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DGA35
Great story! Is it Mongooses or Mongeese?
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Mongoose
Something about the anniversary of Kennedy's assassination (53 years ago today) brings me back to my first experiences with the Beatles and the Rolling Stones.
As a nation, we had just gone through the three most depressing months in our modern history with the assassination of JFK. We were so ready to sing, and laugh, and dance, and experience something new and exciting. As John Fogerty wrote:
"The grief had passed, the old men laughed, and all of the girls screamed"
I was about to turn nine years old in February, 1964, living in the small town of Martinsville, Virginia. I remember seeing a promo ad on Channel 7 from Roanoke that afternoon, saying "Tune in to the Ed Sullivan Show tonight for the American debut of the Beatles!," showing that famous black and white group photo,the same one that graced the "I Want to Hold Your Hand" single.
I thought it was some German trapeze act or something, not picking up on the fact that it was a musical group. We always watched Ed Sullivan religiously every Sunday night (as well as Bonanza), so this Sunday was no different. I remember sitting on a round footstool in our den when the Beatles were announced and hit the stage.
I was transfixed. Nothing I had ever seen or heard before could compare with what was coming over the TV screen.
I remember thinking that my dad had HIS music (big band jazz) and my mom HER music (Ray Charles and early R&B ), styles that I came to love later. But this was MY music. It spoke to me.
Dad and I had been riding in the car a week earlier when a song by Al Hirt, "Sugarlips," came over the radio. I had remarked that the tune was kind of catchy, and my dad said he would buy me the 45 the next time the two of us were in a record store.
That trip to the record store came about two days after the Beatles debut. Much to my father's chagrin, I no longer wanted the Al Hirt record. There was only one record in the world that mattered to me.
The following Sunday, my mom got the bright idea of taking a picture of dad and me before going to church. Dad, being a preacher, was dressed in his usual collar and black shirt, and I was in my knit pants and Hush Puppy shoes, and we were sitting together on the coach. The only thing different was the fact that I insisted on holding up my most prized possession, a picture sleeve copy of "I Want to Hold Your Hand."
Then came the avalanche of Beatles records, a plastic Beatles guitar (dang, I wish I still had that), Beatles cards, a Beatle wig, Beatles notebooks....if they had manufactured a Beatles left nostril inhaler, I would have probably bought it!
Never saw them live, but I have had the pleasure of seeing Paul three times, and George and Ringo one time each.
My next musical passion was the Rolling Stones, who I first read about in a teen magazine. I soon heard "It's All Over Now" on the radio, and I was immediately hooked. I went to the very same local record store and bought both that single and the "Tell Me" 45, and played all four songs over and over again until I thought my parents would toss me out of the house. None of my friends were really aware of who the Stones were until 'Satisfaction" came out, which of course put them front and center in front of the world. I remember thinking Brian was the coolest musician I had ever seen, but I didn't have much luck convincing my parents that I should die my hair blonde!
Needless to say, I became a die hard fan of both bands, and I never understood it when friends said, "hey, you have to pick one of the other, not both." Ridiculous. To this day, sometimes I am in a Beatles mood, other times only the Stones will do.
I only know that I've now seen the Stones ten times from 1975 - 2015, and I can't wait for the blues album to be released later this week. Here it is 52 years later since I bought that first Stones single, and we can celebrate new music being released and (hopefully) another chance to see them in concert.
My parents are both gone now (I lost my mom last July), but I am still playing music here in Atlanta with the Amazing Mongooses (with my oldest son on bass, you just can't get cooler than that!), covering lots of Beatles and Stones songs, and life is good.
Happy Holidays, my IORR friends!
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Mongoose
... but I am still playing music here in Atlanta with the Amazing Mongooses (with my oldest son on bass, you just can't get cooler than that!), covering lots of Beatles and Stones songs, and life is good.
Happy Holidays, my IORR friends!
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Palace Revolution 2000
Yes, Happy Thanksgiving to all you grateful rockers.
Wait a minute; Mongoose, you are in Atlanta? Where do you guys play?
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pmk251
I remember the shock, horror and grief of the assassination and the joy of seeing the Beatles on the Sullivan show. But it was many years later that I realized that those two events were just three months apart. It's all in the timing. That band was the right band at the right time. They brought a fun breath of fresh air to a grieving nation. Those songs, those voices, their smart sense of humor...Kennedy started the 60's, the Beatles plunged the decade forward on so many fronts, musical and otherwise. So did Dylan.
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pmk251
The Beatles was the right band to spearhead the British Invasion to a nation traumatized just three months before. Like Arnold Palmer was the right golfer to bring the sport to the TV age. It was a fit of talent, personality and timing. For example, the Stones was not that band. Their first go around in the States was not nearly as successful.