Writing Prompt #58
Time Traveling on a Song…or Three
The songs I most remember pair strong lyrics with an awesome beat
My first exposure to music was listening to my much older sister’s Carole King, Chicago, Beatles, and Supremes albums. Not a bad musical initiation. At 11, I had no idea what it meant for the Earth to be moving under my feet, but that didn’t stop me from singing along.
In graduate school, I had an extensive collection of vinyl albums and a sophisticated sound system that I put together with the advice of my best friend’s boyfriend: Boston Acoustics speakers, Technics receiver, and a top-of-the-line Dual turntable. I listened to music regularly, a mix of Jackson Browne, Van Morrison, and George Benson, among many artists.
Carried over from my college years were Stevie Wonder’s “Songs in the Key of Life” and Chuck Mangione.
Hearing Benson sing “The Greatest Love of All” brings me back to late adolescence self-doubt and the affirmation that song provided me. In the song, Benson sings about always searching for a hero, deciding not to walk in anyone else’s shadow, and learning to depend on himself.
I also owned a Sony Walkman and listened to Steve Forbert’s “Jackrabbit Slim” CD as I walked down the hill from Cornell’s campus…
