How do personal music tastes evolve over time, and what are the influences and influencers contributing to change? I set out to explore ...
My own example
I grew up in the UK a long time ago. My parents raised me in a neighborhood pub, called the Black Horse, in a village named Emmer Green about 50 miles west of London.
There was a lounge bar and a public bar. The lounge bar had carpets and customers wore suits, and the pubIic bar a lino floor and customers were construction and blue collar workers, and there was a jukebox.
This was the 1960’s and The Beatles dominated the juke. I was young but clearly recall the ‘regulars’ singing along to Yellow Submarine, but rather than “we all live in a yellow submarine” they sang “we all live in the Black Horse, Emmer Green”. Every two weeks the jukebox guy would come and swop the records and Dad would give me the old 45’s without the center. So the Beatles and Rolling Stones were an early influence.
Herb Alpert was actually my first favorite, but I soon moved on to Rod Stewart and Genesis. Me and my buddies, we’d go to record stores on a Saturday and buy LP’s based just on the cover artwork. Progressive rock was an area of interest, so albums from Yes, The Moody Blues and Greenslade found their way to checkout.
My single biggest influence on music appeared to me in the mid 1970’s. His name, Bob Harris, and he was presenting a show on BBC TV, named The Old Grey Whistle Test, a music programme focusing on albums. The episode that made the biggest impression was a two hour special featuring Van Morrison live on his “It’s Too Late To Stop Now Tour”. I’m not even sure I was aware of Van before, but I watched the show and was totally blown away. Right there and then I became a Van Morrison fan, and I didn’t yet know it but Bob on his TV and radio shows would keep playing and introducing me to a bunch of artists I didn’t know well or never heard of, including Poco, The Doobie Brothers and Little Feat, Souther Hillman-Fury Band, The Cars and many many more.
Bruce Springsteen first appeared on my radar around 1980. To me Bruce and the E-Street Band brought energy and motivation through their songs about the working man and daily struggles. I picture his Dad, eyes glazed over, walking out the factory gates in the rain. That energy exploded into something incredible when I first saw Bruce and the E Street Band in concert at Wembley Stadium in 1984. At the time I was working in a sales team, and the sales manager would introduce all these techniques to motivate us all, none of which worked. I would jump in my car, and turn Bruce on, that’s all the motivation I needed.
For years my go-to music was Springsteen and Van Morrison. Bruce and Van that’s mostly all I’d listen to, Bruce and Van. Something needed to change and it was about to.
In 2002 a friend asked me if I fancied going to Nashville? Of course, why wouldn’t I? I loved traveling America and never been to Tennessee. We booked it up, including a side trip to Memphis. A week before we were due to leave my friend pulled out. “Hell no, I’m going”. I went alone and had an amazing time, and it was like a whole new genre of music opened up to me. Country. More than this it was new county, and bluegrass and hillbilly and it was fun. A crash course on Broadway, and at The Grand Ole Opry and Ryman.
I was browsing music in Ernest Tubbs record shop at midnight, and heard a song playing that caught my attention. I rushed to checkout and asked “what was that last song”?, but she replied “dunno we got a thousand songs on a loop”. Luckily I could recall one line of lyrics “who’s gonna feed them hogs” and across the street there was an internet cafe, so I hopped across the road and used one of their machines to search the line I remembered. Google came back with Tom T. Hall. 5 mins later I was back in the Corner Bar with Tom T. Hall’s album with the song 10,000 Hogs in my hand.
Nashville was a much needed fresh awakening, and my initial takeaways included Brad Paisley and Vince Gill. This was just the beginning, I’d been bitten my this whole new thing. Back in England I tuned into ‘Bob Harris Country’ on BBC Radio 2, and the story moved on. Smaller emerging singer-songwriters. Hayes Carll, Chris Knight, Sam Baker.
Now, here in 2022 my tastes have stabilized with Turnpike Troubadours, Tyler Childers and The Dead South right up there.
So in conclusion, if I had to name one influence that helped me discover new music it would be Bob Harris. If I was asked to name five bands that have influenced me over time I would say; Bruce Springsteen, Van Morrison, Roxy Music, Genesis and Pink Floyd, but if you ask me tomorrow??
Mallory
Mallory has been working at my local bar in Kansas City for several years. Like the Black Horse of years gone by, this place also has a great jukebox and Mallory knows who's who, and what's what when it comes to newer music, singer songwriters and performers. The bar owner, is a great guy but keeps on about the Steely Dan and Doobie Brothers concert we all went to in 2016. Trouble is, he only turns the music up when he plays their music, but once he's gone it gets cranked back up.
Mallory recalls her Mum playing The Solid Gold Sixties, when she was really young, and then got a battery powered microphone and would singalong to the Moody Blues.
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