Saturday, September 27, 2008

A TRIP DOWN MEMORIY LANE WITH MUSIC

Music has always been a part of our lives. It brought joy, sadness, laughter and tears. Imagine the excitement that took place when music could finally be played and listened to by whomever and whenever they wanted.

Music was so enjoyable and exciting that they would bring large pieces of furniture out with them when they went for picnics or on the road for any length of time.

They didn't have power like we do now so they would crank the player up and let the music play until it ran down. The music getting slower and slower until it finally came to a stop and they would crank it back up.

Thick heavy vinyl 78 rpm would play for hours. Often full of scratches but no one seemed to care. As long as the music played on and on.

Mono record players came along and it was much easier to carry around from room to room or over to your friends house so you play your music and dance the night away.

Remember the old 45's? You could buy your favorite songs and stack them up on your player so you could listen to song after song without having to get up to change the record.


Often we would lose the piece that goes on the record player for the 45's or it would break. So these great little yellow discs came along to solve that problem. Pop it into the center of your 45 rpm record and you were set.


Oh then stereo came along! Wow! So much nicer then the mono records from the past.

The stereos were big pieces of furniture that everyone would be proud to have taking up space in their living rooms.


Time went on and went on we no longer wanted the big heavy stereo cabinets so the compact stereo came out. You could buy pieces at a time rather then have to get a whole new stereo.


Albums...oh yes! We would save up our pennies and want to be the first on the block to get the newly released hits by our favorite bands.

You would take such great care of your albums. Putting them back in the jacket so they would stay nice and not scratched. Or at least you tried to do that. But no matter how gentle you were, somehow the dreaded scratch always showed up now and then.

So 8 Track tapes came out. Yeah! No more scratched records! I never could understand though, why right in the middle of a song it would stop, you would hear a loud clunk sound and then the song would pick up where it left off at. Yes, I know, it was changing the "track" but why did they have to do it in the middle of a song?

No one seemed to mind though. Because for the first time, you could bring your music into your car. You could listen to the songs and bands that you wanted and not just the radio any more.

Then there were the cases to hold your 8 Tracks in. Yes, they were bulky but we didn't know that. We were used to albums and you couldn't play those in your car. So being able to take your music with you as you drove along the highway was a thrill.


Finally though, someone figured out the clunk of the track changing and the large size of the 8 Track tapes were no longer a good thing and cassette players came along.

Now that was the good ol' days. You could not only buy your own music but now you could tape songs off the radio or even copy a friends tape so you too could enjoy it.

Oh yes, music has and always will be a big part of our life.

Now we have CD's but even those are starting to become a thing of the past since IPODS are around.

So many of our kids today have never heard music off of a 78 record, 45 rpm record, an album, an 8 Track or even a cassette. They just don't know what they missed.

I wonder what in the world will they think of next.

Hope you enjoyed this little trip down memory lane. I know I did.


Hugs,
Joanne

7 comments:

Cottage Way of Life said...

Enjoyed all those photos of the musical past. I remember the little red records I had as a kid, loved those scratchy old things.

Thanks for visiting my blog and good luck with my Halloween Crow Giveaway.

And ... have a terrific time on your cruise!

-Sue

Pearl said...

That was a terrific walk down memory lane! Every now 'n then, we pull out the old stereo and play our albumns and sing along... the boys just look at us and laugh, but before too long, they end up joining in on the fun! Thanks so much for sharing... God bless...

~hugs 'n prayers~

Pearl

Attic Clutter said...

Oh thats a neat post..glad I came by for a walk down memeory lane(:)..
hugs, Patty

Wanita said...

It was lots of fun taking a trip down memory lane. Thanks for a great post, Joanne.

Blessings,
Wanita

Judy said...

Joanne, what fun that was. Of course I'm way too young to remember all that!! LOL!! Isn't it amazing how fast things change. It doesn't seem that long ago when all those things were "the thing" to have.

Anonymous said...

LOVED this post, Joanne! That beatles album photo looked like the wall of my bedroom in the 60's - I had all their album covers on it as decoration! And the 45's... I remember coming home from school in the early 60's and playing "There's a Goldmine in the Sky" on my mom's record player. It was the saddest song about a man and his donkey who was in heaven... even though it was sad, I loved listening to it! Have a GREAT cruise!!!!!!...Donna

CA Verstraete said...

Interesting to see the history of music, but like all else, it goes in circles. LP's are popular again - some bands are even putting out new albums on vinyl - not cd or mp3. You do get a richer tone. Nothing like an album. And yes, places like Track One Vintage Stereo in Antioch, Ill. not only sell lp's but repair vintage receivers and turntables. What's old is new again!