Travel Man) is “When You Say Nothing at All”, by Keith Whitley. A sweet, tender love song that reminds me of our first date.
It’s amazing how you can define or remember a poignant moment in your life by a song. An oldie may come on the radio, or you find an old album (What’s that grandma?), and you are taken back to a snapshot of your life from another time and most likely you were living in another place. In our house growing up we were always exposed to so much music (thanks Mom and Dad). And it was from all sorts of genres; classical, country, rock and roll, a great upbringing! I just hope that we have given our kids those same sorts of memories, and still continue to do so. We all have our favorite songs that we like to listen to at family parties, and now we put them all in the same playlist. And I do want to go on record here as saying that Classic Rock will ALWAYS have a place in the music world. Three generations that like to listen to Queens’, “We Will Rock You”, is a testament to the Classic Rock era. That is amazing.
What’s your favorite life song that captures a special moment in time?
“God bless the broken road”, that led me straight to you–Rascal Flats
Make that 4 generations of Rockin and Rollin to Queen! Awww….love this blog! so, so true!