Since my Dad has passed on, it’s no longer possible to physically get together with him on Father’s Day anymore. However, there are other ways to connect. This evening, I sat out on my back porch with a glass of my favorite bourbon (purely to heighten the emotion) and played some of Dad’s favorite music.
I’ve always found something magical about music. When you
hear that certain song, it can instantly take you back to an earlier time in
life. And no matter how years have passed, you remember everything as if you
were experiencing it all over again.
As John Denver’s “Country Roads” played through my Bluetooth
speaker, I felt like I was walking through the “Field of Dreams” cornfield. As
I came out of the other side, I found my 8-year-old self in the passenger side
of my Dad’s pick-up truck……
“What do you think of this song, Dad?,” I asked.
He replied, “It’s a pretty good song, but that singer needs
a haircut.”
This would be about the time the haircut wars began between
my Dad and me. You see, I had huge ears as a child, and I was very
self-conscious about it. So, I would look for any excuse to escape a haircut.
But that is a story for another day….
My Dad was a frequent flyer at the area flea markets and yard sales. And in his travels, he
would pick up an abundance of 8-track tapes. For you youngsters out there, 8-tracks
were the first portable form of music for the everyday person. If you were
driving in the early 70’s, an 8-track player was a must for any music lover.
Anyway….
After an afternoon at the local flea market, Dad would come home with 8-tracks of Fats Domino, Neil
Diamand, Johnny Cash, The Beach Boys, etc. And this is what we would listen to
when we were driving together.
By the time I was 12 years old, I practically knew the entire
catalog of some of these artists. Of all my Dad’s 8-Track stars, I would probably
say that Neil Diamond was my favorite. The command that Neil had over a song and
audience was quite impressive. Tonight, I played “I Am, I Said” to jump-start
those old memories. Back in the day, while it was playing, my Dad and I did not talk. We just
listened. And that’s what I did tonight…
Although my Dad was not a diehard Elvis fan, he did really like “Burning Love” when it hit the charts in the early 70's. I can remember him pushing the 8-track into the player and hearing Elvis coming to life through the lone speaker in the middle of the dashboard...
“Lord Almighy, I can feel my temperature rising.
Higher and higher, it’s burning through to my soul….”
The song was upbeat and full of energy. It was almost
impossible to not dance to it. But my Dad was not a dancer, so he kept his eyes
on the road and his hands up on the wheel while I nonchalantly got my
groove on in the passenger’s seat.
We also listened to a lot of Beach Boys music. “Help Me
Rhonda” was one of the songs that seemed to get the most play. And of course, “California
Girls” was another popular selection. When David Lee Roth covered the song
years later, it almost seemed like sacrilege to me. My Dad would have never
approved of the Van Halen frontman’s version purely by the length of his hair.
I was also introduced to Merle Haggard at a young age. I can
remember listening to “Okie From Muskogee” quite a few times. By 10 years old,
I knew all the words by heart. It seems weird now. And although I have no idea where
Muskogee is, I can still remember that it is the only place where squares can
have a ball. So, maybe I should add a visit there to my bucket list.
And then there was Johnny Cash, the true southern music rebel. How could you not love this guy? I remember seeing my Dad holding back a
laugh during “A Boy Named Sue”. But when
“Folsom Prison Blues” came on, the fun and games were over. It was time to get
serious.
Whether it was fun or serious, it didn’t really matter. It was all about those rides in my Dad’s Ford pick-up truck listening to his second hand 8-track tapes. It was a long time ago, but it all comes back to life when I fire up those sentimental songs. And just like that, I'm 8-years-old again sitting next to my Dad as we roll down the highway....
kw
