Music

Having been born in 1961, music, specifically Rock music, became a big part of my life. I decided to write an entire chapter on that subject alone.

I bought my first record from a fine Irish lad in the fifth grade. This guy and I would sing Rain Drops Keep Failing On Our Heads to one of the prettier girls in class. That first piece of prescient vinyl was Day Tripper by The Beatles.The flipside of that 45 was We Can Work it Out.

Well, due to the circumstances of sixth grade, I started to listen to a lot of music. In high school, I started to meet musicians. That still happens occasionally, but I don’t exactly run in those circles anymore. Drummers, as you may have guessed, are some of the craziest people in the world.

One of the artists that were involved in my magazine adventure had a degree from The Art Institute of Chicago. He had done album covers for some recording artists. I’ve actually been in this studio and knew musicians that used it.

I went to my first concert while I was still in junior high school. I saw Chicago and The Doobie Brothers. I got my first contact high then without even realizing it. The place was totally filled with pot smoke and after a while I started to feel tired. I actually laid down on one of the entrance ramps for a minute. That was the first of many concerts to come. I saw many of the big name Rock groups of the 70s.

I’m obviously biased, but I think Rock n’ Roll hit its peak right around the year 1977. There were a lot of fusions back then. Classic and Rock fusion groups like ELP were touring with entire orchestras. The line between Jazz and Rock became indistinguishable. Artists like Jean Luc Ponty, Jeff Beck, and Eddie Jobson erased it.

John Bielecki

Author John Bielecki

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