Why The Beatles Mean So Much To Me
Hey kids! It's Blogapolooz night. What?! You're thinking didn't you just do one yesterday? Well yeah, we did but this is the night time version. Just think of it like The Price Is Right, where they have a day and night show. They still do that don't they?
Anyway...tonight's topic is "Pick a song (or songs) that has special meaning to you and explain why."
Music is a huge part of my life and I could choose many songs but really, it's one band that is responsible for my love of music....The Beatles. I know those of you who know me or read this blog are shocked by this but it's true! HA!
It started in 1964. I was eleven years old and had been following pop music for a couple of years. I can still remember those early songs..."Sugar Shack" by Jimmy Gilmore, "Dominique" by The Singing Nun and my first 45 was "Wonderful Summer" by Robin Ward. Blah...BLAH...BLAH!!!
But man oh man here comes the winter of '64. The entire country is still in shock over the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. I'm in 6th grade and just a few months away from entering Junior High. For a young kid, you could see a bit a freedom. You get to spread your wings at least a little bit. Not to mention discovering girls. And coming over from England were the guys who became the symbol for all of that. John. Paul. George. Ringo.
The Beatles were the true embodiment of the saying guys wanna be them and girls want to be with them. Remember all the girls screaming? The guys wished they were screaming at us...even in 6th grade.
It was the entire package with these guys. They had cool clothes. Beatles caps and boots. They had that mop head hair. It was outrageous for the day. Plus our parents didn't understand them and they didn't like them. The best reason of all!! They were the Elvis of my generation.
And it all started with their first song in America, "I Want to Hold Your Hand". Pretty simple pop song. Far from their best, even in their early days, but it whetted our appetite for more...and more we got.
The Beatles were the soundtrack of my youth through high school. Plus because of their success, we have so many other musical acts that followed them to the States. Not to mention, that most kids of my generation who decided to play a musical instrument did so because they were influenced by The Beatles.
It's fifty-two years since the Fab Four came to the US and made their first appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show. I have records that I haven't heard in decades. None of them are by The Beatles. I rarely go for more for a few days between one of their songs or albums.
Finally, it's not just my generation that loves them. We've passed it down to our children and and their children. If you go to a Paul McCartney concert you'll see plenty of kids under ten with their parents and grandparents. There aren't too many activities you can say that about.
In my case, all you need to do is look at the photo at the top of this post. It's the Father-Daughter dance at my daughter's wedding. The song is "In My Life" by who else. We were singing the song as we danced. It wasn't the only Beatles song played at the wedding.
I have a feeling that when my kids have kids and those kids have weddings, there will be Beatles music playing at those weddings. I hope to be around to dance with them again.
This is a piece I wrote about George Harrison and The Concert For Bangladesh. It's close to three years old and is one of my favorite blog posts.
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