Music Raised Me

Daily Prompt:  “What sort of music was played in your house when you were growing up? What effect, (if any) did it have on your musical tastes?”

Sometimes I feel like I was raised by music. I was fortunate in that sense. My father sees music in a way that most people aren’t intelligent enough to see. He feels music.

My mother played vinyls; we had a turn table, but no CD player. We would turn it up as loud as we could, and the intoxicating sound of a raw album would turn our house into the Ryman. I learned at an early age to appreciate music. Not just one type of music, but a wide variety.

True appreciation comes from knowing where music came from… For example, did you know that AC/DC stands for “Alternate Current/Direct Current”, or that the radio wouldn’t play Billie Holiday’s “Love For Sale” because the lyrics are about prostitution. Oddly, the only guy in ZZ Top who doesn’t have a beard is the drummer, Frank Beard. Also, Jimi Hendrix got the inspiration for “Purple Haze” after having a dream that he could walk underwater, and “Freebird” was dedicated to Duane Allman, of The Allman Brother’s band.

I love old music, when lyrics were really about something; Hank, Haggard, Marshal Tucker Band, and Jennings. The Eagles, Led Zeppelin, ZZ Top, and David Allen Coe, to name a few. Breakthrough artists, the ones who had to break through walls to make their voices heard; like Elvis, Ray Charles, The Doors, Eminem, and Billie Holiday. Then there are the people who changed the world with their music; Bob Dylan, Bob Marley, and John Lennon and the Beatles.

I love the way music can make you feel… It can wake you up, make you feel alive, empower you. I haven’t even skimmed the surface of my favorite bands, or genres. That would take a novel… Jazz, Soul, The Blues, Bluegrass, old school Rap, Jam, I love it all. So, yes. Music molds me. And I wouldn’t want it any other way.