nOvaDosin: The Soundtrack In My Heart....My Top 10 Classic Rock Songs...with a little help from my friends!

Well friends and family, the topic for this blog is really easy because it's something that I really love! In posting the things I love to Facebook, I realized my taste in music is similar to that of my friends. I grew up with a soundtrack in my heart...and the genre of music was classic rock! My first memory of Classic Rock is The Doobie Brothers, "What A Fool Believes", I was about 6 and I don't remember who gave me a AM pocket radio but I would play it at night to help me sleep. I was a teenager before I realized that he was saying "the wise man has the power" not "the white man has the power" that turned me into a lyric person...so I listen for the beat first and then dissect the lyrics...yes friends and family I'm a true Classic Rock Nerd!

Whenever I hear a classic rock song, my mind takes me back....come on take a trip with me real quick!!

Any Saturday of the Summer during the late 70's...I could stand on my front or back porch and hear music. Music was all around me... I could hear R&B coming from inside of my house, as my Mom had the loudest Hi-Fi on our row. At the end of the sidewalk, the men of our neighborhoods used their parking spaces as their own personal car repair shops...the music that played varied from Rock, R&B, Latin, Country. As I walk from one end of my neighborhood to the other, I could see kids playing, the ladies laying out working on their tan their skin naturally bronzed , I swear I can still smell the suntan lotion, and there was one station that was playing simultaneously throughout my neighborhood...WQCM!

When I say I had a soundtrack in my heart, I mean music was behind everything I did. I listened to music when I went to sleep, as soon as I woke up, while I ate, my Mom cleaned to it, and so did I. My favorite time to listen to music was when I played. For instance I loved Barbies, but I COULD NOT play Barbies without background music. My best friend Lisa Rivera had a massive collection of Barbies. We would sneak into her brother Greg Loveless room when he was gone and would set up our Barbie shop there. Lisa and I were very competitive when it came to playing Barbies...so much so we lined everything up and "picked" the things we wanted so it was fair. As far as I was concerned my Barbies could have been naked, as long as I had my favorite spot over by the record player and was able to pick my favorite records as my background music...it's funny because we played all of the records like they were a soundtrack...I now lovingly call the songs "Barbie Music" Greg had an awesome collection of music and rock memorabilia. I would give anything to go back and snatch his black light posters and some album covers I'm looking for that I know he had. So even though it was a typical boys room, there is where I fell in love with Classic Rock music. 

Everyone I hung around enforced this as I spent a bunch of time at Lisa's house. I also used to hang at Sandra Quesenberry house and we could spend hours lost in her 45's. We had a corner store in our neighborhood, Domers and in the back he had a pool table, a jukebox and it looked like fun but I was never allowed back there because of my age. In the front of his store he had an arcade room with 2 video games for the younger kids and I would save any quarters I would find so I would have a reason to be in there to listen to the music because it was loud...and it was fun. Throughout my lifetime I have created a collection of songs that I consider to be my Top 10 Classic Rock Songs of All time.

I've asked my Facebook family to submit their favorite Classic Rock songs to help me compile a list that's picked by us...not someone in the business. Due to my responses, I had to change it up a bit and revert back to my original topic!

The Soundtrack In My Heart....My Top 10 Classic Rock Songs of all time...with a little help from my friends!

10. Fleetwood Mac- Dreams

Stevie Nicks voice has always had a beautiful, eerie and haunting sound to me. One night while scanning my videos Stevie explained the premise behind the song "Rhiannon"...to know she was talking about a witch, and to hear her sing it for the 1st time after hearing the story behind the song kind of made me uneasy. As I sat there in the dark listening to her voice, I couldn't take it anymore...I had to turn it off! 

For the song "Dreams" it's filled with raw emotion, as this is one of the most drama filled bands I have ever come across, but for as much drama as they had, it came pouring out in their music. Their fans related to the music which made them sucessful. Stevie said in response to how the song "Dreams" came about. "I sat down on the bed with my keyboard in front of me," continues Nicks. "I found a drum pattern, switched my little cassette player on and wrote 'Dreams' in about 10 minutes. Right away I liked the fact that I was doing something with a dance beat, because that made it a little unusual for me"

THE MORE YOU KNOW: www.fleetwoodmac.com/

9. The Beatles - Hey Jude

When I first heard this song, I thought it was an Aerosmith song because of the way Paul rips it at the end of the song...he and Steven Tyler sound so much alike, I always wonder was this song an inspiration for how Steven sings...

The song " Hey Jude" is credited to Lennon and McCartney.The song's original title was "Hey Jules", and it was intended to comfort Julian Lennon  from the stress of his parents' divorce. McCartney said, "I started with the idea 'Hey Jules', which was Julian, don't make it bad, take a sad song and make it better. Hey, try and deal with this terrible thing. I knew it was not going to be easy for him. I always feel sorry for kids in divorces. Later it was changed to 'Jude' because Paul thought it sounded better." Julian Lennon discovered the song had been written for him almost twenty years later.

THE MORE YOU KNOW:www.beatles.com/

8. Lynyrd Skynyrd- Free Bryd

By Tradition as an African American I'm not supposed to like Skynyrd because this was "Dirty Southern Rock" ...Music to me doesn't have a color line... and I can't wait to attend a Skynryd concert and sing the lyrics to all of the songs I know! The vocals of both Ronnie and Johnny give me chills...I love to hear him tell the band before they start to "Make it Dirty" as they begin to play "Double Trouble live ...and they did! I wish I could find that DVD, I don't' remember if it was at The Old Grey Whistle or not, but it's a must have if you love Lynyrd Skynyrd!

The band that almost wasn't....On October 20, 1977, just three days after the release of Street Survivors, Lynyrd Skynyrd's chartered plane attempted to make an emergency landing and crashed in a forest in Gillsburg, Mississippi.  Ronnie Van Zant, Steve Gaines, Cassie Gaines, assistant road manager Dean Kilpatrick, pilot Walter McCreary and co-pilot William Gray were all killed on impact; the other band members suffered serious injuries.

In 1987, Lynyrd Skynyrd reunited for a full-scale tour with five major members of the pre-crash band: crash survivors Gary Rossington, Billy Powell, Leon Wilkeson and Artimus Pyle, along with guitarist Ed King. Ronnie Van Zant's younger brother, Johnny, took over as the new lead singer and primary songwriter.

THE MORE YOU KNOW: www.lynyrdskynyrd.com/

7. Aerosmith- Dream On

"Dream On" is the first single by Aerosmith from their 1973 debut album, Aerosmith. Written by lead singer Steven Tyler, this blues-influenced power ballad became their first major hit. I own the concert DVD Aerosmith- You Gotta Move where they perform this his and Steven's pipes are awesome, I think it's one of his best live performances!

THE MORE YOU KNOW:www.aerosmith.com/

6. The Rolling Stones- You Can't Always Get What You Want

The three verses (along with the varied theme in the 4th verse) address the major topics of the 1960s: love, politics, and drugs Each verse captures the essence of the initial optimism and eventual disillusion, followed by the resigned pragmatism in the chorus

The first time I heard this song was in the episode of Nip/Tuck where Julia McNamara went on a drinking binge which results in an accident where she falls through a glass door. Julia is guided through an alternate universe by life coach where she sees what her life would be like on both sides of the coin. Coming out of her dream, Julia realizes that she's never satisfied with what she has, always wondering how life would be on the other side, she always wants everything she couldn't have instead of being happy and thankful with her many many blessings...this song played as she was lured between life and death. This song provided an excellent backdrop to what was going on in and around her and I've loved it since!

THE MORE YOU KNOW:www.rollingstones.com/

5. Heart- Barracuda

Sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson have skills I can't express with words, if you don't know them, you'll have to listen for yourself! They started their band trying to emulate none other than "Led Zeppelin" Ann's vocals put her as one of my top female vocalist of all time. I could only pick one, but I have many favorites songs from Heart!

THE MORE YOU KNOW: www.heart-music.com/

4. Journey- Don't Stop Believing

When I hear a Journey song, especially "Don't Stop Believing" it takes me back to when I was a child. More specifically the Municipal Pool. I can see kids splashing in the crisp refreshing water, Moms laying out on the patio furniture working on their tans, the smell of suntan lotion and chlorine is very prominent...and then, Journey blasting from the outdoor speakers strategically placed throughout the facility from the locker rooms, to the concession stands. Ahhhhhhhh I love that memory!

THE MORE YOU KNOW: www.journeymusic.com/

3. Jimi Hendrix- Hey Joe (1969) Woodstock Live

This was the last song performed at Woodstock in 1969. The festival was scheduled to end at midnight on Sunday, August 17 (the third day), but it ran long and Hendrix didn't go on until Monday around 9am. There weren't many attendees left, but Hendrix delivered a legendary performance. Jimi and I share the same birthday 11/27...when the police found him the time was 11:27, he was 27 when he passed and I was 27 yrs old when I first heard "Hey Joe"

THE MORE YOU KNOW: www.jimihendrix.com/us/home

2. Boston- More Than A Feeling

The pipes on Brad Delp is what originally pulled me towards this band. Whenever I hear Brad hit those notes, it gives me chills. I was able to bridge the gap with this band and my children thanks to Guitar Hero and Rock Band 2

THE MORE YOU KNOW: www.bandboston.com/html/home_html.html

1. Led Zeppelin- Stairway To Heaven

I have heard Led Zeppelin all of my life, I just didn't know it was them nor did I  appreciate them until I was older. John Bonham, is by far one of the best drummers ever, RIP. It is still a dream of mine to meet Robert Plant and let him know he STILL gives me goose bumps when I hear him sing!

On 25 September 1980, John Henry Bonham was found dead. Weeks later at the coroner's inquest, it emerged that in the 24 hours before he died, John Bonham had consumed forty shots of vodka which resulted in him vomiting and subsequent aspiration (inhaling) of his vomit, causing asphyxiation. John was only 32 yrs old. His legacy lives on through his son Jason check him out www.jasonbonham.net/

The remaining members decided to disband after Bonham's death. They issued a press statement on 4 December 1980 confirming that the band would not continue without Bonham. The statement said, "We wish it to be known that the loss of our dear friend, and the deep sense of undivided harmony felt by ourselves and our manager, have led us to decide that we could not continue as we were," and was simply signed "Led Zeppelin".

THE MORE YOU KNOW: www.ledzeppelin.com/

As promised...Here are the submissions from my facebook family...thanks everyone for contributing to my blog:

Lisavida Johnson I wanna Rock - Twisted Sister

Ann Hoffman McKee ‎"I Can't Drive 55" - Sammy Hagar

Eric Stein Aerosmith & Run-DMC "Walk this Way" w/ or w/out RUN-DMC it's a heater

Larry Colliflower Dream on- Aerosmith ( #7 on my list)

Sandra Quesenberry Bad company {anything}:}

Margie Anderson Knowles Eagles / Hotel California, Derek & The Dominos / Layla, Aerosmith / Dream On, Creedence Clearwater Revival / Proud Mary ,Elton John / Your Song,Moody Blues / Nights In White Satin,Pink Floyd / Money

Tico L. Montez Sr. we are the champions - Queen

Steve Siksay Call me the breeze-Lynyrd Skynyrd (Lynyrd Skynyrd is #8 on my list)

Thanks

nOvaDose d-_-b