Where Did My Music Go?

A bug bit me when I was twelve years old, and never let go. For some reason, I turned on a radio one day, and I liked what I heard. Neil Diamond was singing “Sweet Caroline.” Next up was “Oh Happy Day” by the Edwin Hawkins Singers. A few minutes later, Johnny Cash was talking about “A Boy Named Sue.” Not long after that, I heard a golden oldie by the Beach Boys. And then “I Heard it Through the Grapevine” with Marvin Gaye.

No two songs sounded the same, but I loved them every one. The soft rock, the hard rock, the country, the soul, the gospel and more, all part of the train wreck format of Top-40 radio.

As a result of numerous biographies and “Behind the Music” specials, we now know that a big chunk of Baby Boomer music was fueled by various pharmaceutical substances, few of them legal.

Whatever the rock ‘n rollers were ingesting, the music they created has stayed in my head for the past half-century. There is no cure for this malady. I don’t think those catchy tunes could be surgically removed.

During most of the intervening decades, radio stations around the nation have kept that music alive. It was a noticeable shift from the music preferences of my youth. In the 1960s and 1970s, there was little to no demand for stations to play music from the 1920s. I mean, my gosh, that’s when the world was in black and white, and movies were largely silent. Now and then, a “grown-up” station would play big band era hits, and to my generation those 25-year-old songs sounded like they were from another world.

Contrast that with my children, now in their early 30s. They grew up on a steady diet of James Taylor, Three Dog Night, and Carole King. The songs had a few decades and a lot of mileage on them, but they held up well. My kids still know all the words, and they appreciate them as much as the hits that were recorded last month.

But, the time has come. With few exceptions that music, MY music is disappearing from the airwaves. WAKY in Louisville, Kentucky is keeping the 60s and 70s alive with great success, ranking number one in their market. If you’re willing to pay for radio, the satellite service Sirius XM still plays hits dating back to the 1940s, and their 1960s and 1970s channels are among their most popular.

Many radio station general managers around the nation are gradually dropping the older rock and roll hits from their playlists. The pre-British invasion (1955-1963) hits vanished long ago. Gradually, and chronologically, the later 1960s hits, and most of the 1970s chart-toppers have begun to fade away. Many of today’s “classic hits” stations boast of playing hits dating back to the 1980s, as they target the coveted demographic that tops out at 54 years old. That listener was born in 1968, and the experts say he or she only recognizes hits from the 1980s forward.

I have two problems with this. First, if there’s no market for pre-1980s hits, why do Ringo Starr, Paul McCartney, the various incarnations of the Beach Boys, Frankie Valli, the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, and a few other geezers still sell out large arenas? For that matter, why does every other TV commercial feature a recognizable song from the olden days?

And, now that I’m a good bit past 54, why don’t advertisers want my money any more? I may be ancient, but I still make purchases. Just ask my kids, who just saw me spend too much cash on a partial remodel of our house, featuring new appliances, electronics, and furniture. They didn’t say it out loud, but I know they were wondering, “Why are Mom and Dad blowing our inheritance on new TV’s and recliners? They shouldn’t even be buying green bananas!”

For the past six years, I have hosted a weekend radio show (Saturday and Sunday from 12-2 p.m. Eastern time https://big1069.com/) featuring the hits of the vinyl 45 rpm era. And you can hear me from time to time on the internet station sponsored by the National Top 40 Radio Museum in Chattanooga (https://www.nationaltop40radiomuseum.org/). So I’m doing my part. My music is too good to disappear, even when I’m not around to hear it.