Is it just my bias, or was I incredibly fortunate to be a “child of the 70s,” thus immersed in the best music era of all time? I can’t even begin to blog on how much Glam Rock, Disco, 70s Pop and Rock brought pleasure to my life.
But I was born in the sixties, so, thanks to my parents, some of that music imprinted my psyche as well.
Certainly, the 1960s was a decade that produced some amazing hits. Unfortunately, my parents weren’t listening to those. Their middle-of-the-road tastes leaned more towards Burt Bacharach, Henry Mancini, Herb Alpert, Percy Faith and *passes around anti-nausea tablets* Max Bygraves.
I can still see Dad, sucking on a can of Tab Diet Cola, as he tapped his foot to Acker Bilk and James Galway. His funk factor stopped at Herman’s Hermits. If only someone had airlifted me ahead to the ‘70s, to those joyful days of saving up to buy a vinyl single (45rpm) in a paper sleeve.
Every decade has its musical duds, but I’d argue the 1960s had more than most. My ‘most loathed’ instrumental was Swinging Safari and the worst schlagermuzak of all time was Days of Wine and Roses and The Shadow of Your Smile.
Best ‘60s instrumental was easily Mason Williams’ Classical Gas.
Not until adulthood was I exposed to the finest music of the ‘60s, from artists like The Beatles, Elvis Presley, Simon & Garfunkel, James Taylor, Mamas & The Papas, The Who, Marvin Gaye and Aretha Franklin.
Here's what happens next: I post this blog, and realize I’ve overlooked a seminal artist/band of the sixties. Apart from The Stones (not a fan, though I respect their work), The Doors, Jimi Hendrix, Joni Mitchell … perhaps you can think of another that genuinely deserves a mention?
I think every generation has its preferences. I loved the sixties but always thought that's because it was "my time". And maybe that's it, we always love what we grow up with because it's the sense of everything else that surrounds you.
ReplyDeleteMind you, my 16 yo said the other day, he would have loved to live in the Seventies, life seemed a lot simpler to him. So, maybe I'm not right there.
You also often hear that people say the music used to be so much better in the past, everything now is horrible. That's not true. We only hear and remember the good stuff from the past, the bad songs from today will also be weeded out one day and only the better music will stay. Maybe our grandchildren will say one day that the music of the Noughties (terrible word, by the way) was the best ever. Who knows.
Btw, if you think YOUR parents had conservative taste, try German "Schlager" and "Volksmusik" that my parents are still listening to. It's oom-ta-ta all the time. Horrendous. Not until the eighties when some brave German singers started the "New German Wave" was there any German music one could really listen to (granted, with some very good exceptions but they were usually not played very broadly). And anything that wasn't German was just out because "we don't understand it".
So let's enjoy the good music of all the generations.
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