My Year Of Gratitude-Music Tells My Story

Today is the 50th anniversary of the Beatles coming to America.  Music has always been a big part of my life.  There was always music coming from the stereo in my parents living room.  They listened to the Beatles, Elvis, The Platters, and Connie Frances just to name a few.  My Mom had a nice record collection filled with 50's and 60's music.  Pop, rock and country-they listened to it all.

I still have my first album!!

That love of music rubbed off on their daughter.  The first album I ever owned was ( promise not to laugh!)  Donny Osmond My Best To You.  I saved my money and bought that record at the age of 8.  Somehow Puppy Love spoke to me!  More like I dreamed of Donny singing that song just for me!    When Donny's sister Marie put out Paper Roses I bought that album too and promptly spent countless hours singing along into my hairbrush.  Soon I joined the Columbia record club and had albums sent right to my house.  I ordered my first stereo for my bedroom from the mail and the day it arrived I was so excited.  We had a snowstorm that day and I begged my Dad to take me to the trucking warehouse to pick it up!  After that I didn't come out of my room almost all my teenage years! I diligently spent every Sunday afternoon locked in my room listening to Casey Kasum's American Top Forty and obsessively recording in notebooks all 40 songs every week.

Music is the universal language.  No matter what I was going through, music always made me feel better.  Through music I could somehow, through listening, express how I felt. The words, the melodies brought out so many emotions I could not express.

Another music habit I had was falling asleep every night to the radio. I only stopped years later when my hubby didn't appreciate this habit so much.  Sometimes you have to make a sacrifice.

I still love music.  I've been a fan of pop, punk, new wave, disco, rock, classical, and alternative music.  Donna Summer, Queen, Pat Benetar, Garbage,  INXS, The Cars, The Partridge Family, Alanis Morissette, Radiohead, they are all on my play list.  Of course no band speaks to me as much as my favorite band U2.  The boys make up about 70% of my playlist. Plus there is nothing like going to see your favorite band live.  The electricity in the air when you hear those songs you love live can be transforming.



So music has always been a big part of my life. Music has always been there for me when circumstances in life have let me down. When I'm happy, well there's a song for that too.

I am grateful that music is a big part of my life.