The Power of Music

I remember being excited about music at an early age. I would get the 78s of my brothers and sisters and put them on the record player.

Some of you may not know what a 78 is. It was a disc of music that spun at 78 rotations per minute. A needle went in the groove and produced music.

For some of us, the preceding paragraph is obvious, but for today’s generation, they may have never seen a 78 record.

The other thing about them was that they were brittle. Too often I would take one off, put it on the couch, put the next one off and sit down on the couch forgetting that the record was there. Crunch! Gone! I sat on some pretty good tunes, including “Rock Around the Clock”.

Just like a movie, some songs paint pictures in our lives. Certain melodies remind me of people. Others bring back circumstances.

For example, any John Denver tune reminds me of Krista Lee. I never had any idea of who he was until she introduced me to his music, but along with it came a bit of her.

When I hear “West End Girls” by the Pet Shop Boys I am back in London, England in the mid-80s.

“Do You Want To Know What Love Is” brings back my days at Softball Canada. Diane, who worked there, would always crank up the volume whenever it came on the radio.

Anne Murray’s “You Needed Me” belongs to a certain night in my pickup truck in Alberta. The line You took my lies and made them truth again has special significance. Ugly rumours were going around the community I lived in and this line gave me hope.

I still remember when I first heard “She Loves You” by the Beatles. I was in the bathroom getting ready for school and it still takes me back to that day.

“I Guess That’s Why They Call It the Blues” is for Marie.

I even have songs for pets. “Isn’t She Lovely” by Stevie Wonder reminds me of my dog Sarah.

So many songs; so many memories. I can’t imagine how life might have been before the invention of the phonograph. Each song has enriched my life and it is nice when I hear the first few notes of a familiar tune and the feelings come back to life like rain on parched soil.