As far back as I can remember, I REALLY enjoyed music. I'm talkin' back to three or four years old. If not, younger. Actually, I can remember laying in my baby crib listening to the radio as I went to sleep. Once I learned of The Beatles in January 1964, music has been the driving force in my life.
This is the story of the music that moved me and the records I chose to own. I'm very good at remembering the details of when, why and where any particular music came into my life. The story is, of course, told primarily from my perspective. However, I will, more often than not, refer to "we" or "us". This generally indicates myself along with my lifelong best friend and music enthusiast, Mike Baker. We dug deep into all kinds of music. But, in many ways, it refers to my overall group of close friends. In the later 1970s, of particular note, would be Bob Schultz who I was in bands with from 1973-1980.
My musical memories of the late 1950s up to 1964 are really just a blur with few specifics. My earliest memory of music is listening to the radio as I went to sleep at night as a very young child. Some specific songs that I remember are "It's My Party", "The Last Kiss", "Puff The Magic Dragon", "Rawhide", "Shout". At this point, I'm assuming, music was simply something that I enjoyed. I don't think I had any aspirations to play music myself. But, that's not really an aspect of this writing. The story of playing my own music can be read HERE.
I also remember playing some of my parents and grandparents records from the 1940s and 1950s. Those didn't stick with me so I don't really remember what they were. I do remember listening to my mother's early 1960s Dean Martin, Barbra Streisand and Herb Albert albums. The only one of these early records that has stuck with me is my grandfather's 1951 copy of Patti Page's "The Tennessee Waltz". I still have that original 45 and even bought a reissue in the 1980s so I didn't have to play the original. The song has always received continued play.
The earliest record I personally owned was the original 45 version of "The Little Drummer Boy" by the Harry Simeone Chorale. My parents bought it for me at Christmas 1962. I listened to it a lot but I don't remember how long past Christmas I played it. I still have that original 45 but no longer have its sleeve.
 
In retrospect, I can place my music listening choices and changes into seven stages...
1957-1963
My earliest musical listening
These are my earliest musical memories. Simply enjoying listening to the radio or my parents records.
Clearly, something during these years injected music into my blood and I was infected for life.
1964-1968
The Beatles, The Monkees and other pop hits
The Beatles inspired me beyond belief. Within two years, The Monkees would solidify music for me.
Most of my listening for these four years would be pop hits I heard on CKLW-AM in Windsor.
1969-1973
Exploration
As the 1960s ended and I had matured a little, my interest expanded beyond simple pop hits.
My friends and I dabbled in a variety of musical styles.
1974-1980
Drifting in search of sound
Seven years of grasping at straws to find music I really liked. The mainstream was leaving me quite empty.
Relying, mostly, on established favorites. Few new sounds had longevity. Stagnation.
1981-1991
Discovering the alternative
Thank you, Mike Baker, for pushing me to explore the alternative.
There was a world of sonic delights beyond the spoon-fed mush I was stuck with most of the 1970s.
1992-1999
Completely changed
I never really expected it but alternative had hit the mainstream. A bitter-sweet moment.
I had strived to distance myself as much as possible from the mainstream. Had to keep digging deeper.
2000- Now
The internet and where I'm currently left
The bountiful world wide web. So many esoteric musical delights.
So much new ear candy. I can't begin to keep up with it all.
Here's a few details you should know about HOW I present the story...
The story is told year by year. The focus is primarily rock music. My general music of choice. While some are discussed throughout, I have separate sections for blues and jazz music. This is because, in almost all cases, I didn't buy new releases in those genres. There was a new album or two but most of my purchases were older releases. Almost all of those were bought in the 1980s and I don't recall and have no real way to verify the year I bought them.
In the 1960s through the earlier 1970s listings (and a few others), I'll also note albums owned by friends but I never owned. I list these only because I heard them a LOT, often borrowed them and they had notable influence on me. Likewise, in the listings for those years, I'll note albums released during those years but I bought or otherwise acquired some time later. This doesn't apply to the later 1970s and beyond because, at that time, I had enough money to buy most any album I wanted.
It should also be noted that, during these years (especially, the earlier years), I bought dozens upon dozens of 45rpm singles by a whole host of musical genres. With the exception of a few notable ones pertinent to the story, I do not list them. They are simply too numerous. So, I keep my focus on albums. I do mention a handful of tapes.
Likewise, with the exception of a few notable ones, I don't list bootleg records. Beginning in late 1969 and carrying on to today, I've bought hundreds of bootleg records and traded hundreds of bootleg tapes (even recorded some myself). These received extensive listening but were not necessarily influential. If I had a bootleg by any particular band or musician, I was ALREADY influenced by their official releases. The bootlegs were simply an added bonus. Besides, in many cases, it's difficult to determine exactly which year I got any particular bootleg.
In the late 1990s and in 2008, I was given two large collections of albums. The 1990s collection was mostly albums from the 1960s and 1970s. The 2008 collection covered the 1960s to 1980s. Both of these collections came from two friends who had very similar tastes in music. Thus, at this writing, I'm not certain which collection some particular albums come from. In the story, I'll often say, "this was given to me in the late 1990s" but, it could possibly come from the 2008 collection. For my friends who knew them, the 1990s collection came from Joe Wickerham. He hadn't had a turntable in years and no longer needed the records so, he gave them to me. It was about four milk crates of albums. The 2008 collection belonged to Mike Baker. When he passed away, that year, his girlfriend let me pick out what I wanted from his collection. It was about two milk crates of records.
I'll frequently mention that I also bought the much later CD versions of particular albums. This is, more or less, to point out that the record was important enough to me to ALSO buy the CD.
Just to point out, when speaking of different albums by any particular band, I will sometimes repeat a narrative. Some times it's to get a point across. Other times, I simply forgot I had previously written it and, after proofreading, just didn't bother to rewrite it.
Finally, for ease of navigation, at the bottom of each page is a link to the next page.
This writing is lovingly dedicated to my life-long best friend and musical partner in crime, Mike Baker. He is the only person in my life who truly shared almost all these musical tastes and experiences. I've had other friends who shared large portions of my musical tastes but only Mike shared it all. I will refer to him OFTEN in this writing. It would not have been possible without him. Sadly, Mike passed on on April 19, 2008. I love and miss you, Michael.
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