THE INFLUENCERS PART 2 (CHARLOTTE)

The second of three posts about my music influencers:

1971 Aqualung Jethro Tull Ladd May

Aqualung Lyrics

Sitting on a park bench Eyeing little girls with bad intent Snot's running down his nose Greasy fingers smearing shabby clothes Hey, Aqualung

Drying in the cold sun Watching as the frilly panties run Hey, Aqualung Feeling like a dead duck Spitting out pieces of his broken luck Oh, Aqualung

Sun streaking cold An old man wandering lonely Taking time the only way he knows Leg hurting bad as he bends to pick a dog-end Goes down to the bog and warms his feet

Feeling alone The army's up the road Salvation a la mode and a cup of tea Aqualung, my friend Don't you start away uneasy You poor old sod You see, it's only me

Do you still remember December's foggy freeze When the ice that clings on to your beard Was screaming agony And you snatch your rattling last breaths With deep-sea diver sounds And the flowers bloom Like madness in the spring

Sun streaking cold An old man wandering lonely Taking time the only way he knows Leg hurting bad as he bends to pick a dog-end He goes down to the bog And warms his feet Woh-o-o-oh

Feeling alone The army's up the road Salvation a la mode and a cup of tea Aqualung, my friend Don't you start away uneasy You poor old sod You see, it's only me Me-ee-eeh, o-o-o-oh

Dee dee dee dee Dee dee, dee dee, dee dee Dee dee dee, dee dee dee Dee dee, dee dee

Aqualung, my friend Don't you start away uneasy Oh, you poor old sod You see, it's only me

Sitting on a park bench Eyeing little girls with bad intent Snot's running down his nose Greasy fingers smearing shabby clothes Hey, Aqualung

Drying in the cold sun Watching as the frilly panties run Hey, Aqualung Feeling like a dead duck Spitting out pieces of his broken luck Hey, Aqualung

Wo-o-o-o-oh, Aqualung

Ladd was a font of pre-teen male culture, though I’m at a loss to identify its source -- he and his twin sister Charlene had no older siblings and they lived with his divorced mom. Yet, his library of sophomoric jokes was impressive. (So much so that I can’t think of one I’d be comfortable repeating here.) Ladd loved to read and at the time, one of his favorite books was The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. It tickled him the swindles Tom perpetrated on his friends and he often quoted the beginning of the book: “TOM!” No answer. “TOM!” No answer. Ladd was probably the fashion leader of all my friends -- bellbottomed jeans and body shirts, and his first-adopter mindset applied to TV shows and music as well. Jethro Tull’s Aqualung was alien to my Top 40 world so I clearly remember Ladd playing it repeatedly during one of our sleepovers. Ladd was gifted with a vibrant mind’s eye and the sorts of tellings that Mark Twain, Ian Anderson and lewd boys did are something he enjoyed most.

1971 Take Me Home, Country Road John Denver The Neasons

Take Me Home, Country Road Lyrics

Almost heaven, West Virginia, Blue Ridge Mountains, Shenandoah River

Life is old there, older than the trees, younger than the mountains, blowing like a breeze

Country roads, take me home to the place I belong

West Virginia, mountain mamma, take me home, country roads

All my memories gather round her, miner's lady, stranger to blue water

Dark and dusty, painted on the sky, misty taste of moonshine, teardrop in my eye

Country roads, take me home to the place I belong

West Virginia, mountain mamma, take me home, country roads

I hear her voice in the morning hour, she calls me, the radio reminds me of my home far away

And driving down the road I get a feeling that I should have been home yesterday, yesterday

Country roads, take me home to the place I belong

West Virginia, mountain mamma, take me home, country roads

Country roads, take me home to the place I belong

West Virginia, mountain mamma, take me home, country roads

Take me home, down country roads

Take me home, down country roads

The Neasons deserve credit for some influence on me during the Charlotte years. They were cool! I can’t explain why I associate them with camping and caving during that time because they don’t quite seem to fit in with that. Memory is imperfect. Yet when I hear songs by John Denver, I’m reminded of them. I also remember the Deems harmonizing along with Take Me Home, Country Road while in the car. It’s pretty to think that we, along with Bobbi and George, were caravanning to Smokehole, West Virginia at the time.

1977 Strawberry Letter 23 The Brothers Johnson Lawrence Brooks

Strawberry Letter 23 Lyrics

Hello, my love I heard a kiss from you Red magic satin playing near, too

All through the morning rain I gaze the sun doesn't shine Rainbows and waterfalls run through my mind

In the garden I see West purple shower, bells and tea Orange birds and river cousins dressed in green

Pretty music I hear So happy and loud Blue flower echo from a cherry cloud

Feel sunshine sparkle pink and blue Playgrounds will laugh If you try to ask Is it cool, is it cool?

If you arrive and don't see me I'm going to be with my baby I am free Flying in her arms, over the sea

Stained window, yellow candy screen See speakers of kite With velvet roses diggin' freedom flight

A present from you Strawberry letter 22 The music plays, I sit in for a few

A present from you Strawberry letter 22 The music plays, I sit in for a few

In 1977, two years after moving to West Chester, we visited Charlotte and I arranged to meet with Lawrence for an evening. I remember sensing a disconnect when I first saw him: he was driving, I was smoking. When he pulled up, he was listening to a Brothers Johnson cassette in his car. Lawrence had always been about pleasing whomever he was with. He entertained and bantered and was reactionary in his efforts. When it came to music, he seemed to be happy with the choices of others. His Brothers Johnson selection surprised me because I’d never really experienced his taste. Strawberry Letter 23 was a peek at himself Lawrence allowed me to see.

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