Music Fitting the Times

Am I a rock and roll mama?  I would have to say yes to that.  Not your tattooed, motorcycle leather lovin.' beer drinking and smoking, well, whatever, on the weekend with your hippie boyfriend
kind.  Just a mama who likes her rock and roll.

That influence started with having older siblings who were growing up in the 60's.  Okay, well, I started growing up in the sixties, too, but really was too young to be aware of music until sometime in the 1970's when I was old enough to pay attention.  What I was aware of in our house were the hours my two brothers played Smoke On The Water by Deep Purple on their electric guitar - the only song they ever played, I might add.  And not even the entire song.  Just this part (you need only listen to the first 54 seconds): 

Yes, that was it.  That was the extent of their abilities on the electric guitar.

But then my brother, Kevin, started buying albums.  If you are under 25, you likely do not know what that is, so let me explain.  An album is the "old fashioned" vinyl records they put music on before the horrible 8-track tape and slightly less horrible cassette tapes were created and long before CD's:

This is a picture of the album on the record player.  Just in case it seems confusing.  I tried to find a recording of the obnoxious sound an 8-track tape made, often right in the middle of the song playing, but was unsuccessful. 

My older sister actually played guitar quite well (folk/acoustic, not electric), and listened mostly to folk music like Peter, Paul & Mary, Joan Baez, Judy Collins, Jose Feliciano - just a few that I can recall off the top of my head.  My mother played piano and she played hymns and music from the late '30s, early '40s and a few from the '50s.  Every so often, we could talk her into playing some John Denver or Anne Murray.  And she loved Kris Kristopherson but left that music to my sister. Dad liked big band music and had many 45's - also a vinyl record but smaller and requiring a special piece you put on the record player to hold it properly because rather than having a pea-sized hole, it had one about the size of a quarter or so.  And both my parents enjoyed country music, too.  Thus, I was exposed to all kinds of music and realized I actually liked them all! 

Tonight, I pulled up a few YouTube videos that contained some of the songs I love.  It's a huge variety and if you can guess their era, you are probably my age or older.  I fell in love with music.  I have a lot of this music in my own collection.  I have the Woodstock album, some Jimi Hendrix, Carol King, Peter, Paul and Mary, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young The Rolling Stones, The Who, Stevie Wonder......this list could go on and on.

Over the years, I've been on a binge of liking female artists, then back to bands, over to male artists, off to trios, and so on.  These days, I love John Mayer, Robert Plant & Allison Krauss, Akon, Ne-Yo, Jason Mraz, again, a mile-long list.  How can you not love music?