I remember, when announcing to my mother that my wife and I were expecting our first child, after sharing her delight, she sat down, becoming very serious, and said, let your kids hear the music you grew up to. Tell them stories about when and where you were when your favorite song at the time, was played. Talk about the artists, and make certain your kids understand how music and memory go hand in hand. My mother practiced what she preached, as throughout my childhood, her favorite music from the 30s and 40’s played via the radio and records. I also remember my mother’s sadness when it was announced that one of her favorite singers had passed. My mother also would smile, and say, one day, in the far future, (She was a child of my Romanian Grandmother, who would always pooh-pooh the talk of death), so far future was a safe phrase, you may feel the pang of loss, when a performer who had been a part of your life, is gone! She would take a pause, then add, when they do die, remember the wonderful music they made just for you!
In 1965, I heard the song, ‘For What It’s Worth,’ and had an understanding of how hate and anger, falsehoods, and selfishness, were not concepts in movies, but actually homegrown right-in-your-own-backyard phenomena. I recall sitting in one of the study rooms of Hillman Library on the Pitt Campus, back in the day, when a group of friends would gather for study sessions, and we played our transistor radios, and songs like ‘Helplessly Hoping’, and ‘Wooden Ships,’ would play, and we all stopped, listening, thinking that this was Poetry being sung. At Emma Farm, the resident camp at which I worked, once the campers were asleep, we would hold a staff campfire, and the coolest of counselors, the kids who could play guitar, and sing, would start out with ‘Teach Your Children’, and ‘Suite: Judy Blue Eyes’. In 1970, the paranoid wanna-be dictator, NIXON, sent his armed Troops to murder 4 students at Kent State, and to help make sense of something so senseless. In 1971 I listened to the song ‘Ohio’ wondering if my immediate future was somehow at risk of being taken away by the loathing and immorality of politicians.
As my mother stated so long ago, my far future has arrived! I did tell my kids about my music, my moods, and my memories associated with the songwriters and singers. And, as my days continue, it is with sadness, that as I journey forward, I must say goodbye to people along the way. Thank you, David Crosby, for actually understanding how I felt, without actually knowing me personally!
