The Music That Shaped Me
The music I enjoy depends on my mood. I like music that I can sing along with. Sometimes if I sing loudly enough, I can change my mood. Fortunately, this can work in the shower where no one hears me but me.
I love music that reminds me of a special person or a place I’ve been. A favorite song is “The Search is Over” by Survivor. This song tells the story of my late husband and I realizing that we were meant for each other. It comes up at the most unexpected times and it always makes me feel warm and cozy inside.
The music that I enjoy the most has words that I can understand and a melody that I can follow. I’m not a fan of unstructured music. I don’t seem to be drawn into current music or music of the current era.
I will always love the crooning of Johnny Mathis. I played his music on our Hi-Fi every night as I went to sleep. His words were ingrained in my brain. I think Barry Manilow is fun to watch and his lyrics stick in my mind. I used to love the Carpenters and even tried to sing along to sound like Karen Carpenter herself. I know, a fantasy at its worst!
When I was in High School, I had a great time dancing to the bands of the 60s. Robin and the 7 Hoods played at our after-prom party. Many soundalikes played at the Pavilion in Columbus. We would all meet and drive over to listen to the sounds of the 60’s. Do I remember the names of the songs or bands? No. It was too long ago, but I remember the fun we had and how we looked forward to dancing.
I am almost embarrassed to say that I will love the music of John Denver forever. Whenever I bring his music up, I hear groans and see people shaking their heads to the negative. I have his ‘Greatest Hits’ in the car and used to sing “You fill up my Senses” to get our son Matt to sleep. As a teenager, I played the guitar and found folk music easy to recreate.
When I was in the garden, I would play Andrea Bocelli at top volume. I had several of his albums and could get lost in the music while I was planting. Unlike others in my family who love to garden, I find it to be something that I feel required to do and the music helps me complete this task.
I enjoyed it when John Denver joined Placido Domingo to sing “Without Love”. The two voices were so different and yet blended together beautifully.
For me to really enjoy music it is best if it is danceable. I love to jitterbug, slow dance, and even Texas 2-step.
I have to mention church music. It can strongly contribute to my feeling of spirituality.
Bring on the music. I won’t remember the tune names or the names of the artists but I will always enjoy it at some level. I can’t leave out Sonny and Cher, the Beatles and Bon Jovi. I could go on and on naming genres of music that I have enjoyed at various times in my life. Music will always be important to my well-being.
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