The memories behind the songs.

Two weeks ago I asked you to join me in sharing how music stimulates some of your favorite memories. Thanks to those who have jumped right in. To the rest of you, click on the button below and join the romp down memory lane.

No matter our country, skin color, religious persuasion, political identity, age, language, or any other influence that might divide us, we have a God-given gift as old as time that draws us together as humans. MUSIC.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow said it best: “Music is the universal language of mankind.”

Here are precious memories shared by two of my oldest friends.

Brad writes…

I remember “Summer Place” (**a slow-dance theme at our 9th Grade dances)…struck terror in my teenage heart. What I most remember is the profound impact the Beatles made on my teenage life when I really needed it, and on my dear friend throughout JHS and HS. He was not only a superb guitarist with a tremendous memory for song lyrics and chords (something my dyslexic brain struggled to do well). My favorite memory was how adept my friend was at forging the autographs of all four Beatles… we could have made money, but no, he just autographed our notebooks, book covers (ask a kid today what a book cover is!), and math papers…which cost him a point on a test that ended up making the difference in his end of year grade. Singing “We Can Work it Out (Try to See it My Way)” made no difference… while the lousy math grade stood, it no longer matters in life; but the Beatle song and the perfect autographs are enduring.

*Note: Whenever I hear the song “You’ve Got a Friend” by Carole King, covered by James Taylor, Brad’s face comes to mind. My first real friend, going all the way back to elementary school. A groomsman in my wedding party. My first musical partner who joined me on the grounds of Loyola Elementary, our guitars in laps, as we attempted to build up the callouses on our fingertips and coax clear sounding bar chords from our instruments. And it’s true, I had the signatures of the Fab Four down pat!

Ken writes…Thanks for triggering great memories. Yes, music matters. Back in the late 60s, Simon and Garfunkel got me through Bible school…“Bridge over Troubled Waters.”

Then, early 70s, Jim Croce got me through seminary. “Time in a Bottle”… “Rapid Roy (The Stock Car Boy)”… and “Workin’ At The Car Wash Blues” (Well, all I can do is to shake my head – You might not believe that it’s true, For workin’ at this end of Niagara Falls is an undiscovered Howard Hughes…)

And then it was Andre Crouch who gave me a song list for my youth choir – “I don’t know why Jesus loved me, I don’t know why He cared… I don’t know why He sacrificed his life, Oh but I’m glad, so glad He did.”

To this very day, at age 77, you’ll find me hurtling down the 210 Freeway in full voice singing along to all the above. PS I also remember you strumming that guitar as a high school kid. Roll out the barrel!

*Note: As a church youth leader in the late 60s, Ken left an indelible impression on me, and was one of a selected few friends who helped change the course of my life. A spiritual mentor when I truly needed one.

“A Summer Place,” released in 1959. Some headlines from that year:

  • Alaska became America’s 49th state, and Hawaii became the 50th state.
  • Rock and roll legend Buddy Holly released his last record, “It Doesn’t Matter,” marking a poignant moment in music history just weeks before his tragic death in a plane crash on February 3, 1959.
  • Mattel introduced the iconic Barbie doll, a revolutionary toy that would dramatically transform the children’s toy industry and become a global cultural phenomenon.