Tunes...

More than a half a lifetime later,  I can admit to the world that the first album I ever bought was by the Royal Guardsmen, and featured that enduring single, Snoopy VS. the Red Baron. OK, I'm not especially proud of that purchase, but every journey has a starting point -- this is where mine began.

Being the youngest of four children, I took a beating over this purchase from my older sibs. Jim, the eldest, was and is a die-hard Beatles fan. In his opinion, there was no other band worthy of listening to.  Nancy, the next in line, pretty much liked all of the rock and roll of the era. Mary, the closest to me in age, liked MOR pop mixed in with her R&R. Being fourth in line at the stereo and radio (and the television, bathroom  and dinner table), I didn't have much choice but to listen to what my brother and sisters wanted to listen to. For the most part, I hated the experience and agreed with my dad that it was all just Noise...

All of that changed in the summer of 1969, when Nancy brought home Tommy by The Who. OK Nance, I'll admit to wearing it out -- I must have played it hundreds of times that first year. Thank goodness for headphones, nobody else in the house had to put up with me listening to it. The Who taught me that rock and roll was best listened to with the volume, and bass cranked to the limit.

Yes, it was big sis that first corrupted my musical tastes and started me on my journey to follow the Noise wherever it led. First The Who, then Harry Nilsson (remember You're Breaking My Heart -- Dad sure thought it was interesting), The Kinks and others. At the time, Nancy had the perfect job working at a local record store. I remember her always bring home demos to try out.

Over the years, my humble collection of music has expanded (though not nearly as large as my waistline seems to have). Click here to view that portion of my CD collection that I've managed to get formatted in HTML.