A signpost ahead: You are entering the pre-teen twilight zone.
My world was surrounded by music. At home, my radio played the local AM rock station (WRAW) and the center of my gravity, WFIL in Philadelphia. I still can tell you the names of the weekend dances in Philadelphia/South Jersey. When mom went to the department store, I grabbed the WRAW and WFIL top 40 lists.
So I was absorbing the Top40, listening daily to my little transistor and gazing upon Top40 lists to see what 45s were joining my collection.
And Steve indoctrinated me. 1968 had been a year of awakening. The Byrds’ Younger The Yesterday and Byrd Brothers wowed me, still play them to this day. Crosby’s harmonic sense awakened the dormant jazz instilled by mom (more on them later). Cream’s Wheels of Fire took a while to set in, but by 1969, it was a favorite. I never liked the Doors Waiting For The Sun, but Strange Days always had a soft spot in my heart.
Then there were the ones Steve ‘kinda’ liked: Simon and Garfunkel’s Bookends (side 2 only). Creedence’s first, Jefferson Airplane’s Crown of Creation (again, mostly side 2), and this unusual album from a horn based band called Blood, Sweat, and Tears called Child is a Father to the Man.
There are some sessions I will carry around forever (here’s the first one).
He closed the shades and roused his lava lamp (hey, don’t laugh, I still have one. Fossils like me keep those companies afloat). It is time for you to hear ‘The End’ he said. Close your eyes and try to breath the music.
Oh God, what trauma. Morrison crooning like Sinatra. I imagine smoke curling from a Moroccan market stall, enticing you forward. You see things seductive and lethal; you can’t look away. Here’s what’s waiting, say your prayers. Steve said my fists clenched like steel when the killer came to a door.
I vaguely remember writhing as this intensified:
When it was over, I realized I had tears in my eyes–from fear or rage? Did it matter?
As I go along, I’ll talk about other ‘first time’ musical moments that still buzz around my brain.