The Soundtrack of My Life

               Music.  I’ve heard it said music is the soundtrack to your life. What music would you choose to make the soundtrack of your life?  My first memories of music were of Mom playing the guitar. She got her guitar from her brother Julius for her 17^th birthday, and like so many others in her family, playing an instrument and singing seemed effortless.  Mom had probably six to ten, brown note books full of song lyrics, neatly written by her hand. When she was sure Dad was not coming in the house for a while,  Mom would take out her guitar and we’d page through the songs and eagerly find our requests.  I remember singing  the Old Rugged Cross, You are My Sunshine, Have I Told You Lately that I Love You, Don’t Pop and I’ll Be Good, At Mail Call Today, and I Just Don’t Give a Hoot!

Kathy and Me Cutting the Rug ha..

             When Marcy and Sonny were in high school, Kathy and I were preschoolers. Marcy taught us all the latest fifties dances, like the stroll (love that one), the hully gully, the hand jive, and our very favorite, the bop. During that time, I won a little record player at a Rexall drug store contest.  Marcy and Sonny picked out the music for me. I loved that little gold and white record player with the furry grey turn table.  I still have the 45 records of Elvis,  Buddy Holly and the Drifters. Those old 45's have two songs on each side.

               During  grade school, my Dad liked Buck Owens. I idolized my Dad, so I too loved Buck Owens - in spite of the filthy talking boy in school that I wrote about last time, taking the B out of Buck and changing it to an F.  It never stopped me from  focusing  on the wonderful memories that were made, two stepping around the living room with my Dad,  trying to dodge, but still bumping into Mom and Kathy two stepping beside us.  Lots of two steps to Open up Your Heart, Under  Your Spell and Sam’s Place. After three or four dances we’d take a rest.

                                                 

          Then Kathy and I fell in love with THE MONKEES!  I loved Davey Jones and Kathy loved Mickey Dolenze. We skipped the Beatles, and went for the Monkees and Herman’s Hermits (Brendon got Kerry and I tickets to Herman’s Hermits a couple years ago and they were awesome btw!)

               In high school I loved Lobo, the Bee Gees, Bj Thomas, Johnny Rivers, Creedence Clearwater Revival, John Denver, and Top 40 radio.  A whole string of one hit wonder songs like Precious and Few fit on that list somewhere too!

                                                          

               In my twenties, disco came in and I checked out …I still hate disco! I switched to country music or I loved The Gullings Sisters, who had a ministry based out of Minnesota, and sang at our church when they were in the area. I had all their albums and loved their music!  Shelbey’s gospel CD has a lot of Gullings music on it, which she redid with Dave Roise in Minot ND. 

         We did and do clean house with the radio blasting and take frequent dance breaks!  Back then we listened to The Judds, John Anderson, Joe Diffie , Alan Jackson, Toby Keith and Martina McBride, Lori Morgan, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and Diamond Rio to name a few. 

                                                      

              After Sydney was born we girls started making long trips to and from Branson, Mo when Shelbey worked and lived there. I was still into country music and Sydney was now into Simple Plan and Good Charlotte type stuff. To be fair we played one of her CD’s and then one of mine. So it would go something like Dwight Yoakum, Simple Plan, Doug Stone, Good Charlotte, Garth brooks, Savage Garden, Tim McGraw, Britney Spears, The Mavericks, and Backstreet Boys etc.

                Then came the long drives from Minot to Phoenix and back. Country music had become all about Brooks and Dunn(yuk), Gretchen Wilson (yuk), Josh Turner(yuk)….so I switched to Sydney’s music for good.  Today I listen to mostly top forty pop radio stuff and old country.  I really like Garth Brooks, Jason Derulo, Carrie Underwood, The Black Eyed Peas, Kelly Clarkson, Enrique Iglesis, Rhianna, Rob Thomas,…I dunno… whatever I think sounds good!  I like some country now again too. Taylor Swift’s last album sounded good to me, although I think her real talent is songwriting… they can produce her so she sounds good.

           My Soundtrack goes like this (I’m sure I’ve forgotten a few, I should have included, so i may be adding to this yet ha).  

                Every day by Buddy Holly……five or six years old and my new record player.
              
                What a Friend We Have In Jesus...my Dad's funeral

                This Magic Moment by Jay and The Americans ….8^th grade.

                Children of the Heavenly Father…a choir song I sang alto to and Kathy melody

                Do Lord Oh Do Lord…driving Marcy and Jerry nuts with it in the back seat on a Canadian road trip.  

              The Crystal Chandalier  …Kelly Moore used to bring his Charlie Pride albums out to the  farm.

               Look Out Here Comes Tomorrow…my favorite Monkees song

               Billy and Sue by  Bj Thomas……. high school dances in the gym my freshman year

                Baby I’m-a Want You by Bread….my first boyfriend

                Wild Thing by The Troggs……..wishing I was something I wasn’t.

                Runaround Sue by Dion….the song they gave me in the high school yearbook.

                 Precious and Few by Climax….a prom in Plaza I was invited to.

                 Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow by the Chiffons…I played this on my guitar endlessly. 

                 Maggie May by Rod Stewart…seeing Kerry driving down main street in Stanley with that song blasting, with his shoulder length hair

                Behind Closed Doors by Charlie Rich….Kerry and My song…1973

  Delta Dawn by Tanya Tucker….the only time I ever saw Lori (Kerry’s sister drunk, she sang that all the way home    from the state line club.

  Take Me Home Country Roads... my brothers funeral

 Baby’s Got Back by Sir Mix A Lot…I confiscated Brendon’s tapes of that “immoral music” !

Wild Angels by Martina McBride…Shelbey and I singing on a trip home from Bismarck!

Hungry Eyes by Eric Carmen…Dirty Dancing my all-time favorite movie

That’s What I like Dance Mix ….Sydney danced her way all over ND one summer, when she was only ten. She earned $600. in Jr. Division amateur contests at state and county fairs.

Now and Forever by Richard Marx …Brendon and his very first girlfriend

Holiday Road by Lindsey Buckingham…our vacation song we always sang in the car

Unchained Melody by Shelbey Picek…her first CD, so proud of her

            Mambo Italiano – Sydneys'  high school dance they performed for State, loved watching it

              One Friend by Dan Seals…Our 25^th Anniversary

              If I Never Stop Loving You by David Kersh…Our 25^thAnniversary first dance choice Kerry picked it

              In the Garden…Mom’s funeral

              I Will Be There by Shelbey Picek.. sang at her wedding

              Writing It Down by Uncle Kracker…worrying about Brendon

              Transform Ya by Lil Wayne…the last few years in Phoenix

              Telephone by Lady Gaga … concert with Sydney

              River of Time by the Judds …seeing the Judds with Shelbey

             Don’t You Wanna Stay by Kelly Clarkson and Jason Aldean or Think of You by 
Chris Young and Cassadee Pope my favorites right now.

     

         Music does so much for us. I have said many, many times to many people, “ I don’t know how I would have survived life, without music”. For me, music is wellness, healing, sanctuary, escape, comfort, distraction, encouragement, passion, transportation to days gone by and defineatly a staple for a sparkling life! Nothing is more intriguing than a cleaverly written lyric. I will rewind and listen to that one sentence several times, play it for anyone who will listen, amazed by,  how did they think of that? 

       You don’t have to be a musician to appreciate great music.  Music is an art that you can relate even if you don't have the creativity or ability to create it yourself. I declare that tear-jerkers, foot-tappers, rock and roll, country, rap or gospel ; some kind of music lives in everybody. What does the soundtrack to your life sound like?