What did you grow up on?

[DTB]

My dad was a pro musician playing bass and played with cleo lane amongst others he also ran a driving school to keep him going when needed lol. He had a massive vinyl collection and a quadraphonic hi-fi that my mum was too scared to touch. The records ranged from Bert Camfort to Deep Purple and he had a hammond drawbar organ in lounge which he belted out all sorts of instrumental versions of songs in the (1970s) charts. Like the op Dire Straits was an early influence but all sorts really. There was always music on and I loved it. 
We always argued about the timing of the riff on Black is Black when he played it on keys. I still say he played it wrong. RIP. 

[Horizontalste]

@obbm, @Frank Blank, great posts thank you!

I used to fantasise about growing up in one of the "great musical eras" & what it must've been like. It wasn't until later in life that I realised I did come of age in a "great musical era", the 90s!

[Bassfinger]

My Dad isn't so much into music, although he did like the Shadows.  Like many kids before and since, the first time I heard Apache was an almost religious experience, one that had me reaching for my first guitar and kicking off a musical 'career' that has lasted over 4 decades.

 

My Mum was more into it. She'd listen to the Beatles, the Who (she actually knew Keith Moon fairly well and dated Roger Daltrey before he was really famous), the Stones, the Zombies, the Animals and more modern stuff like ELO, Status Quo and Roxy Music, and it's probably exposure to that that gave me my love of rock music in all its forms and the blues too.  For me rock isn't just music, its a lifestyle, a passion, a religion.

[Leonard Smalls]

My mum was a piano teacher, so I grew up listening to mainly classical music, from Bach and Telemann right through to Mahler, but rarely anything more modern. I was dragged to recitals and various operas - can't stand opera to this day! However, I still have a love for Baroque music and have also developed a taste for big'n'heavy orchestral stuff like Shostakovich and occasionally Mahler...

But my mother can't cope with any popular music at all - especially anything beyond 50s rock and roll - so she was a bit appalled when I discovered punk and new wave at about the same time she splashed out on a B&O music centre... I'd play my records and listen to John Peel - she somehow thought that "horrible noise" would pollute it!

And my dad was a bit of a skiffle and trad jazz fan; in his understated northern way he'd extol the virtues of Chris Barber ("he's not too bad") and The Vipers Skiffle Group ("they're ok") - I still like a bit of that stuff now, daddy-o!

[Waddo Soqable]

6 hours ago, nilorius said:

When i was a kid, i listened to different bands and genres, as i do now. Someone will say that i am still a kid, but that is what i do. Cheers.

Bet I'm more of a kid than you are.... 😁

[sykilz]

The bands that awakened my music addiction were AC/DC and Iron Maiden and I still regularly listen to both, my gateway albums were Piece of Mind and For Those About To Rock, and while these may not be their best, they'll always have a special place in my heart and soul 🤘🤘🤘

[bassbiscuits]

In terms of songs I heard as a kid that still bring me joy, stuff like Phil Collins “Easy Lover,” the Communards “Don’t Leave Me This Way” etc still bring a massive smile to my face and cause me to sing very loudly in my car. 

[Barking Spiders]

Between the age of 6 and 11 I mostly listened to my dad's eclectic collection of 45s and 78s. Fave platters were an EP by the Red Army Ensemble which had tunes The Brave Don Cossacks and Song of the Plains, Guantanamera by The Sandpipers and Going Home by Ken Colyer's Jazzmen. When around 12 I  tried some of my oldest brother's metal/hard rock and prog albums from the late 70s/early 80s hated them from the off, much preferring my older sister's 70s collection of mostly 45s' which, included Sparks, Hello, Glitter Band ...A year or so later I half inched my other sister's collection of punk 45s and then that nailed it for me. Still listen to my own  collection of first wave punk albums and singles and they still sound fresher than 99% of contemporary stuff today

Edited February 16, 2023 by Barking Spiders

[Dr.Dave]

I remember we had albums by folk like Max Bygraves and Val Doonican and my Dad was a huge fan of the Black and White Minstrels - in fact it was probably seeing the Black and White Minstrels on telly that sparked me into wanting to be an entertainer of some sort. I remember thinking how brilliant it must be to be on a stage making people happy like they did.

 

There was another thing though. The Sound of Music. My Mum loved it - saw the movie several times including dragging me off to see it when I was about 6. Played the album over and over. I hated it with a passion I can't properly describe and it was forever banished to the far corners of my mind ! 

 

A few years back it was on telly at Christmas. From the second it started to the final credits I sat there knowing every line from every song fighting back tears and thinking of my Mum. Clearly all those tunes have remained in my brain all these years and as a result what influence must they have had on me as a musician ? Where the sentimentality sprang from I don't know but - as the saying goes - sentimentality if for those who want the luxury of real emotion but cant afford it.

[Japhet]

6 minutes ago, Dr.Dave said:

I remember we had albums by folk like Max Bygraves and Val Doonican and my Dad was a huge fan of the Black and White Minstrels - in fact it was probably seeing the Black and White Minstrels on telly that sparked me into wanting to be an entertainer of some sort. I remember thinking how brilliant it must be to be on a stage making people happy like they did.

 

There was another thing though. The Sound of Music. My Mum loved it - saw the movie several times including dragging me off to see it when I was about 6. Played the album over and over. I hated it with a passion I can't properly describe and it was forever banished to the far corners of my mind ! 

 

A few years back it was on telly at Christmas. From the second it started to the final credits I sat there knowing every line from every song fighting back tears and thinking of my Mum. Clearly all those tunes have remained in my brain all these years and as a result what influence must they have had on me as a musician ? Where the sentimentality sprang from I don't know but - as the saying goes - sentimentality if for those who want the luxury of real emotion but cant afford it.

 

I certainly relate to that Sound of Music story. I think my Mum wanted me and my siblings to be like the Von Trapp children and give impromptu musical performances to all and sundry. Sadly for her, I turned out to be a little thug with a catapult.

[Frank Blank]

7 minutes ago, Japhet said:

I certainly relate to that Sound of Music story. I think my Mum wanted me and my siblings to be like the Von Trapp children and give impromptu musical performances to all and sundry. Sadly for her, I turned out to be a little thug with a catapult.

 

Maybe it's a thing? I was routinely confined to a chair to watch TSOM with my mum *pulls own hair out* as a child and I became a career vandal and foul mouthed lout.

Edited February 15, 2023 by Frank Blank

[Guest]

All kinds of stuff from my parents’ extensive but random CD collection - bunch of Bach I wasn’t much into, the Beatles’ back catalogue, Graceland, Kind of Blue, Manu Chao’s Clandestino, kora music from Mali, John Lee Hooker, Radiohead, Al Green etc.

 

It was a proud day when I could start introducing them to music they enjoyed - somehow they hadn’t heard Spirit of Eden by Talk Talk before, which is still one of my all time favourites.

[Kitsto]

Who's Next

Zep 4 Symbols

Black Sabbath 4

followed by

Demons & Wizards (U Heap) Heep)

Yes Album

After The Goldrush

 

I was lucky enough to have an outstanding musical education courtesy of elder bro (he recorded this stuff for me on C90 cassettes - remember them?). Real education, not so much.

Edited February 15, 2023 by Kitsto

[ezbass]

Outside of the home, my parents’ friends had a son, who was a fair bit older than me. He had long hair and played guitar and I thought he was the coolest person ever, the fact that their neighbour was Larry Wallace of, at the time, UFO and later Motörhead and The Pink Fairies did nothing to lessen this impression, even though I didn’t know who UFO were (they used to practise next door too, you could hear them through the walls). It wasn’t UFO that I remember, however, it was the records in the aforementioned sons’ collection, notably Four Way Street by CSN&Y and Hot August Night by Neil Diamond. It was these records and their owner that inspired me to pick up the guitar; I’ll still often bash out Teach Your Children for posterity’s sake (it was the first song I ever learnt, albeit incorrectly).

[Japhet]

5 hours ago, Frank Blank said:

 

Maybe it's a thing? I was routinely confined to a chair to watch TSOM with my mum *pulls own hair out* as a child and I became a career vandal and foul mouthed lout.

 

 

If only they knew the damage they were doing. I've been scarred for life by Julie Andrews! I daren't go to Switzerland. If I heard a yodelling goatherd I might have a psychotic incident.

[Frank Blank]

3 minutes ago, Japhet said:

If only they knew the damage they were doing. I've been scarred for life by Julie Andrews! I daren't go to Switzerland. If I heard a yodelling goatherd I might have a psychotic incident.

 

Agreed, first time I saw Focus I mugged a granny. Mind you Laibach have now gloriously besmirched TSOM forever, Bog bless Ljubljana...

 

 

[DTB]

6 hours ago, Dr.Dave said:

I remember we had albums by folk like Max Bygraves and Val Doonican and my Dad was a huge fan of the Black and White Minstrels - in fact it was probably seeing the Black and White Minstrels on telly that sparked me into wanting to be an entertainer of some sort. I remember thinking how brilliant it must be to be on a stage making people happy like they did.

 

There was another thing though. The Sound of Music. My Mum loved it - saw the movie several times including dragging me off to see it when I was about 6. Played the album over and over. I hated it with a passion I can't properly describe and it was forever banished to the far corners of my mind ! 

 

A few years back it was on telly at Christmas. From the second it started to the final credits I sat there knowing every line from every song fighting back tears and thinking of my Mum. Clearly all those tunes have remained in my brain all these years and as a result what influence must they have had on me as a musician ? Where the sentimentality sprang from I don't know but - as the saying goes - sentimentality if for those who want the luxury of real emotion but cant afford it.

Absolutely love this post. I am an emotional wreck most of the time and reading posts like this take the pressure off me just a little. Thank you for sharing. 
The Hills Are Alive………….

[tauzero]

1 hour ago, Frank Blank said:

 

Agreed, first time I saw Focus I mugged a granny. Mind you Laibach have now gloriously besmirched TSOM forever, Bog bless Ljubljana...

 

 

 

Has Gary Glitter started producing music videos?

[Boodang]

My best mate at school was an accident so his brothers were 10 years older than us and we spent our spare time listening to their records instead of doing homework.

Their tastes were rock based so it was the usual mix of Hendrix, Deep Purple, Rush, Led Zeppelin etc but the one that really got to me and made me take up bass was Yes and Chris Squire's unique approach. 

[Passinwind]

Motown on a tiny AM radio, broadcast out of New York City. And after that the typical progression: British Invasion, San Franscisco Hippie/Woodstock Bands, fusion jazz. But none of that has stayed with me in the sense of still actively listening to it all that much. After fusion jazz I was in my 20s and I started to listen to more old school jazz, then really outside stuff from any era.

[LeftyP]

I was born in 1950(!) so we had the BBC Light programme which played stuff like Victor Sylvester and Billy Cotton with Kathy Kaye and Alan Breeze!  Then came Lonnie Donegan and "Saturday Club" with Brian Matthew so we could hear Kenny Ball and his Jazz Men and very early 'pop' songs.  The big band sound was still popular with Glen Miller to the fore and we had vocalists like Vera Lynn and Ann Shelton as well as Sinatra and co.  We discovered Radio Luxemburg (Fab 208, your station of the stars) and I fell in love with Helen Shapiro - I was 11 she would have been about 14 - the older woman!  I was playing the mouth organ back then and would perform at school concerts playing tunes like "Wheels", "African Waltz" and my party piece "Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White" - although I didn't know that was the title.

 

Into my teens and Radio Caroline (North) hit the airwaves and everything changed.  Being a teenager in the 1960s was amazing.  Pop music exploded along with the Carnaby Street fashions and the off shore radio stations opened up the airwaves to great music.  I loved the Beatles (still like their early stuff but cannot get into Sgt. Pepper), The Beach Boys, Mamas & Papas, The Association and most of the Motown catalogue.  Later I became a fan of singer songwriters like Jim Croce and Harry Chapin and folk/rock bands like Fotheringay.

 

I am so glad that I was exposed to such a wide variety of music as I can enjoy the delicate voice of Alison Krauss alongside the raunchy sound of Tina Turner and the soul of Aretha.  I'm a huge fan of harmony vocals and the Carpenters and ABBA are never far away from my CD player.  Heavy rock/metal and rap pass me by as I really appreciate great melodies in the mould of Cole Porter, Burt Bacharach etc.  These days I generally listen to country and Christian music (I play bass in church).  I like a song that tells a good story and has a pleasing melody to it.