My Playlist

February is a month full of themes and special days for celebration.  We have Ground Hog Day, Super Bowl weekend, Black History Month, Mardi Gras season, Fat Tuesday, Ash Wednesday, the season of Lent, the State of the Union, the season of love (Valentine’s Day), President’s Day and special birthdays:  mine, Chelsea’s, Ginny’s (Alyce’s mom), Abraham Lincoln, George Washington. We have unpredictable weather even though Pauxatauwny Phil tries to give us a reassuring hint, sunny days followed by gray skies and blustery winds. So this month, along with many others, is a perfect time to cozy up with a good book, drink some hot tea or toddies, spend time with friends and family and simply enjoy the daily activities that fill your life.

The multiple choices and possibilities of daily life are the music we dance to. - Stephen King, 11/22/63 (a good book!)

Every life has a soundtrack.  Music is the language of memory. – Jodi Picoult, Sing Me Home (another really good book!)

 

My Playlist (songs from life, the language of my memories)

1.      Jesus Loves Me – I think the first songs I learned were taught to me in Sunday School and Vacation Bible School…some early memories include these:  Deep and Wide, Do Lord, This Little Light of Mine, Jesus Loves the Little Children

2.     Your Cheatin’ Heart – My dad used to sit outside and play his guitar and sing Hank Williams’ songs.

 

3.     How Great Thou Art- My dad also used to be the “song leader” for church on Sundays and occasional country church revivals.  I sat on the first or second pew where he could keep an eye on me.  I heard/sang all the old hymns such as:  Amazing Grace, The Old Rugged Cross (it was a relief to know that the crucifixion happened far, far away), Bringing in the Sheets ( I mean what are sheaves anyway?), Just As I Am, Onward Christian Soldiers, Battle Hymn of the Republic, Holy, Holy, Holy, His Eye is on the Sparrow

4.     Yellow Polka Dot Bikini – my early childhood best friend had older sisters so we listened to pop songs of their choice. I also remember Sea Cruise from this genre.

5.     Gospel quartets and country – my grandparents liked weekend musical TV entertainment.  I remember the Porter Waggoner show with his young protégé, Dolly Parton, who advertised Breeze laundry detergent which gave you a pretty striped towel in the box.   The Blackwood Brothers Quartet and He- Haw were also among their favorites.

6.     Moon River – My family was excited at the purchase of a new maple finish piece of furniture, a stereo hi-fi. The first family record albums I remember are Andy Williams Greatest Hits, Alvin and the chipmunks Christmas songs and Burl Ives singing Americana/children’s music favorites.

7.     Sound of Silence – my first music purchase with my own money was a 45 record of Simon and Garfunkel.  The flip side was I am a Rock. 

8.     Mrs. Brown You’ve Got a Lovely Daughter – my first album purchase was Herman’s Hermits, a preteen crush on Peter Noone. I would play this as my background to checking off my list of chores on a Saturday morning.

9.     Little Red Riding Hood, Wooly Bully – memories of music played during summers at the Carrollton swimming pool.

10.   Sweet Baby James, Tapestry, Déjà vu – favorite albums of my teenage years

11. Harvest-Neil Young’s finest was repeated often during spend the nights at Chrystine Accardi’s house.

12. Chicago – my first concert at Dallas Memorial Auditorium

13. Three Dog Night and Rod Stewart, opening by B.W. Stephenson- first concert with Darrell at the Cottonbowl

14. Thank You by Led Zeppelin, Can We Make it Last by Bozz Skaggs – “our songs” for me and Darrell

15. Hallelujah Chorus, Rhapsody in Blue – songs we performed in high school R.L. Turner Acapella choir

16.  Sunrise, Sunset from Fiddler on the Roof- when Darrell and I first met he was performing and I played piano with the orchestra in the high school musical production; we also had this song in our wedding

17.  Court and Spark- Joni Mitchell, played throughout freshman year at OBU, WMU dorm; also Roberta Flack

18.   Color my World, You are my Love, the Wedding Song, the Lord’s Prayer – more music from our wedding

19.  Wasted Days & Wasted Nights by Freddie Fender and Behind Closed Doors by Charlie Rich- in our early married days we played on a weekly bowling league. These songs were played at the bowling alleys in Irving TX.

20.  Lay Down Sally by Eric Clapton- a club (Sweet Gemini) in the basement of the Gifford-Hill building during the late 70’s played this often; spent time there with Tom Armstrong.

21. Billy Jean and Thriller by Michael Jackson – waiting up for Darrell to come home from IBM shift work in NJ, I watched Casey Kasem count down the top music videos each week.  MJ was always on top. This was in the early 80's.

22. Family Christmas, Robert Earl Keen – introduced to us by Jonathan during his fraternity/college days at UT

23.   Greendale, Neil Young – concert with Travis before he left for college in CO

24.  Ghost Behind the Door, New Mexico Rain, Texas Cooking – all by Michael Hearne, singer/song writer, Darrell’s friend from Jr. High/High school

25.  I Saw God Today; All my Exes Live in Texas, Living for the Night, and many more - George Strait.  Alum of one of my alma maters, Texas State U; ultimate classic TX singer; we saw him in concert at the Cheyenne Frontier Days in Wyoming and again later at the first event of Jerryworld, Cowboys Stadium in Arlington.

So this is music from my life.  What’s on your playlist?

1 Samuel 18:6 …the women came out of all the cities…singing and dancing with tambourines, with joy and with musical instruments.

Colossian 3:16…sing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

The Bible (THE Good Book!)