Music Keeps Us Young (part 1 of 2)

Music and memory - what's the connection? A scientist might say it has to do with the rostromedial prefontal cortex. That's the section of our brain that not only processes and tracks musical tones, but also is activated when we try to remember something. Did you learn your alphabet, a-b-c-d-e-f-g et cetera, accompanied by the "Alphabet Song"? Fifty-plus years after learning it that way, I still hum the tune when I'm trying to remember what letter comes before 'Z' or 'L'.

The thrust of today's post goes beyond the science of 'why', and into the connection between certain specific songs from my past, and the feeling of well-being that I experience upon hearing those songs today. More often than not, I find that certain music transports me back to when I heard it for the first time. In approximate chronological order, I list the songs that have had the greatest effects on me. But first, a big 'Thank You' to the artists and YouTube.

- EXODUS. My earliest such recollection is of the title track for the movie, released in 1960. I was ten years old, had been taken to the movie, and the music compelled me to use up my number 1 Christmas wish on the soundtrack. I still have that vinyl disc. When I hear this song, I'm back in 1960, when times seemed simpler, and the future was so far away I didn't care.

- GIRL GROUPS. 'Girl Groups' songs left an indelible impression on me. Martha and the Vandellas remains my favorite of this genre. HEATWAVE, DANCIN' IN THE STREETS, and NOWHERE TO RUN, had more soul than the Supremes. But there are two Supremes' songs, released in 1966 and 1968 respectively, that stand out from their entire repertoire: LOVE IS LIKE AN ITCHIN' IN MY HEART, for its percussion, bass, and complex rhythmic structure - thanks to the incredible but unappreciated Motown house band, the Funk Brothers, and LOVE CHILD, for its social commentary. This category would be incomplete without mention of the Ronettes' BE MY BABY, and the Shangri-Las, best known for THE LEADER OF THE PACK, but even more memorable to me was their musically interesting WALKIN' IN THE SAND. Listening to these songs today takes me away from adulthood, and back to what seemed at the time to be a less stressful existence. I wonder if my blood pressure decreases when I listen?

- LOUIE LOUIE, covered by the Kingsmen in 1963, was by far the greatest single influence on my musical tastes. It is the classic 'three chord rock' song that launched thousands of garage bands. In my case, it was a basement band, as the house I grew up in had no garage. It changed my personal musical instrument from an accordion to a beat-up acoustic guitar ($5) in 1964, replaced by a red Vox solid body single pickup electric guitar ($35) in 1965.

Three chord rock means the song's rhythm guitar sound (when all six strings are strummed simultaneously) is composed of only three different chords. Even the beginning guitar player can master three chords. It didn't hurt the song's popularity when, due to the poor sound quality of the cheap recording studio that the struggling band used, many words were muffled, and rumors spread about what the "real, dirty words" were. Then, the Governor of Indiana tried to ban all airplay of the song in Indiana, and last, but not least, it was investigated because of its "obscene" lyrics, by J. Edgar Hoover's FBI. Your tax dollars at work.

My friends and I played the 45 rpm record at 33 1/3 RPM and even 16 RPM to try to make out the words. Of course our feverish 13 year old male minds concocted our own outlandish lyrics, which we played to our heart's content when we finally put a band together the next year. Oh yeah, the three chords were A, D, and Em. Listening to this song today brings me to the beginning of my adolescence, when making a rudimentary form of music, mixed with hormonal drives, fueled creativity on several levels. The band lasted only two years, but it feels like yesterday.

- THE HOUSE OF THE RISING SUN by the Animals (1964). At a time when the Beatles were appealing to teenage love angst, the Animals were fusing the blues with rock, and singing about how a combination saloon/gambling den/house of ill repute in New Orleans led to a young man's downfall. Eric Burdon's voice was rough, filled with raw emotion, and so unlike Paul, John, Dave Clark, or even Mick Jagger's, that I had no choice but to succumb to Animalism. Coincidentally, it was the album Animalism that introduced me to traditional Chicago Blues (electric guitar driven instead of acoustic, more urban and hard-edged than the Delta blues. Bluesman Muddy Waters moved from Memphis to Chicago in 1954, and quickly discovered that his new audiences were both larger and rowdier. He couldn't be heard. So he traded his acoustic guitar for an electric one, and the Chicago Blues sound was born. He later wrote the song, "The Blues Had a Baby, And They Named It Rock and Roll". The song on Animalism that did it for me was their cover of GOIN' DOWN SLOW. Listening to the Blues does not necessarily take me back to a specific, younger age. It does, however, take me on a trip to the very core of my being, which is perhaps the best "wayback" journey of them all.


Next Friday: Music Keeps Us Young, Part 2 of 2