And the beat goes on
The little 5-year-old lying across my lap was singing one of her favorite songs in an attempt to stay awake.
It had been a long day for her, but she was with Grammy, Pappy, her sister and her cousins, and wanted to keep the party going.
It didn’t work and she drifted off to sleep.
Music has long been a part of our family life. A few of the little ones attend weekly dance classes while another is honing her piano playing skills.
When strains of music grace our home, impromptu dance moves are soon to follow in the living room or kitchen. Live vocals invariably support the recorded melodies.
My early memories of music began in my grandmother’s living room.
If you were at Grandma’s on a Saturday night, you joined with aunts, uncles and cousins to watch the Lawrence Welk Show and listen to Myron Floren on the accordion or Norma Zimmer crooning a tune.
The gathering of family members would also spawn a sing-a-long with the family matriarch sitting at the piano playing a favorite show tune or hymn. I learned the words to every popular Christmas song standing alongside that piano.
The early introduction to music stayed with us, with many going on to take music lessons of some sort, singing in the church choir and some sharing their musical talents with others through lessons. Grandma would be proud.
As a teenager, the playlist of my grandmother yielded to the music of the Beatles, Beach Boys, Temptations and Diana Ross.
The perfect summer afternoon during my youth was sitting on a blanket at the local community pool listening to ‘Good Vibrations.’
As time passed, my playlist grew as I was introduced to other types of music — whether by choice or fate.
I was never a big fan of country music and considered the Charlie Daniels Band to be in that genre, until not only my spouse, but the legendary artist himself explained that his music encompassed a variety of styles.
When you listen closely, the influence of bluegrass and gospel rhythms are heard, as is some rock.
His music comes from the heart, as he told me and you can both hear and feel it as he lays his fiddle on his shoulder and pulls the bow across its strings.
Our CD cabinet has yet to include Jason Aldean music, but there are a number of them that feature the CDB.
Jazz, too, was not a part of my musical lexicon early on, but like other forms of music, if you genuinely listen, it can be appealing.
Mose Allison is a favorite with my spouse, so I was introduced to the jazz pianist, both on the stereo and in person when he played in Pittsburgh and again in Chicago.
I was fascinated with how lightly he touched the ivories yet produced such a volume of music.
We’ve recently had the opportunity to combine our music favorites within internet-based Pandora where one lists an artist and a personal radio station is created featuring that musician’s songs and related music.
Joining Charlie Daniels, Mose Allison, Santana and Hot Tuna, is Fabian.
While I had some knowledge of the late 50s, early 60s rocker growing up, it was not until a few years ago did I become familiar with his music and his films.
I had the good fortune to interview the Dunbar Township resident and his wife — the former Andrea Patrick — for a story.
The couple invited me to their home and shared the stories of his happenstance rise to stardom and their chance meeting on a Los Angeles street.
I have since listened to his music and watched a few of his movies.
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Harold Betters and the Clarks, who have Fayette County roots, as a part of the playlist, among many others.
One could say my music taste has grown over the years.