What Was It Like to See The Beatles on Ed Sullivan? by Peter Reum

What is reasonable to expect from children regarding musical taste as they grow older is debatable depending upon who you speak with. For my teenage and twenty something daughters, the answers vary.  For my oldest,  who is 28, the preferences run toward world music and blues. She has always marched to her own drummer, and her preferences reflect her being a world citizen as well as a North American. As a child, she grew up singing in school, and by the time she was in high school, she had a beautiful soprano voice. She has a photographer's eye as well, and her love of the arts is exciting to me. She doesn't seem at all negatively oriented toward the older musicians that she enjoys, alongside the younger ones she listens to. I frankly expected to have encounters like the one below in talking about music with my kids.

Dennis Wilson explains music to an elder

My second daughter, here in Billings, is 5 years younger, and has fairly eclectic tastes from musicals like Mama Mia and The Sound of Music to Taylor Swift. She enjoys church music, and sings along with her congregation when hymns or songs she knows are a part of the service. My three step daughters are also musically inclined. The oldest, a recent high school graduate, seems to enjoy music from the last decade and the Nineties. The youngest of three seems to enjoys similar music to her oldest sister. The middle of the three step daughters is the exception. She loves Adele, but has a big weakness for The Beatles as well. She has developed a good working knowledge of Vocal Jazz as she managed the Billings High School Jazz band this last school year. I am usually interested to hear her thoughts about things that we Boomers might consider as classic music wise.

Dads and daughters.....a musical enigma?

My little ones react to music with movement. It is fascinating to see them enjoy music as a primal experience with no shame, self-consciousness, or reservation. They know a number of tunes from various childrens' channels, and especially like the bands that play on Yo Gabba Gabba. There is a group called the Aquabats that the little ones especially bounce around to. As my own musical tastes evolve, I struggle to stay in touch with new music, which is hard. I find myself cruising in the car to the local Seventies station. There is no doubt that the old chestnuts still move me. Jazz, especially Big Band and Cool, have entered my consciousness.

Cowkids groovin' to The Aquabats

When I think of my favorite artists from my youth, it is difficult to imagine them as either old or not here anymore. The Band has lost its three singers and most versatile musicians. The Beatles are the Half Beatles. The Stones are, well, the Stones, as long as Keith and Mick are alive. The Who are down to two original members. The people who shaped my musical tastes are dropping weekly.

My two favorite geezers  who are still rockin'

When a person who is a younger fan of the Beach Boys or The Beatles comes along and says "I never heard them with Dennis", or ask me "How was it to see The Beatles on Ed Sullivan," I have to reply that it was fantastic. They then say to me "you were lucky to be alive for that." The only answer I can offer is "Listen to the music today, and find your own Beatles."

Copyright 2013 by Peter Reum-All Rights Reserved