My Life as Pre-Determined by Rock and Roll: A tribute to Black History Part 2
Rock and roll has always been a determining factor in my life (or rather that’s the way I like to see it). The night my parents met for the first time was due to a cancelled Lynard Skynard performance in 1977 (four members of the band and crew were killed in a plane crash). If my Mother’s plans weren’t altered by the bands awful fate she may have never arrived at my Father’s house for a party; years later I may have never been born. My first steps as a child was to “Stand” by R.E.M. – I’ve always loved the irony and how proud my parents were of their sons triumph.
I remember when my dad first brought home a CD player in 1993 he seemed eager to hook it into the receiver. The first and only CD we had at the time was a compilation album called “Hollywood Soundtracks” released by Blockbuster Video, the only song on the album we loved was “I’m gonna be (500 Miles)” by the Proclaimers. My sister and I played that one song over and over again- it was the first of many others. I can still picture the first CD’s that my father had brought home Soul Asylum’s “Grave Dancer’s Union” and Dinosaur Jr.’s “Where You Been” were among them.
I never bought CD’s as a kid because cassettes were always cheaper. The first cassette I bought was with Birthday money, it was Green Day’s “Dookie” only 27 days after its February 1st release date- I was a fresh 8 years old. 1994 is the year music became my hobby alongside comic books and action heroes. On Christmas in 1994 I received one of my most memorable gifts ever, it was a small and seemingly heavy package (for an 8 year old) and inside were Aerosmith’s “Greatest Hits”, The Cranberries “No Need to Argue”, AC/DC “LIVE” and Nirvana’s “Nevermind” and since that moment music encompassed my life like an addiction. I found myself glued to MTV in hopes of my favorite songs or scrolling through the radio on my boom box and care stereo. All the girls I fell in love with secretly listened to music their parents wouldn’t allow, while I listened to those same artists with my parents.
My first concert was at the Detroit Taste Fest in July of 1995, my parents took us to see Collective Soul only 4 months after their album “Collective Soul” was released- I was only 9. I told someone there that I saw Green Day at Woodstock and his exclamation was, “YOU WERE AT WOODSTOCK ’94″ and I said, “No it was on T.V.” he and his friend laughed, but looking back I think they thought it was awesome my parents brought my sister and I to the show. I’ve seen over a thousand concerts and am still trying to count.
It’s important to realize how pivotal black influence was on rock and roll, hell, they invented it along with the blues genre. The history of Rock and Roll will always be debated, but most agree that it was an evolution that hasn’t stopped. In 1995 my father asked me if I would like to go to Chuck Berry and Little Richard with friends of the family (he and my mother couldn’t go) and when I said yes my father went downstairs and pulled out his records. The song I remembered listening to was a humorous feel good song by Chuck Berry called “Ding-A-Ling” and I can still remember the image of a guy swimming in the water trying to protect his “ding-a-ling”. The concert I remember in fleeting moments, but I do know that I didn’t have a clue I was witnessing two of the most influential people in rock and roll. I also realized that day that it wasn’t a white-man named Michael J. Foxx from Back to the Future who wrote Johnny B. Goode.
Rock and Roll will reinvent itself forever, but what’s important to understand is that it should always evoke the raw emotions that inspire us to move both physically and mentally. Rock and Roll, at its best, will always be challenging. The genre encompasses the silence and the explosion and we the listener will mold it into our lives where we see fit. With regards to working with black children, it’s a shame they believe rock and roll is a white thing and I do my best to show them otherwise. They really enjoyed Chuck Berry, some even danced to it. This article is in honor of Black History and their endless influence on Rock and Roll. I would also like to say thanks for helping me build a foundation to stand on and move mountains with.
Tags: Black History, Black History Month, Children, Chuck Berry, Collective Soul, Dinosaur Jr., Growing Up, Little Richard, Lynard Skynard, Memoir, Michigan State Fair, REM, Rock and Roll
