I love music. With the exception of Rap, I will listen to any type; instrumentals, choral, a cappella, folk, rock, soul, standards, Dixieland, country, you name it and I’m there.
We got our first television set when I was about 8 and I was instantly addicted to the Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers movies – the dance, the singing, and the music. So sweet and innocent.
These movies would be followed over the years by Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney and later still by Cabaret with Liza Minnelli; and Chicago and A Chorus Line with anybody, because the music itself is so magical.
In my teens, I became enthralled with the folk music found in coffee houses. I would not classify myself as a beatnik, but when you are 16 and can walk into a dark room with checkerboard tablecloths on the tables, posters on the walls, a small stage with one spotlight, and order coffee, tea or fruit drinks while being entertained, it’s pretty heady stuff.
In my twenties I often traveled to San Francisco to the hungry i (that's right, no caps!) and Purple Onion to hear the Kingston Trio and the Smothers Brothers, among others. The Righteous Brothers also performed close to my home and I remember how amazed I was at how short they both were, compared to how tall they appeared on television.
Closer to my home, when I was older, I went to outdoor venues to hear Barry Manilow, James Taylor, Kris Kristofferson, Willie Nelson, Rick Nelson and Neil Diamond. I saw Tina Turner, Cher, and Stevie Nicks in concert when I was in my sixties.
If asked today my regrets, it would be never getting to see Peter, Paul and Mary, The Who, Queen or Sir Elton John in person. I will forever be jealous of my sister, who went to a Beatles concert.
Today my current favorites are Pink, The Pentatonix, Celtic Woman, Sammy Davis Jr., Frank Sinatra, Annie Lennox and the Dixie Chicks.
Lyrics matter – Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah brings me to tears every time I hear it as does Bob Dylan’s Blowing in the Wind.
Enunciation matters, probably a leftover from my voice lessons and the fact that I now find I have been singing along to the wrong lyrics to quite a few songs over the years.
Feet matter – moving feet matter. So few singers/dancers today move their feet anymore. Pelvic and shoulder thrusts seem to be the flavor of the moment. Fun for a while, but then I am left hungering for the class acts of yesterday, perhaps because of my ballet, tap and modern dance lessons.
These thoughts came to mind recently when I discovered a television station with reruns of old shows. Mysteries have long been my favorite guilty pleasure – not the ones filled with blood and gore, but the ones that keep you guessing up to the end.
So, imagine my delight when I found reruns of Mannix and Peter Gunn on one of our channels. Not only the shows, because they are fun, but because the theme music is hot jazz!
And for me, music of any kind, always brings memories with it…. some happy, some sad, but memories non the less. Memories of young dreams of being a famous singer and dancer, while being blissfully unaware of the destruction that can come with it.
It was not to be, but the memories will linger as long as the music plays.
Kathleen Anderson writes this column each week from her home in Olympia. Contact her at kathleen@theJOLTnews.com or post your comment below.
Editor's Note: The JOLT congratulates Kathleen Anderson for being honored by the Olympia Host Lions Club as 2020 Lion of the Year.
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