Shortly after hearing that Roberta Flack had died, I watched a YouTube video of her singing, The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face. Listening to this incredible song reminded me of all the amazing music I was fortunate to experience as a child, teen, and young adult.
I of course remember my favorites, which as a child were Cat Stevens, Elton John, and The Beatles. As a teen I embraced rock music by Neil Young, The Who, and Jethro Tull. As a young adult, I added the progressive rock music of Yes to the mix.
But there was so much more, first on AM radio, then FM.
Artists like Roberta Flack, Don McClean, The Jackson Five, The Supremes, Simon and Garfunkel, Donovan, The Byrds, Jose Feliciano, Gladys Knight & The Pips, Grand Funk Railroad, The Doobie Brothers, War, Santana, Chicago, Bob Marley, Steely Dan, Frank Zappa, The Marshall Tucker Band, and the list goes on and on.
Then there's Country Western and Spanish music by the greats of the time, people like Marty Robbins, Glen Campbell, Johnny Cash, Jose Alfredo Jimenez, Tony Aguilar, and Freddie Fender.
But why talk about some of the best pop and rock (as well as country and Spanish) music ever made in a newsletter about poetry? Because this was the poetry of my childhood. Songs from these musical artists and hundreds of others taught me both good and bad rhythm and rhyme.
And since I was never part of any poetry scene, I didn't know what poetry was except as the lyrical content of song. I was focused from a young age on words, and these artists created and/or sang the words I heard.
Nowadays I read poetry and try to understand what other poets are doing and why, but my first love will always be music. It's had an incredible impact on my life.
How about you? What music changed your life as a child, teen, or young adult?