A Few Tunes

What an AWESOME and unique post, Sue!! I'll be enjoying these often!! Thank you for sharing these golden songs.......

Some of them are so old, Sandy, but to me they're classics, and have so many fond memories. I'm glad you'll enjoy them too.

She's not the only one.

Sue, this is so fitting for the character that you are, and the one that I might imagine you to have. As I listen to Glenn Miller, I imagine my Mother or perhaps a Soldier and his Doll Dancing to this forlorn Music. And, I find myself thinking of a simpler time; a time when America was better; Life was simpler; and I think of the "War to end all Wars." At the risk of repeating myself, my Mum was a World War ll child, and lost a Brother in that War. She was the youngest...and she would recount how lonely she was as a Girl, as all of her Brothers and Sisters had just disappeared, to serve in the War. She grows so weary of my questions, that she'll sigh when I ask her what it was like to ration butter, or put a block of ice in the box...or, hear a radio broadcast with updates on the War. "I know, Mum...but, please tell me again." She's always told me, ever since I was a boy, that she believes I was borne a few hundred years too late. I find myself agreeing with her more often than not.

Thanks for the Music. :)

Most of them are songs that either my Mother played or I played, or that we both did at some later point. "I'll See You in My Dreams" was, with different words, what we sang at the end of dance recitals when I was 4, 5, 6 and 7. I don't remember all the changed lyrics, but the last two lines were, "And that is when we'll dance again; til then good-night, good-night."

So these all have a theme of the same kind of memories of home and family, but my musical taste is probably more eclectic than anyone's I've ever come across. If you click the group link in this post, "My Gather ipod" you will see the other musical post I got together some time ago which I occasionally go back to listen and sometimes also to redo the links because many of the links are invalid after a while since a lot of these music videos were taken down for lack of fair use rights and other reasons.

Every time you tell me a little snippet about your Mother, she sounds like a woman with so much patience and such a fun person to have in your life. (I think my mother called the refrigerator the "ice box" until I was at least 10).

At a restaurant we went to the other night, they played jazz versions of several old songs. Fun

Live? That does sound Fun. Enjoyed yourselves, then?

Yes, Sue, my Mum is a wonderful person. But not everyone thinks so. She's had not merely a difficult Life, but a rather horrible one. She has an extremely dour disposition, and it has taken me much of my life to mature enough to understand it's genesis. The Depression-era, World War ll-era East Bloc (and German) knew little of Love. I've discovered the key to disarming Her, and if I remind myself of this in my interactions with her, it's "magic"...pure Magic. We've become closer in the last decade or so than we've ever been, and I'm finally beginning to understand her disposition (and Her speech!). (laughs). Sadly, my Siblings haven't quite reached that level of Detente'.

Yeah, it seems to me there were a lot more restaurants that had live dinner music like that in the 80s and 90s, but not as many now.

It's always good when you can come to terms with idioscyncrasies of someone you're close to but may otherwise be offensive if you don't understand that person. I am sure that God has given you the wisdom to be able to understand her better and enjoy her for that understanding. Yep, that's a good thing.

at least half of those, i played while in a band for over 20 years.

when i first joined them, we played once or twice a month.

what a great bunch - the sax and piano had been together for over 20 years when i joined - the bass was with them for 15.

the 'grand ole man' of it - the sax, was still playing when he was 80.

almost 25 yeas, and i was stillk always the 'new guy' LOL.

just a quartet, that did 30's, 40's and a VERY few 50's songs - they had charts litterally for 5 to 6,000 songs.

but what fun!

sadly the last 8 or 10 yearsw, we had one gig a year - but it was 3 days worth (a festival) - we would play anywhere from 5 to 15 sets a year, on up to 4 different stages.

i remember one year, they had a dixieland band, made up entirely of college music professors - and we were scheduled to alternate every hour, for 8 hours.

somewhere around the 3rd hour, their trumpet joined us - then the trombone - and soon it was one band of 10, instead of 2 bands ROFL. what a time.

and i was always a bit ornery - i woudl take a song like 'slow boat to china', or 'indian wedding song', and move the empo up each verse, till it was a 'swing' - trhen throw a rock and roll beat behind it LOL .......

ah - i could talk for hours of those days.

the sax and piano are both gone - but i never miss thinking of them, on new years eve, and at festival time.

I bet they have lots of good memories for you, del. As all really great music, it's timeless. Anytime you want to tell us any of those stories, I'd love to hear about them.

there were two small bands i was a member fo for many years - the one i talked about above, and one i was in for over 10 years (a country band).

i have THE fondest memories of the people in both, and the music we played.

sadly, both bands have only me, and one other person still living ......

i see one of them pretty frequently (4 or 5 times a year), and talk to him on the phone anopther 4 or 5 times a year - he is ........... (mid) 80+ yrs old ....... when he is gone, it will almost be like losing another father ......the other i simply lost track of, but he would now be in his l;ate 80's.

there are stories tho lol.

the country band - all locals also, we had a bass player that was .......... well ........ he ah - loved wiskey WAY too much.

on night he was at least 2 sheets to the wind, and suddenly walked off the stage, bass guitar still strapped on ..... whe he reached the end of his coil cord, it pulled the amp over and he kept going.........
he went outside, opened his car door, rolled the window down, stuck the guitar neck thru the open window,, shut the door (on the cord) and drove opff ........ cord bouncing behind him lolol - never did find out what he got mad about ......

but he was an incredibly solid country bass player ........... no matter what his 'condition' was lol

It's nice that you've been able to keep a connection with one of the musicians, del. I'm sure it's great for both of you to remember those days and the good times. The music will help keep a bond with the rest, hopefully too.

That sounds like a scene from a comedy flick when you say, "only in the movies," but apparently not. :) The damage doesn't sound too minimal, but it could have been much worse, I suppose. Musicians are often very interesting people to get to know, understatedly.

some do tend to be quite trying lol.