What I Listened To Growing Up

What follows is a curated collection of songs starting from my earliest memories and ending in the jumble of cassettes in the glove...

Music appreciation must have been a passive thing for me growing up. I remember that sitting still and listening were hard. Making music...

We Deems have a thing for laughter. Some of what makes me laugh is instinctual but a lot of what I find funny has been handed down. Many...

There were a few of Bill and Steve’s 45’s nestled away behind the bar in the Hammond’s music studio. Once discovered, Molly and I put...

Sometimes I needed a little push before I decided to like a song. These are the people who did the pushing. Each of them told me that...

Many years beyond the scope of this assignment, I came to appreciate a song by Sade called Never as Good as the First Time. What I took...

I feel a bit foolish sharing how small I thought the world was where people I knew sang songs on the radio or where famous singers...

The second of three posts about my music influencers: 1971 Aqualung Jethro Tull Ladd May Ladd was a font of pre-teen male culture,...

I’m thankful for growing up with a piano although at the time I took it for granted. Everyone sang and played music, right? Heart and...

What do these three entries have in common? They’re all answers to security questions! 1971 American Pie Don McLean American Pie was the...

Now we begin to move away from songs that I imposed upon our household -- perhaps thumping the floorboards -- so you might not be...

The third and final post about my music influencers: 1971 Roundabout Yes Billy Martin Billy was privileged. And gifted. Picture a...

My first car was an eleven-year-old 1968 Ford Mustang that served not only as my back-and-forth to work but also as my boombox. Great FM...

I hope you enjoyed getting a different view of history and perhaps getting to know some people (including me) a little better. Maybe you...