This the is countdown of the seven most important influences or influencers that formed me and who I am today - when it comes to music.
My father is the type who would listen to music in the car.
He played the trumpet as a young man and was, or rather is, into big band jazz. Glenn Miller, Duke Ellington, Armstrong - later Crosby and Sinatra were his house gods. My most vivid memories are from our car in Singapore, listening to "My way", "I get a kick out of you", "For once in my life" and "Yesterday".
I also remember assuming that Yesterday was a Sinatra song since Sinatra was my father's music and, hence, respectable. Obviously, the young boys that made up the Beatles must have borrowed that song from "real musician" Sinatra. My clearest memory of driving with my mother (in her small Renault 5) is with her hugging the wheel, loudly singing "Oh Carrol" by Neil Sedaka.
Incidentally, McCartney himself has said that he woke up after dreaming about "Yesterday", wondering who had written it.
Obviously, this music helped form me. But I think that something completely different played a much bigger role: the balancing act associated with wanting to hear music of my own choice, but not to irritate anyone enough to make them turn it off.
So, if I recorded tapes with various acts, I would choose songs good enough to please me, but "nice" enough to be allowed by the rest of the car's passengers. I think this effort layed the ground for my following career as a DJ, and also helped my develop a gut feeling about what will be a hit and what will just be "good" music.
Or, it just laid a foundation for that irritating tendency I have of telling people what they should like.
Previous defining influences or influencers:
7. First singles
Remaining defining influences or influencers:
5. The collective
4. The stranger
3. DJ
2. Jerome
1. The tapes
My father is the type who would listen to music in the car.
He played the trumpet as a young man and was, or rather is, into big band jazz. Glenn Miller, Duke Ellington, Armstrong - later Crosby and Sinatra were his house gods. My most vivid memories are from our car in Singapore, listening to "My way", "I get a kick out of you", "For once in my life" and "Yesterday".
I also remember assuming that Yesterday was a Sinatra song since Sinatra was my father's music and, hence, respectable. Obviously, the young boys that made up the Beatles must have borrowed that song from "real musician" Sinatra. My clearest memory of driving with my mother (in her small Renault 5) is with her hugging the wheel, loudly singing "Oh Carrol" by Neil Sedaka.
Incidentally, McCartney himself has said that he woke up after dreaming about "Yesterday", wondering who had written it.
Obviously, this music helped form me. But I think that something completely different played a much bigger role: the balancing act associated with wanting to hear music of my own choice, but not to irritate anyone enough to make them turn it off.
So, if I recorded tapes with various acts, I would choose songs good enough to please me, but "nice" enough to be allowed by the rest of the car's passengers. I think this effort layed the ground for my following career as a DJ, and also helped my develop a gut feeling about what will be a hit and what will just be "good" music.
Or, it just laid a foundation for that irritating tendency I have of telling people what they should like.
Previous defining influences or influencers:
7. First singles
Remaining defining influences or influencers:
5. The collective
4. The stranger
3. DJ
2. Jerome
1. The tapes
This makes me wonder if you are aware of who wrote the music to My way? Can't really tell.
ReplyDeleteInteresting! I was not aware that "my way" in reality was inspired by a french song. So both "Yesterday" and "My Way" we in their own ways inspired by outside (imagined?) influences, and both are considered to be the most covered songs of all times...
ReplyDeleteFrom wikipedia: "My Way" is a song with lyrics written by Paul Anka and popularized by Frank Sinatra. The English version is based on a French song "Comme d'habitude" with music by Claude François and Jacques Revaux, and lyrics by Claude Francois and Gilles Thibault. Anka's English lyrics are unrelated to the original French and Anka is credited as a co-composer of "My Way" because he largely re-wrote the song. "My Way" is often quoted as the most covered song in history.
I am somehow amazed over the fact that I knew something about the music scene that you did not, feels good to have contributed.
ReplyDeleteOne of my personal Claude François favorites: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=waTF010zFl4&feature=related
ReplyDeleteA recording were I form part of a group performing this spectacular dance does exist... say no more.
@anonymous: I just realized what you meant with your comment about My Way. I ment Yesterday, but I didn't realize untill now that I'd written that McCartney wrote My Way.
ReplyDelete