Since the original idea behind this thread died a very quick death, thought I’d give the title a different slant. - Which ‘Family Albums’ did you grow up listening to? What kind of music were your parents into when you were a kid, and did this have any effect on colouring your own musical tastes?
Most of the music that was kicking around our family home in the 70’s and 80’s was from my mum’s collection. Always remember my dad saying he ‘never liked music’, which I find hard to believe. He did ocassionally stretch to listening to cassettes of Frank Sinatra in the car on long holiday drives, but everything was mum’s in the home.
Easy listening was prevelant, with artists like Matt Monro, Andy Williams and the like, but she also had several original Beatles albums, including the iconic ‘With The Beatles’, which I’m sure would have been worth something now, but for the fact it was kicked about in the attic. Think she ended up throwing the sleeve away and making a cover out of grease proof paper!
She also had a hell of a lot of Shirley Bassey and The Platters albums. - Think she played those more than anything. - If I had to pinpoint one artist or group that coloured my early memories in the home, it would have to be The Drifters. Can’t listen to their music now without reminiscing, and it’s music that I still enjoy.
These were the kind of things my Dad listened / listens to. I think the background to these choices comes from what he remembers from the 1950s / early 1960s. My paternal grandparents died when my Dad was a boy ( My Gran when he was 8 and my Grandad when he was 12 ). My dad tells stories of how he remembers being taken to The Palace. This was a variety theatre that burned down in the late 60`s in Dundee. Many of the shows would consist of Scottish singers a bit like we used to see on TV at Hogmanay and maybe a comedian. When I was young he carried on the “tradition” and would take my sisiter and me and my brothers to a show called Breath of Scotland that came to town every summer.
The Slim Whitman stuff I remember well. Somehow I think this has filtered and found its way through into my liking of things like Roy Orbison and Country / Americana.
I grew up listening to The Beatles from a very early age, but only the early She Loves You type stuff, my mum was a massive fan when she was younger and told me all about how she saw them in The Cavern on numerous occasions. My dad used to go to another club in Liverpool called The Iron Door…
Growing up in a pub music was everything to my young mind in the late 70s early 80s. I can still smell roast lamb whenever I hear Crazy by Patsy Clyne as my mum used to have her music on in the kitchen on a Sunday morning. However my main instigator to music was my cousin who was 8 years older than me and introduced me to Bowie, Floyd and Genesis (later Marillion😎) as well as Human League and Queen. When I was 12 I knew every word, every beat to The Wall. At the time this seemed normal…
I remember being 14 years old on a trip to Colomendy with the school, we all brought cassettes, I had Misplaced and Real To Reel amongst the likes of Zappa and Led Zeppelin. I had grown bored of The Beatles because I’d never REALLY listened to them… Then I heard A Day In The Life as a mate had Sgt. Pepper and had my Eureka moment. Wow how had I never heard this before? When I got back home I went through my dad’s collection again and this time I REALLY heard The Beatles.
I feel sorry for kids now. I think our generation truly witnessed the last of the great artists. I’m not saying all music is crap nowadays as the likes of Royal Blood excite me. But I think what we had was the surprise and less cynicism that kids just want fame and want it now. They go on The X Factor and call themselves an artist for Karaoke.
Oh dear I’m ranting:thinking: I’ll shut up now…
I’ll shut up now…