I remember the tail-end of Thriller-mania (1984) when I was 3, and "Thriller" being a new, scary music video, but nothing before that.

Every Sunday at my Grandmother's church in Harlem. Live and alive!

Preceeded by a lot of...

...Mahalia Jackson prior to leaving for service.

Second, would be selections from my Dad's Jazz record collection.

Music for adventurous listeners

tA

Tribal Records

Ottensen said:

Had to be around 1973 or so when I was between 2-3 years old? It's a tie between Aretha and Elton, my mom played both these 45s on the record player endlessly. I would break out singing Benny and the Jets before I would even think about talking to people. My mom says I was a singing toddler, but was moody and didn't like people

I loved Benny & the Jets and Crocodile Rock. I was so in love with Elton when I was younger. 'Your Song' was so beautiful to me. It became an anthem for my gay best friend who died from AIDS.

I never much got into Aretha.

^^The church that my grandmother went to that had that Mahalia Jackson picture on some of the fans.

MickyDolenz said:

vainandy said:

Oh hell naw, I couldn't be no Jehovah's Witness. All that goofiness about not being able to listen to particular music, they would have ended up killing me or either I would have ended up killing them. That would have been a fight every single day.

My grandmother wasn't a JW, but if I was playing records or watching TV and it started raining or a thunderstorm, she'd always say turn it off and sit down, that you're not supposed to do anything while the Lord was doing his work.

I went to school with some JW's and they listened to the same music the other kids listened to. They just didn't participate in the Pledge Of Allegiance/national anthem or holiday stuff.

Well the JWs in the south were much stricter than those in the north. I remember how sheltered we were...no football games, no prom, no rock or funk music. Then a family (the father was even an 'elder' in the congregation) moved down to SC from NY. All of a sudden there was much contention at the Kingdom Hall because he allowed his daughters to go to football games and his oldest to go to prom.

I still wasn't allowed to go to the prom. I hated his daughter after that. Misplaced hatred I know but I was a kid. Finally though my sis and I were allowed to attend a football game and I remember a school friend telling me that my step-dad was in the bleachers watching my sis and me with his binoculars. Kind of spoiled the fun.

So you had to just sit there and do nothing during storms?

Cinny said:

I remember the tail-end of Thriller-mania (1984) when I was 3, and "Thriller" being a new, scary music video, but nothing before that.

Yes I remember the time between Thriller and Bad and seeing it then too, though my earliest memory of seeing it was at about 3 a couple of years after it came out and not when it actually did though apparently I would react well to mj on tv when I wasn't old enough to remember

noimageatall said:

Well the JWs in the south were much stricter than those in the north. I remember how sheltered we were...no football games, no prom, no rock or funk music. Then a family (the father was even an 'elder' in the congregation) moved down to SC from NY. All of a sudden there was much contention at the Kingdom Hall because he allowed his daughters to go to football games and his oldest to go to prom.

I still wasn't allowed to go to the prom. I hated his daughter after that. Misplaced hatred I know but I was a kid. Finally though my sis and I were allowed to attend a football game and I remember a school friend telling me that my step-dad was in the bleachers watching my sis and me with his binoculars. Kind of spoiled the fun.

So you had to just sit there and do nothing during storms?

Yeah, my grandmother would cut off all the lights. Nothing could be turned on. I'd try to go to sleep because I wasn't too fond of thunder & lightning when I was little. I'd try to cover my ears with a pillow. But it doesn't bother me now.

aardvark15 said:

Gunsnhalen said:

I Remember when Ray Of Light came out! i feel old now i was only 7... but that song and Doo-Wop by Lauryn Hill were played non stop everyday it seemed.

Those were the days. Celine was my music obsession back then. Although I loved Cher, Lauryn, Madonna, and Mimi at that time. I was a gay kindergardener if there ever was one

Me too