Music has always been a very important part of my life. I can remember when my friends & I would
watch the clock because the radio played the latest Jackson 5 song every day at
the same time.
I went to my first official concert in 1971 at the age of 14
with my Mom & my Step-Father, Frank Buffa and my Step-Sister, Renee. We saw The Who at the Mississippi River
Festival at Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville which was an outdoor
venue that opened in 1969. The price of
the ticket was $2.50 plus a .50 cent handling fee for a grand total of
$3.00. It was an exciting night for me
but we had to leave early because the crowd started to get rowdy. I don’t think my Mom realized the
extracurricular activities that would be going on at a Who concert.
I went to concerts all through the 1970’s and saw Fleetwood
Mac at The Ambassador Theatre for $4.00, Emerson, Lake & Palmer at
Convention Hall for $4.50, The Marshall Tucker Band at Kiel Auditorium, Jesse
Colin Young at The Opera House, Jethro Tull at The Arena, Yes, The Allman
Brothers, Necture, Pavlov’s Dog, BTO, Brian Auger, Dickey Betts, Dave Mason,
REO, Styx, Frank Zappa, Chic Corea, Jeff Beck, The Grateful Dead, Jon Luc
Ponte, Stanley Clarke and some, more than once.
I’ve kept most of my ticket stubs (I think) and there’s a
10-12 year gap where I have no stubs. If
I recall, my husband didn’t like concerts so that must be the reason for the
gap. My ticket stubs pick up again in
the 1990’s when I saw Don Henley at Riverport Amphitheatre for a whopping $25.00. Over the years I’ve seen ZZ Top, The Charlie
Daniels Band, Blues Traveler, Lenny Kravitz, Santana, Rusted Root, King
Crimson, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, April Wine, Aerosmith a number of times, The
Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Ben Harper, The Black Crowes, The Dave Matthews Band,
Tom Petty, Meat Loaf, Pearl Jam, Matchbox Twenty, Train, Live, Steve Winwood,
Metallica, Blue Oyster Cult, Motley Crue, The Stray Cats, The Pretenders,
Firefall, Pure Prairie League, The Atlanta Rhythm Section, Mama’s Pride, Neil
Young, John Mellenkamp and Willie Nelson, and again, many more than once.
And how could I forget the Hanson concert at the Starwood
Amphitheatre in Nashville that Barb surprised me & the kids with in
1998? And when me & Debbie took the
kids to Union Station under the train shed to see Kenny Wayne Shepherd before
anyone even heard of him? And when me,
Jennifer, Janice, Janet & Mom went to The Chaifetz Arena to see Ranya play
cello with Barry Manilow? And the annual
Christmastime “Wish You Were Here” tribute to Pink Floyd concert at The Pageant
which is a tradition with Lester?
My love of concerts continues to this day. I recently bought a 4-pack to the
Amphitheatre to see Boston with the Doobie Brothers, Sammy Hagar, REO with
Chicago and ZZ Top with Jeff Beck this summer.
I’m glad I kept most of my ticket stubs which number over 90. I only wish I had written the names of the
people I went to each concert with on the back of the ticket stub.
When I found this song I wished I could remember hearing it (but I was never a devoted Barbra Streisand fan) because the lyrics are so true to life. >> Nothing stays the same everyone must change no one stays the same the young become old and mysteries unfold << Here is Jackie in 1995 playing her flute, accompanied by John Klingle (Aunt Karen’s brother) on the trumpet. During the 2 years Jackie played she wasn’t too bad as a beginner, we just have to remember she did it.
The pictures start with the musician at 3 months old with Grandma McClure, then at age 5 with Grandma Zimmermann and cousins Angie and Mindy, at 4 with her Mom and Dad, then at the blooming age of 13. >> Cause that’s the way of time nothing and no one goes unchanged << Jackie and I in 1998, Me Evie and Jackie in 2013 and then Gram (me) and Evie, 2014. >> There are not many things in life you can be sure of except ………change << as shown here.
I cannot think about music without thinking about dancing. I’ve always loved to dance. I started
dancing when I was about 4---as you can see in this picture with my cousin,
Chrissy. I even won a twist contest in the 7th grade. When we were
teenagers, Chrissy and I started spending weekends with each other. We went to
whatever “teen town” we could find---wherever Bob Kuban and the In-Men or The
Spirit of St. Louis were playing. We traded nights of babysitting with
Chrissy’s sister, Judy in exchange for rides to the teen towns---mostly at the
Catholic churches. We danced constantly---my house or hers---didn’t matter. We
taught ourselves all of the latest dances---the jerk, the monkey, the stroll,
the bump---we did them all. We watched the St. Louis Hop daily. American
Bandstand was our favorite---we loved Dick Clark. Even as adults, we would
dance together at family weddings. Speaking of weddings, it looks like my
family has inherited my love of dancing. It’s in the genes. In fact, it was
dancing that attracted me to Butch in the first place. He liked to dance and I
liked that! It was meant to be from the start!
Music plays such a part in all of our lives. I love driving down the road and a certain song will come on the radio and it will take me back to a certain point in time or remind me of a specific memory. Most of the time these memories triggered by songs are happy, however music has also helped me through the tough times in life as well. My favorite song of all time is “Big Girls Don’t Cry” by Fergie. I would listen to this song when faced with tough situations whether personally or professionally. I still play this song when I need to give myself a little pep talk. Our Senior Class Song was “Time of Your Life” by Green Day. When I hear this song I immediately go back in my mind to my senior year and all of the good times we had. Growing up, I took piano lessons and played the flute in band. I was in about second grade in these photos at the piano. I was shy and quiet back then. It’s hard to believe that this is the same girl who loves to sing, dance and “party like a rock star” to music now. Knowing how shy I was as a young child, these photos of dancing with friends show how far I came out of my “shell” as my parents and teachers would refer to me. Dancing at our Wedding and the songs we chose is one of my favorite memories. This picture is from our first dance, our Wedding Song was “There’s No Way” by Alabama. Now, after eight years of marriage Kurt and I have Nathan. While Nathan is only two months old, he already loves music. One of my most favorite things to do with him is to play music on my phone and we sing and dance. His absolute favorite song is “Happy”- I don’t know how his little mind works, but I know he knows this song in particular. He grins from ear to ear as we sing and dance to it. We have played it 100’s of times already. When Nathan’s colic would set in, playing this song would calm him for a while. He definitely makes us HAPPY so the song is perfect for us.
Things I Love
Two of my prized possessions are related to music. I believe that my love for music stems from my parents. My Mom played the piano and her voice is like a songbird. My Dad played the alto sax like he was born with a reed in his mouth.
I love to play my piano, though I am not very accomplished. I plan to address this issue now that I am retiring.
I found the clock in Sedona, AZ. It opens, divides, spins and plays one of six songs every hour as long as it is in the light. Being light activated, it is fortunately quiet at night. My grandson, Adrian, loves this clock. As a baby he would point and say “clock, Grammie clock”.
He would beg me to make it play again. My music taste is best described as eclectic. I love everything from Country, Jazz, Blues to Classical.
