Here we go again. My extreme admiration of music.
It might be an obsession, but to be quite honest, I am very okay with it. It makes me grin from ear to ear. Not only that, but it has also literally shaped the world around us. In history, in movement.
It changes everything.
As I thought about this paper, my mind immediately went to the content of my record player. I have gifted a Crosley Turntable when I was 14. I ran downstairs on Christmas morning and there it was, under the tree with a red ribbon on top. I remember the first record I received and played on it was a 45" my uncle gave me. It was Tennessee Ernie Ford's 'Civil War Songs'. 'The Ballad Of Davy Crockett' rang out into my small, childhood bedroom like the trill of a belfry tower.
Magic. That is what I felt at that moment. Time stopped.
For years to follow, I have chased music and sounds that have made me feel that way. It shocked me that I found those sounds in older music. Vintage is my game. Vintage music is the best way of life, says the teen girl with a record player, and a catalog of forty records.
Growing up, that was what I was subjected to.
From the small radio of Dad's truckbed, I was serenaded by the likes of Paul McCartney, John Fogerty, and the ever-so-lovely Stevie Nicks. Music became my love language as my feet tapped the back of the driver's seat.
As we witness the ways of music through time, it is evident that people are drawn to the things that shock us the most. Those moments that leave the hair on the back of your neck up, your feet curled with excitement, and your eyes fixated, unable to look away. So, let us take this party back in time to the things that still leave me with my jaw on the floor.
1964 - The Beatles Appearance on 'The Ed Sullivan Show'
The Beatles on 'The Ed Sullivan Show'nymag.com
In a time where it seemed the world needed a pick-me-up, it is bewildering that it came from four, brunette boys from Liverpool, England. Paul, John, George, and Ringo. Names that ring in the hallways of the past. This was The Beatle's first time in the States and their first television performance. On that night, February 1964, seventy-three million people had their cable station turned to 'The Ed Sullivan Show' for their performance. Just months after the assassination of former President John F. Kennedy, the world needed a reason to 'Twist & Shout' and The Beatles reminded them of that.
1965 - Bob Dylan Booed For Electric Guitar
Bob Dylan at Newport Folk Festivalesquire.com
By this era, the mass populous had fallen in love with the rocker from Hibbing, Minnesota. Bob Dylan brought the acoustic flare that made the world swoon to his perfect pitch. That was his motto. Just him and his guitar, it was a love language of simplicity. Yet, being a young man in the music industry, Dylan had the desire to see what the new bands were doing. The Rolling Stones and Elvis Presley had brought electric music to the forefront and it was something Dylan wanted to be apart of. At the Newport Folk Festival, during his set, he brought out his electric guitar and was subsequently booed off the stage. The people were not ready. The people wanted the old Dylan, influenced by the sounds of Woody Guthrie. A change was coming for sure.
1969 - Jimi Hendrix 'Star-Spangled Banner' At Woodstock
Jimi Hendrix at Woodstockfreeyork.org
This track is on my phone and I tend to listen to it when I need a moment of peace. It is stunning. At the world-renowned Woodstock Music & Art Festival in August 1969, over 300,000 people gathered in a muddy, farm-lot in upstate New York to listen to the best of the best. From behind the marijuana smoke and hundred of soaked bodies crammed together, gave the oaky, warble of Jimi Hendrix guitar. In a time where the world was stricken between war and peace, Hendrix's performance of the National Anthem placed everybody into an idealism of togetherness. A concept every person needed.
1969 - John Lennon and Yoko Ono Bed-In
John Lennon and Yoko Ono in Amsterdametsy.com
Yoko Ono. The women who in due course, caused the demise of The Beatles in 1969. She had placed a spell over the prolific mind of John Lennon and transformed him into a peace-loving version of himself. In efforts to bring an end to the Vietnam War that was killing thousands oversea, Lennon and Ono took matters into their own hand. As an act of non-violent protesting, they both sat in their hotel room bed in Amsterdam for two weeks. Not moving, simply speaking the truth of peace and singing songs from their joint album that most notable includes 'Give Peace A Chance'.
1969 - The Beatles Final Performance on the Rooftop
The Beatles in Londonreddit.com
If you cannot already tell, the year 1969 was monumental for the music industry. Of course, in historical fashion, had to be the forefront of the spectrum. It was the end of the group. After years of fighting, stand-offs, and the tension of Yoko Ono, it was time for The Beatles to go their separate ways. After Jefferson Airplane performed on the rooftop of Hotel Schuyler in New York City, the too performed unannounced, on the rooftop of Apple Corps in downtown London. The sounds of the times of joy rang high above the clouds, so loud that the police had to ask them to keep it down. It was their final curtain call.
1975 - Elton John Dodger Staudium Show
Elton John at Dodger Stadium1stdibs.com
Imagine. Los Angeles. 1975. In front of 100,000 people, Elton John played his top hits to a roaring crowd. Not only that, but he was also covered head to toe in a bedazzled Dodgers uniform, designed by Bob Mackie. He glowed through the stadium, jumping on and off of his blue, baby grand piano. He was joined on stage by his dear friend, Billie Jean King, in their rendition of 'The Bitch Is Back'. It was the largest concert performed by a single artist. There he was, Elton John, breaking another glass ceiling.
1985 - Live Aid 'Queen' Revival
Queen at Live Aidcnn.com
If you are like me and, well, you're insane, then you saw 'Bohemian Rhapsody' seven different times after it hit the big screen. Also, that means you simultaneously purchased it on Hulu, but that is beside the point. I didn't just fall in love with the music, I feel in love with the story. The story of four misfits that came together and made music for those who felt no one was listening. after years of being broken up, Freddie Mercury decided he needed his family back. The only way to do that was for them to perform together like the old days. Man, did they ever put on a show! A show that just so happened to be broadcasted to two billion people, inside and outside Wembley Stadium in London, England. It was the revival of a lifetime and the performance that reminded the world that they needed Queen.
It is evident that music shapes us all, even without us knowing. It is a prophecy of love, independence, freedom, choices, and song, all tied up with a singular ribbon. It is marvelous, for it will always leave me without words.
