Have you ever stopped to consider what music might
be used for the soundtrack of your life? Since I’m a lover of both movies and
music, I do stop to consider crazy things like this. I wonder sometimes who
might ‘play’ me in my movie, and what songs could be used to highlight the various
ages and stages of my story. I’m a music lover, so the musical choices loom
endless, but I think that the following are high points I’d need to consider – my
life’s highlights, if you will.
I’m the youngest of four siblings, and my brother, Dan,
is 11 years my senior. As a young teen, he purchased a multitude of 45’s. When
he went off to college, he left an old shoebox full of these musical treasures,
and I found them. When I was about 7, 8, 9 years old, I’d spend hours stacking these
oldies but goodies on my parents’ old phonograph record changer, waiting for
each one to drop. Here’s a taste of the delicious oldies I fell privy to: Peter & Gordon’s I Go to Pieces, Simon
& Garfunkel’s Bridge Over Troubled Water, Herman’s Hermits’ Silhouettes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9VaNoGscYo
, and the Beatles’ I Wanna Hold Your
Hand https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MHkgwA8t-g
. I memorized all the lyrics, and performed them in front of our living room
mirror – a hairbrush as my microphone.
I remember when the radio became important to me. Our
family only had one – it sat on a shelf in the kitchen, tucked into the corner near
the sink. Often while washing the dishes, I bargained with my mom to change the
station from her conservative AM talk choice, to the more cutting-edge concept
of FM. Don McLean’s American Pie, Carly
Simon’s You’re so Vain, and Roberta Flack’s Killing Me Softly began to affect
and really move me. Some of my friends developed huge crushes on pop/rock idols
such as young Elton John; but to be honest, I really liked everybody. “A long long time ago, I can still remember
how that music used to make me smile…” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ih7N9_VUU4U
As a kid I joined our church choir and grew to love
singing to God in worship, harmonizing in four parts with friends that I still see
to this day. * NOTE: Hymns and songs with religious significance grew even more
important to me in the early 2000’s when my mom was in a nursing home with
Alzheimer’s Disease. She didn’t always remember who people were or the
significance they held to her life, but to the day she died she remembered all
of the words that praised God. This fact was not lost on me.* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdOyrpXNGlI
A nice arrangement of “Amazing Grace” by Tony Memmel.
During these young years I also began playing the
trumpet and French horn, and as I moved into middle school and high school, my
appreciation for classical music began to deepen. I played in band (including
marching and jazz), orchestra, and smaller ensembles such as brass choirs and
quintets. I participated in solo/ensemble competitions, and even took private
lessons for a while. Our high school band traveled to competitions in both
Virginia Beach and Winnipeg Canada. I grew to love playing band music,
especially rousing pieces like Gustav Holst’s Suite in E flat. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLbP6qpI1YI
. True story - one of the most memorable ‘dates’ of my life was when my young
‘suitor’ planned dinner in downtown Milwaukee, and an evening at the Symphony. There
are many songs I take away from this time of my life, but Gabrieli’s Sonata Piano
Forte always spoke to me. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQeikHMQGOM
High School – this paragraph could no doubt morph
into a book of its own; but for me, musically it became known for groups such
as Boston, Journey, Styx, Kansas, Fleetwood Mac, Bob Seeger, and REO Speedwagon
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHu-SqUqoak
. However, I’ll never forget my first concert experience. It was 1978. Billy
Joel began his three-hour show by whistling The Stranger, to a dark Milwaukee auditorium.
Absolutely unforgettable! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdLPI6XhEN8
During this time there was also a popular
radio song that really spoke to me. “Sometimes When We Touch” by Dan Hill. It
just beautifully captured the turmoil of off-again/on-again relationships so
common in teen romance; and to this day, when I hear it, I weep. ;) (Just kidding, but seriously – I weep) “…at times I think we’re drifters, just searchin’
for a friend, a brother or a sister, but then the passion flares again…” (sigh)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IATz8ZVTALo
Disco – What can I say? It was a big part of my era!
Many bowling alleys used to have a bar/disco hidden inside. I actually met Todd
in a club when he came up and asked me to dance (one of the first chapters of
my book, if you recall). Songs such as “Funkytown” and “I Will Survive” can
still slap me back to the late 70’s/early 80’s. But after I met Todd and as we
got to really know each other, our song became Jim Croce’s Time in a Bottle. “…
I’ve looked around enough to know that you’re the one I wanna go through time
with…” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dO1rMeYnOmM
. Along with this timeframe also comes the Eagles, Neal Diamond (circa The Jazz
Singer) and some Dan Fogelberg. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhjYbfK9vrk
Men at Work, Phil Collins, Wham, Alabama, John
Mellencamp, Steve Miller Band – these are some of the popular groups we enjoyed
early in our marriage. But during the week that Tony was born, in December of
1985, a song called “Broken Wings” (Mr. Mister) went to number one. “Take these
broken wings, and learn to fly again, learn to live so free…” I know it’s a love song, but given that he
was missing his left forearm, that song just stuck with me. I cannot hear it
without thinking about baby Tony, and those first weeks of his life. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKhN1t_7PEY
Rod Stewart’s “Forever Young” came out in the fall
of 1988. After I gave birth to Megan, Todd’s sister, Jodi, said that she dubbed
the song as Megan’s. “…Be courageous and be brave, and in my heart you’ll
always stay forever young…” To this day, this is Megan’s song. :-/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1T9apksOv6k
As my kids grew, I taught them all my old musical favorites,
but as time went on, and they became radio listeners of their own music, they
began to teach me some new selections. * Note: Todd never did swing into the kids’
new music. He still listens to classic rock and country to this day. * The mid
to late 90’s brought us (via the children) Dave Mathews, the Backstreet Boys, N
Sync, Green Day, and the Goo Goo Dolls. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73cWfFEKAfE Life was changing…
In 2001, Tony and his friends started a garage band.
Not only did they imitate the ska style that was so popular in the early
2000’s, (Reel Big Fish, Less than Jake, Goldfinger) but he also began writing
his own music. This was a significant portion of my book, and would definitely
need to be added to the soundtrack of my life. Tony’s albums: Tale of an
Underdog, Potter Road, Here We Go, Yours and Mine, and Clenched Hands/Brave
Demands… and the Lucky Fin Song J https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3Q8pRO_4MI
As the kids grew up, went to college and got
married, I was back on my own musically. Yes, they still continue to influence
me and encourage me to check out new things, but I’ve also found some
encouraging music for my own life. One song that particularly speaks to me is
“Unwritten” by Natasha Bedingfield. The lyrics say, “…feel the rain on your
skin, no one else can feel it for you, only you can let it in, no one else can
speak the words on your lips, paint yourself in words unspoken, live your life
with arms wide open, today is where your book begins, the rest is still
unwritten…” Oh, and don’t forget “Landslide” – may I just say WOW, You know?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1sQ7cuYgjzw “…well I’ve been afraid of changin’ cuz I
built my life around you. But time makes you bolder, children get older, I’m getting
older too…” (This song brings out the tears – absolutely!)
As of this date, September 28, 2014, these are some
of the songs that could appear in the soundtrack of my life. I hoped you
enjoyed this little trip through my Memory Lane. This was fun for me to think
about and to consider. It’s so encouraging for a 50-something gal like me,
after all I’ve endured and lived through, to think of my life as ‘still
unwritten…’ to not have every answer… After all, none of us knows what lies
ahead – Life is a blank page. It’s up to us (with God’s help) what we choose to
make it…
Katie
Kolberg Memmel is the author of “Five Fingers, Ten Toes – A Mother’s Story of
Raising a Child Born with a Limb Difference.” It is available through Amazon as
a Kindle download and as a paperback. http://www.amazon.com/Five-Fingers-Ten-Toes-Difference/dp/1478368055/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1411511026&sr=1-1&keywords=katie+kolberg+memmel
