Tonight I couldn’t find anything that I wanted to watch on television, so I started to browse and see what might be available. Remember that I am down on Cape Cod and although it is my seventy-first summer down here, I still can’t quite figure out what is available, channel-wise. But much to my surprise I was able to find the channel for public television from New Hampshire, and they were having a fund raising program that had all the popular songs and many of the original artists from the 1950s. And that. Folks. Is my time and my music!
The program started out with Patti Paige (who looks absolutely terrific) who sang several of her most popular songs, including Old Cape Cod. And I knew right away that this was going to be my program! I kid you not. For the next two hours they played and sang every song that I ever knew and by the same artists who sang them 50 plus years ago. It was the most nostalgic and fun-filled night of my summer.
What I found most amazing wasn’t that I still remembered every single song and all the words. Nope, what shocked me was that when a certain song began, I was transported back to those days when the song was first popular. Places and things that I haven’t thought about in years came right back and it was almost like I was living those days over again. I couldn’t believe that I actually remembered those dances not just at school, but at the old YMCA as well. I am not sure if I really liked those dances but it was much more daring for me to dance with some of those guys than the classmates from our school. And we danced a lot in those days. We had a Sock Hop after almost every basketball game. During our lunch period and of course, for special proms and the like. And dancing meant that some boy would ask you to dance, put his arm around you and you would actually touch as you moved around the gym floor. Unless, of course, the rare guy who asked you to dance could do the jitterbug or the Lindy and then the touching was intermittent.
But we danced a lot back then because all of us knew how to dance because during our seventh and eighth grade years, EVERYONE had to go to dancing class with Miss Claypool, regardless of how much we hated those evenings. We all went and we all learned how to dance.
And no one had anything to carry around and listen to music on. We all had Victrolas and record players and bought a record the minute it came out and became popular. The radio was where we listened to our favorite tunes and/or watched TV with our families, Arthur Godfrey, Ed Sullivan, Dinah Shore and others who had variety shows brought our favorite singers right into our livingrooms and it was from there that we knew what 75 or 33 1/3 speed record we just had to buy.
As I watched and listened to all those many wonderful songs tonight, I couldn’t remember one song that had obscene lyrics or any of the artists wearing anything really risque or grabbing their crotch! I guess that Elvis was the most shocking back then, and he only wiggled his hips!
As I sat and crooned along with the TV tonight, my 14-year-old grandson sat on the sofa and fiddled with his computer and answered literally hundreds of text messages. I don’t know if he enjoyed listening to MY music or not, but I did hear a few snickers as I sang along with Patti, Goggi, Debbie and Nat. Of course, it may have just been my singing, who knows? I do plan on asking him what he thought about all those old classics and I hope I am prepared for his answers.
What I do wonder is this, when the kids of today reach my age and they will, you know, will they have any nostalgic memories about the songs that they listen to today? I know that they don’t dance any more and that their idea of dancing is either to just jump around and have little or nothing to do with the music, or to just stand around and talk. Dancing is either not touching at all or touching and grinding, which goes way beyond what dancing is. And although I know it makes me look about a thousand years old, I feel sorry for the kids today and their lack of opportunities to create memories that they will want to share with their grandchildren. Trust me, grinding just isn’t the memory you want to share with anyone, let alone your grandchildren.
So, for those of you who remember the 50s and 60s and have memories that you might want to share, take the time to check the public television station near you and look for one of the programs that provides all those old songs, especially the ones that are being sung by the original singers. You will be amazed at how good they still sound and how they will transport you back to a younger and kinder time. I am only sorry that I am financially unable to contribute enough to receive the 6 CDs of those wonderful songs. I have my new MP3 player and still have no songs on it because none of my children or grandchildren have any of the songs I want to listen to, so to date I am still waiting. But don’t wait for me, get a copy of those oldies but goodies and enjoy every minute and be sure and relax and remember those good ole days!
