Here are some great old popular tunes! Some of you won’t know many of them … some of you, like me, will know all of them. Of course, I heard the 1940’s tunes from my parents’ record collection, or from the big radio in the living room that my brother and I used to sit in front of and listen to of an evening. I have a photo of me and my brother sitting there on the floor, both of us listening and leaning into that large radio, probably around 1952 or so, long before we had a television. The music was so great … and the made-up stories told on the radio back then were super, and scary. We loved that music, and the scary stories too. But hey, let’s stop talking and just listen to some of that really great old music, eh?
The videos below have just snippets of the most popular songs from each decade. If you hear something you want more of, jot down the title and artist and then go find the full original tune online. Enjoy the memories ……..
1940s …
1950s …
1960s … warning, the snippets in the video below are really short, just a very few seconds each. I wish they were longer like the one’s from the 1950s in the video above. I hardly had time to start dancing in my chair before the tune changed! 🙂
Hey, remember the anti-war songs during Vietnam? I do. None of them seem to be in any of these groups. “Eve of Destruction” by Barry McGuire, “Backlash Blues” by Nina Simone, “Give Peace a Chance” by The Beatles, and “What’s Going on?” by Marvin Gaye.
In addition, two significant artists missing in these groups of songs, even though they each had major hits over a number of decades, are Ella Fitzgerald and Anne Murray. I’d bet you know of others who didn’t appear in these videos too. I’m going to go find videos by both of those women and watch them. I hope you go find videos of the artists you remember.
One video I still play once a year or so, when I think about it, is this one …
Harry Belafonte, Bette Midler, Tina Turner, Paul Simon, how many other people do you recognize?
Make a choice. Give, and help.
And … listen to fun music! 🙂 Dance with joy! Spend time with great people. Love your family and your friends, and your childhood and your memories. And be sure to take time to do a little jig or a little shuffle or a little two-step now and then. 🙂 Sweet!
This was great, we both loved it. I’ll be pulling out some old recrods and playing them. Hope the old recrod player still works!
Oh I hope that old record play works too, Tim. Happy dancing. 🙂
What memories! I don’t have old records, or my old record player anymore, but I’ll be looking up recordings online for sure. The 1940’s were great!
I wasn’t born until late in the 1940’s but I sure love the 1940s music too, Greg. Great music.
How sweet, and what great memories. I have a younger brother and we too have a photo of us sitting and listening to the old radio our parents had. Music is so important. Music from the 50s and the 60s sure don’t seem old to me! Ack! 🙂
That’s super … we should compare photos, I bet they are a lot alike. And, yes, the music from the 50s and 60s is NOT old! We can attest to that. 🙂
I’ve not heard much music from the 1940’s, that was great! Nice tunes. 🙂 Gonna ask my older relatives if they have records.
And if they don’t still have the old records, and a record player, then maybe find a way to play music from the 1940s on a computer or laptop or even a cell phone using the internet. I bet your older relatives would love that, Emily.
Music has been so important in my life. My folks played a number of instruments at home and in small groups in the community where I grew up. I played guitar and banjo when I was at home. When I was out country hiking I played harmonica (called a “harpoon” in slang). The Janis Joplin song Me & Bobby McGee from the late 60’s(?) used the word harpoon instead of harmonica. Good old stuff.
Wow, you are a musician, Steve. I sure know that Janis Joplin song. More memories. Yes, good old stuff indeed.
Ann, we’re sittin’ here rocking and rolling in our chairs! 🙂 How cool was this. Thank you for the memories, as they say. Our grandkids try to share “old” music from the 70’s with us. That’s NEW music to us. Such a breath to find a kindred soul in you. Here’s to REAL old music. 🙂 We remember Little John Willie who did “Fever” long before Peggy Lee did. Sh-boom, sh-boom, rattatta tat, sh-boom, sh-boom. Maybe these weren’t music written by people who knew how to compose “serious” music (my dad composed some, and directed some, and taught in high school, all classical music) … but this “modern” music spoke to us. Paul Anka “Diana”, oh my heart, and I heard that he was gay but who the heck cares! ha! 🙂 Nat King Cole “when I fall in love”. Oh my. ok, I’ll stop now. Thank you!!!!
Ha! Marge, what fun. 🙂 I’m glad both of you enjoyed this. Ah, and yes, I agree, music from the 70s is NEW music. LOL! Your comment is super. 🙂 Thank you!!
I always think I’m left brain, detail, etc, since I love math and computers and logic. But I love music! And art. And creativity. So maybe I’m balanced? 🙂 And yet I don’t listen to music much, my life is mostly silent. So after reading this blog post, I went back and listened to all sorts of music from the 1930s, that my parents listened to … and then I moved into the 40s and 50s and 60s and 70s (and then got bored with music after that). But even the 70s had great music. And certainly those earlier decades did too. Every one of us has different likes and needs. Thank god! 🙂 It’s what makes the world go ’round and what makes me interested in everyone.
Ruth, a very good friend of mine who taught music all her life told me that music can be EITHER left brain or right brain, or a combination. When she got a new student, she would ask questions and watch and then determine which side of the student’s brain was functioning to learn music, and then she would teach differently depending on which way the student learned best. Yep, you must be balanced. 🙂 And indeed, our similarities and our differences are what make the world go round. It’s all good.
Sweet.
🙂 thank you.
Oh boy did that take me back, especially the 40s and 50s, tho I remember most of those songs from the 60s. That was great.
Glad you liked them David. I sure did too.
Dancin’ in my chair for sure!! 🙂 thank you.
🙂 You are welcome!