When and how did music get a hold of you.

60's guy

60's guy

Well-known member
I know for myself that I can remember listening to AM radio broadcasting Ring Of Fire by Johnny Cash and the songs of the Everly Brothers and Elvis circa 1957 and also listening to all of the country music records that my Dad owned. That's how it began for me. How did it begin for you?
 
I started taking guitar lessons at 10, which would be 1963. I loved Carl Wilson's guitar playing. My brother wanted me to learn Lets Go Trippin' but I didn't have the chops yet. And there were the Santo and Johnny records that my dad bought. I still remember Sleepwalk.

After a couple of years I started learning stuff like the Kinks, the Kingsmen, Rolling Stones. I did finally learn Trippin, many years later.
 
I got hooked by Christmas music at a very early age - around 2 years old, near as I can figure - by any of the Christmas albums from Andy Williams; Frank Sinatra; Ray Coniff and The Ray Coniff Singers; Perry Como; Brenda Lee; Bing Crosby; Nat King Cole; Mitch Miller; any compilation from various artists. Then came Country Music via our parent's radios which were playing in the background all day. What got me to pick up an instrument was the invasion of The Beatles.
 
TLDR: Pink Floyd concert at the Hollywood Bowl September 22nd 1972 ( Staying home to watch the rain concert)


When I was a child I had a fever,
my tonsils filled like two balloons,
my Mother rocked me in her arms, sang me lullaby's
I saw things, she swore were not there but they were there
Her music soothed the pain and kept me sane I can not explain
And I found Music was comfortably fun.

Ok a sad attempt to tie this to the PF song.

My Mom introduced me to music as a very sick ( constant tonsillitis, sore throats and high fevers) as a 2 and 3 year old.
Had em taken out at 3 in a veterinary hospital ( true story and explains a lot...woof!)
She had a great voice and made up songs and lullaby's and would rock me in her arms trough out the night
Born in 53 with 3 older sisters the youngest being 8 years older I grew up with the AM radio blaring KFWB channel 98.
Catholic school was very musically driven, the 3 sisters all sang like birds and would sometimes do 3 part harmonies ...kick ass
The middle sister was a beast with the accordion.... until her teacher realized she was playing by ear and not reading the music. ;)
I was exposed to all of the emerging rock, surf and folk of the time Elvis, Chubby Checker, Little Richard, The Everly brothers, The Smothers Brothers, Leslie Gore, Jan and Dean, The Beach Boys etc. @ 11 years old them weirdos with the long hair from England arrived and the next thing I knew my now 19 year old youngest sister was a Beatle maniac. I mean her room was plastered in pictures of the Beatles. They were weird , she was weird but those damn catchy songs started catching me. It took me a year or so but I became a fan like everyone else at the time. Man growing up as a young teen when the summer of love came about was a trip. Rock music was exploding...The Doors, Hendrix, Janis, The Kinks, The Rolling Stones, Santana, Motown, poor Elvis...left in the dust, caught in a trap.

Other than trying drums in the school band as a freshman learning the basics and a few cadences, I never took up an instrument until I was 16. A friend of mine's parents owned the local Hammond Organ franchise. He hit me up to help him deliver pianos and organs for $5 to $10 cash for each delivery. Hell yeah being as minimum wage was $1.35 in 69, I was happy to heft those big old beast around. Young n dumb. Son you got a strong back and a weak mind my old man used to say to me.

Turned out he was an amazing player and surely one of the greatest rock Hammond players in the world of his age. At 15 he was pulling off Lee Michaels Stormy Monday like nothing.. doing all those Pop 3 dog night songs, Whiter shade of pale, Santana...at fricking 15. Dude was a prodigy. Kick ass B3 with two built 122 leslies...man the music studio screamed rock at night when the store closed. They had a drum set there and he let me sit at em and try and be his Frosty. For not ever playing a kit and never having a lesson I started getting an idea of how to emulate Frosty and the drummers of the aforementioned songs. Then he put a mic in front of me and the rest is misery... I was watching him play and he showed me a blues lick. At the time I had a pretty good memory and I repeated the riff very closely. He was surprised and showed me another...I banged it out pretty close again...he said shit man you pick this shit up fast you oughta try playing the keys. I did and was wowing my friends pretty quickly..it was fun. A few years later we went to the Hollywood Bowl on September 22nd 1972. We saw Pink Floyd in quad doing some of Uma Gumma, Meddle but most importantly test driving DSOTM pre it's release. Everyone at that concert was blown away, jaws on the floor...even the ancient 50 year old ushers :ROFLMAO: ...the word was Wow as we all left that evening...we were all truly Dazed and Confused at what we had just witnessed. I went into the Hollywood Bowl that night with every intention of going to college and getting a law degree. I left that night thinking man I want to do that. Tour the world in a Rock Band and leaving em all going home saying Wow WTF did I just see.

Well that was my goal....I got my greasy fingers on that brass ring for a New York minute between 1975 and 1980. Only rocked LA but I got to rock with Eddie, Randy, Tommy Lee, Vince Neal, Mark Kendal and quite a few others that ended up "making it". Then I lost my grip and fell into that deep dark chasm of the woulda, coulda , shoulda been a contender club. Man what a long strange trip it's been. So grateful I got my 15 seconds. Probably would not be here alive today expounding upon it had we "made it". We were definitely on a spiral of rock n roll suicide.

Playing in a rock band and seeing the world is a lofty aspiration. flash forward 20 years I did get to see a lot of the world in my career selling man made stone "Quartz" which is a kind of "Rock". Just not the rock I had intended. In all of my travels wherever / when ever there is a piano or keyboard that I can sit at, be it at a hotel, restaurant or club, I bang out some music and sometimes get a wow...still a hoot.
 
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My mom would listen to Bill Haley and the Comets and others of the genre.
The Beatles and Stones were all the rage. Lets say around 1965/66.
I found a gorgeous banjo in a closet at home, pulled it out, figured out "My dog has fleas". Played with it for a few days and asked my dad if we could trade it for a guitar. He said yes.
So I ended up with a lovely Hofner acoustic which I played the crap out of. All self taught.
That led me to trade up to electric with a crappy amp in high school, and learning drums as well.
I played drums in a band in high school for years.
After high school I sold my drums (a lovely set of Rogers) and was left with guitar.
Then work, relationships, kids etc. Music took a back seat although I did some recording with a Tascam 4 track cassette.
Then, 20 years later a buddy asked me if I wanted to fill in on drums for a jam. Sure why not?
Just for fun I took my guitar and amp along (cuz it's a jam). Played drums for about 30 minutes until another drummer showed up. I left the drums to him and played guitar.
That was about 25 years ago, and I've been at band practice and gigs every week since then.
Cover band fun!
 
My farther was a machinist/mechanic and did side work. When I was around five he fixed this guys diesel motor on his large commercial fishing boat. The guy also owned a bar and was getting a jukebox with them new fangled 45s. Part of the payment to my father was the old 78 jukebox, which wound up on my front porch. I would stand in front of that thing for hours and sing. I still remember lyrics of some of the songs to this day. That , classical and jazz in cartoons got me going. I started playing drums and bugle in the town marching band at around eight.
 
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was built into me ..... starting playing tunes on a neighbors piano when I was a toddler and playing my parents 78s and knowing and singing all the words to everything from Chuck Berry to South Pacific.
Started on sax when I was 10 ... added guitar and bass within a year and then started gigging some weekends when I was 12 ...... actually was on a record ( no one has one ) when I was 12 .... went full-time when I graduated and have never taken a break from it and still doing a stupid amount of gigs 50+ years later
 
When I was around 13, the local firehouse started having teenage dances with a live band. No stage, so the band used to set up in a corner. I spent most of the night standing in front of the band watching the guitar player and quicly fell in love with the instrument and music in general. Started begging my Mom to let me learn to play.

60 years later and I’m still trying to learn to play. 🤷🏻‍♂️😀
 
Lt. Bob said:
was built into me ..... starting playing tunes on a neighbors piano when I was a toddler and playing my parents 78s and knowing and singing all the words to everything from Chuck Berry to South Pacific.
Started on sax when I was 10 ... added guitar and bass within a year and then started gigging some weekends when I was 12 ...... actually was on a record ( no one has one ) when I was 12 .... went full-time when I graduated and have never taken a break from it and still doing a stupid amount of gigs 50+ years later
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Hey Lt., coincidently last night I happened to be listening to an internet collab we did awhile ago. Not sure if you recall (How ‘Bout Us). Anyway the sax work on it remains absolutely stellar. Best part of the song. 👍🏼 Hope all is well with you.
 
One early memory, bright sunny day older brothers were outside probably playing football while I was inside a 3 season porch singing along with Sweet Caroline into a hairbrush. In part because of the pretty little girl down the block, Caroline. Sissy, they said, but in my estimation I was ahead of the game. Music = girls. An older uncle gave us a big stack of records, various artists, among them Meet the Beatles. After the line "Got to get you into my life!", although not on the record, I could just hear to crowd (and girls) going nuts. John's strumming on All My Lovin', mom's broom took a beating.

A couple of aunts played and sang. If they can do it so can I?

Around 11-12 years old, Kiss Alive! was huge. I wanted to play! I wanted to do that. Well, not necessarily that, but I wanted to rock. For Christmas I got a Vox Phantom copy and a little shitty amp. I wasn't particularly thrilled with the body style then, but in hindsight it was a pretty cool guitar. I found out quickly I wasn't going to just pick it up and start sounding like Kiss. A little discouraged I put it down. However, I picked up my mom's little FG 75 acoustic, which I still have and cherish. Best thing I ever did. With the help of an older friend down the block, music school grad, I started learning chords. I was able to recognize & play chords, and learn songs on my own. From there it took off pretty quickly, older friend was amazed at the progress. He knew book learning, I had it in my heart. I was obsessed, couldn't think of anything else. Of course girls came with the territory, I did manage to find time for that.

Since then playing music as been a constant companion. I did go through a spell where everywhere I went someone wanted to throw a guitar in my hand. After one particular episode where I bounced a POS Celebrity Ovation(Sigma?) guitar off the table, for a time I stopped playing, other than for myself. I started writing, some. However, unfortunately, the whole "played in a thousand bands" thing began. Covers. Wasn't until many moons later that I began to tune-in and listen to the music in my head. Allow myself to be open to hearing it. Appreciate its worth.
 
Good thread. Interesting stories!


There were a couple of particularly significant moments or events for me. For reference - I was born in late 1968.

When I was about 7 y/o my older sister's 45 of ZZ Top's Tush really grabbed my attention. Very much a "what is THAT?" moment. I would sneak into her room and listen to it over and over.

A little later - probably a year or so and my dad and I were over at his girlfriend's place one day and she put on Queen's "A Night at the Opera". "Death On Two Legs", "Bohemian Rhapsody", "I’m in Love With My Car".... again I was just mesmerized. She had Foreigner and all the Beatles catalogue - all that really grabbed my attention.

But the big moment for me - the one where I knew I wanted to be a part of that.... was when I was about 10 or 11 y/o and I first heard Zep's "Whole Lotta Love". The heaviness of it, the stereo Theremin stuff, the drums..... and, holy shit, Page's guitar solo in that song.... just fucked me up. The sound of that squealing guitar. That changed me. I was in. Then at some point I saw pictures of the mysterious Jimmy Page in Cream magazine or somewhere. There would be no going back. I wore that Led Zeppelin II album out. And eventually - all of their stuff.
 
My Dad liked playing records, particuarly classical music. He also played jazz and assorted novelty records (e.g. purple people eater, my old man's a dustman). So I enjoyed listening to all that music as well.

But it wasn't until I heard The Beatles on the radio that I decided I wanted to play music, rather than listen to it. It started with me playing a broom like a guitar on the kitchen table. I got my first guitar when I was fourteen or fifteen and have not stopped playing since.
 
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