Papa Loves Mambo

The London Daily Mail (I love that site!) ran this piece once that, in essence, says that young adults like the music they heard in the home, and that the rest of the (not so young) adults most liked what they heard in their twenties. It’s all about happy memories.

That makes sense. We heard a variety of music in the home growing up, from Latin to jazz, country to the standards by Johnny Mathis and Sinatra. Back in the day, my father and his brothers and my grandfather would sing and play guitars at our family parties. I don’t know when this ended but I miss that. Like us, this tradition was different from the other families that we knew and that made it all the more special.

As a little girl I loved the early Beatles and Motown. I once spent my lunch money playing Diana Ross on the jukebox and spent rest of the day hungry but happy.

I recently loaned my Dad my Motown cd collection; it felt great to share with him. Growing up in an apartment, if someone is playing music everybody hears it. He tolerated our Fleetwood Mac but loved Santana. Carlos’ masterful guitar playing resonated with him.

My own offspring heard what her parents listened to from the Seventies and Eighties. I’m still amazed when I hear her playing Madonna, the Beatles, Elton John and Billy Joel in her car – by choice. Almost every December she wants to hear the Gloria Estefan Christmas cd. Oh yes, she has her own musical tastes; she is her own person. When she was an adolescent I accompanied her to a Green Day concert at the beach and had a great time. She was offended, though, when I opined that Green Day was her generation’s Kinks.

Just as my father appreciated some of what we liked, I actually enjoyed my kid’s music. Not all of it of course, just as she doesn’t like everything I like. We are individuals who respect each others tastes.

When we were planning her Sweet Sixteen I explained that you had to have something for everybody: modern music, Salsa, old-school. It worked: everybody who was inclined to dance danced. The music bridged a few generations and it was one of the best parties I ever attended.

What music do you share with your kids or parents?

http://dailypost.wordpress.com/2014/03/20/daily-prompt-papa-loves-mambo