How Oldies Help Us Connect to Young’uns

They already hear some of the best music of our youth

Way back in 2018, I treated my three adult children to lunch and a movie. We enjoyed it all at a CineBistro. Wine with lunch at a movie theatre? Come on! Who could decline? Regardless…the film was “Bohemian Rhapsody,” a biopic about Queen and its mega-star, Freddie Mercury.

Thankfully, my children enjoyed a lot of the music I listened to when they were younger. And yes, I listened mostly to “old stuff” originating from the 1970s when I had been a teen. That was a glorious musical period. My favorites were an eclectic bunch of bands and artists: Queen, Creedence Clearwater Revival plus many southern rock groups, Anne Murray, The BeeGees, The Carpenters, Neil Diamond, and a few more. I was also a Fanilow. As a junior high kid in the early 70s, I loved Bobby Sherman, The Partridge Family, and The Jackson Five. (I’ve linked below to a few greatest hits compilations if you too want to harken back to the “good ol’ days.”)

And don’t forget Three Dog Night!

As a teen, I didn’t buy much music. (I started heavily saving my babysitting money at age 13, and there were still Nancy Drew books to be collected.) I had a decent set of 45s and a few albums. The cassette tape revitalized how I listened to music in my car as a teen. No more did I have to listen to the Top 100 on the radio which included a lot of the hard rock stuff my older brother listened to. The sounds of Pink Floyd occasionally wandered down the hallway in our little house where loud music was forbidden.

When I became a parent and car owner, I also owned the radio. However, I tried to be a generous mother and give airplay to my kids’ choices. Sometimes, the kids were surprised when I’d sing the words to ‘their’ songs. I remember saying, “The BeeGees sang this twenty years ago and it was a lot better.” That’s the beauty of bands covering old songs. We get to hear them again. Occasionally, they meet our standards, right?

I pity the kids with parents whose teens and twenties were ruined by the music of the 1990s. Here’s a link to that decade’s top 50 songs, but don’t bother — it’s an extremely generous list.

Think about those products advertised on TV that feature the music of our youth…they help us connect with our children or grandkids. We love the tunes and even they find them catchy. Unbeknownst to them, they’re classic. We get to tell the story about when we first heard that tune or maybe reminisce out loud (or silently) about the one who got away. I can remember packing my bedroom things in England to return to America, listening to the Foundations’ “Build Me Up, Buttercup” and I still hear it on television quite often.

The other day, I was cleaning out some stuff in my son’s former bedroom. I stumbled across a Dusty Springfield greatest hits CD and I had a memory of that time not so terribly long ago when my son wanted this music. The 1968 tune “Son of a Preacher Man” was featured in the film Pulp Fiction which came out in 1994, the year he was born. Sometime in his teens, he saw the movie and wanted her music. I was, of course, quite satisfied. (He can also sing all the lyrics to Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline.” Me=Proud Mama.)

Those were the days, my friend. (Name that artist!)

Creedence Clearwater Revival Barry Manilow (don’t hate me) Queen (my kids gave me a double CD of this — they clearly get me) The Carpenters (I owned more of their albums than any others)

Okay! That was a great bunch of listening that I can return to this week. Hope you’ll check out my other pieces about faith, retirement, health, and other random bits, like microfiction inspired by my favorite oldies. And…I have a fun monthly newsletter! I’d love to have you join the journey.