Sadly, Chuck Berry died two days ago. Although I never owned any of his records (45, album, cassette, CD or streaming), I’ve always been an armchair fan of his. His music is iconic and his personality so charismatic. It’s been entertaining listening to people from all walks of life talk about his influence on music–everyone from politicians to journalists to fellow famous (and infamous) musicians have extolled his virtues as the virtual genesis of rock and roll. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, OH, Alan Freed gets the credit for creating the term rock and roll, but according to the mass of admirers, Chuck Berry gets the credit for creating rock and roll music. Listening to all his admirers made me think about my own unique experiences with music so I thought it would be fun to relay some and ask you to weigh in with yours. My hope is that at a minimum, all three of us and our immediate relatives at least contribute one input to this list. Pick your favorite category and go with it:
First record: 45 of The Lion Sleeps Tonight by The Tokens (In the jungle, the mighty jungle…hey, it was cool back then)
First album: Van Halen (yes, the album was named for the group…don’t laugh, Chicago did this 36 times)
First Cassette: Squeeze, Singles (probably why I was single at the time)
First CD: U2, Under a Blood Red Sky (need I say more)
First Concert: Van Halen, 1984 (noticing a trend here…I had great taste in music)
First Downloaded Song: Jack Johnson, Better Together
Your turn. I think it will be good for those who read these in the future to know more not just about us, but about the people who shaped us into who we are today. Add your first whatever or pick your own music category. Jump in…or in the famous words of David Lee Roth, “Jump!”