My eldest brother , a teddy boy in the late '50s used to play his treasured Buddy Holly LP morning , noon and night, that's when he wasn't cleaning his brothel creepers or touching up is 'DA'. My first musical memory is of the brill Charles Holley singing Peggy Sue, Everyday, Rave on and the rest. I still love his music and never fail to bemoan his passing at the very tender age of 22.
My first musical memory from television was Perry Como performing Catch A Falling Star on a tv programme from the US in about 1959 ish. He was singing the song from what looked like a plush tv studio on the 20th floor of a New York appartment complete with the NY nightlights thrown in for extra effect. Strangeley enough I can't ever recall hearing this song since that day !
Waking up at the Opera, my grandparents had taken me to see the Magic Flute in Edinburgh and I went to sleep in the car in the snow and woke up to fabulousness. I was four.
I discovered Classical music/Opera by accident when I was about 20. I was on a ship and had exhausted the suppy of VHS tapes available except for an unplayed tape entitled 'Beethoven piano Concerto no.4" I played it (making sure I was alone) and fell in love with the genius of Daniel Barenboim.
Also my mother took me to see Fantasia in London when I was vvvv small, I don't know how old, it was simply wonderful and still is. But the MF remains my favourite opera which goes to show how long-lasting those childhood experiences can be. I recently found a whole load of drawings I did when I was 5 after a trip to the theatre to see Dr Faustus (love Marlowe) they are hilarious, Mephistopheles was clearly the hero in my eyes.
I was a member of a large parish Church choir from the age of 9 up to 14 years of age (We appeared on Songs of Praise once !!) and learned to appreciate such music though it's only when I was older I really 'understood' it's beauty. Male Voice choirs still make the hairs stand on end..
An impossible task really Peter but the one that sprang to mind was Johnny Kidd and the Pirates "Shakin' all Over". I guess it just stood out amongst everything else at the time. Just wish I could pick something from 30 years ago!
The first music that I can recall was 'Let it out' by Aaron Benward. Infact I love all the music he has given. I didn't know how famous he is. I realized his fame when I saw his name on www.babynology.com.
In the early 50s my parents were given a radiogram. Magnificent piece of furniture with large speaker at the bottom and double doors to expose the tuning dial and the record player. The only records we had were 78s of course and in fact we had only 3 at the time. Mario Lanza "Be my Love", Frankie Laine "Jezebel" and "Ghost Riders in the sky" by an unkown (to me) artist. I can still remember my parents dancing in the front room to Mario Lanza. I think I heard those three records 4 or 5 times a week for months.
I remember driving back and forth to the S of France from London with Leonard Cohen playing in my parents' car, there were still those big fat tapes. Other things as well but LC was the one whose songs I ended up knowing off by heart so obviously as I wanted to sing along it was played a lot.
never heard of Aaron Benward Eric but i'll give him a listen. According to Wiki he was a good sportsman too. Sounds quite a talented guy !
Charles, yes, I recall those solid wooden radiograms. Our one was a Decca made from teak if I recall. By the size of it I wouldn't be surprised if an Amazonian rain forest was wiped out to build it !
My parents had one of those radiogram thingy's too. They had quite a few 78s but I don't recall them ever being played, but they did use the radio occasionally. In reality it's likely that the first piece of music I heard was something ghastly by Jim Reeves....it will come to me eventually.
I think so, they were fat and squarish as I remember them. Why did they disappear? And when were they a Thing? I think they stuck some way out of the tape player. I wasn't allowed to fiddle with them due to my bad habit of taking things to bits to see how they worked (and afterwards they didn't).
It's funny how every second-hand record store i've visited over the years will have had a James Last disc for sale, I wonder if anyone ever buys them ?
I'm yet to find anyone to admit to having bought a Val Doonican record....
The Stargazers were the early backing group for Petula Clark. Dick James, a member of the band formed a record company and is responsable for 'discovering' Reggie Dwight ((Elton John) & Bernie Taupin.