For the past week it’s been pretty hard to escape the intense media coverage of the passing of a musical legend, Michael Jackson.  In fact, I found myself with a bit of a tension headache the other day after trying so hard not to get emotional during the televised memorial service.   I was doing fine until I caught some bits on Larry King and I’ll admit some tears were shed, especially when friends and colleagues talked about the influence Michael Jackson’s music had on their own careers.  It made me think about the artists I listened to from very early on and the impact these musicians had on me.

I was in grade 3 when I was allowed to walk up to Honest Nat’s Dept Store, 49th & Frazer, and buy this album for my sister Naomi for Christmas.  I shudder when I think about going that long distance (we lived at 63rd and Frazer) all by myself at that age.  Times were different then.

Up To Date, 1971, was the best selling Partridge Family album of all time and stayed on the pop charts for 23 weeks, getting as high as #3 at one point.   Naomi and I were fascinated by the fact that David Cassidy had the same birthday as she did, although my feelings were more on the jealous side.  Lucky her!

This was the first album I ever owned but I have no idea how it came to my possession.  I’m thinking maybe my sister must have bought it for me.

Osmonds, aka One Bad Apple, was released in 1970 and I know it had a bunch of songs but I really only played the solo by Donny called ‘Sweet and Innocent’.   My girlfriends will find it hard to believe but this is the only Osmond album I’ve ever owned ~ but it did the trick!  I would stare at the cover for hours looking longingly into Donny’s eyes, but also wondering why the heck they were crouched in a trench in a farmer’s field.

I loved this album and still do!  Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy is a concept album that was an autobiographical retelling of the story of Elton John and his writing partner Bernie Taupin and their early years as struggling musicians in London.  It was released in 1975 and spent 7 weeks at #1 on the pop album charts.  Rolling Stones magazine puts it at #158 of the top 500 albums of all time.

I replaced my LP with a CD many years ago but I always felt ripped off that the cover art wouldn’t ever be as easily enjoyed in the smaller format.  I used to have my records lined up like art against the wall and that was so much a part of the fun of getting new ones.

I’ve had many Elton John albums but this one remains my all time favourite.  Taupin’s lyrics are pure magic.

This David Bowie album is also from 1975 and was called Young Americans.  I’m adding it to this list, not because I’m a huge Bowie fan, but because of the way I obtained it.  I was at a store with my dad ~ I must have been 11 or 12~ and being out with him in a department store was such a rare thing.  I think it was just the two of us.  I was hanging out in the records section while he looked at golf paraphernalia and when he came to find me I asked if he would get me a record.  He said yes!  I remember being shocked and then I had to quickly find the one I wanted so I grabbed this one!  Silly purchases were something my mother did all the time so it was rare for my dad to indulge us, or so it seemed to a little kid.   I loved that album because it reminded me of that day out with my dad.  Oh yeah, it also had the song ‘Fame’ on it which was Bowie’s first #1 hit in the US and was co-written by John Lennon.

I bought Boz Scaggs Silk Degrees, 1976, because the really cool couple I babysat for had just ordered it from Columbia House and I wanted to be just like them.  Well, her.   A mom who had candlelit dinner parties with friends and sat on big overstuffed floor cushions and played softball after work with her husband…

Anyway, the album turned out to be one of the best in my ever-growing collection…thanks to my new membership in Columbia House!  How did I know that part of the deal was that they were going to send me records I hadn’t agreed to every month!  Live and learn!

Silk Degrees won a Grammy for Best R&B Song for ‘Lowdown’ and was nominated for Grammies for Album of the Year, Best Pop Male Vocal Best R&B Vocal Performance and Best LP Package (whatever that is).

Queen’s A Night At The Opera was and still is a favourite album.  The memories I have tied up with this one are of  high school and being the new girl in grade 9.  Near the middle of the year I was asked if I wanted to go to the Queen concert at the Pacific Colosseum.   The price was going to be $7 plus 50C service charge.  Even now that seems like a ridiculous amount but I’m sure that’s what they went for.  I ordered a ticket but had to renege later because my mother didn’t feel I would be safe at a rock concert!  Ughh!  I was mortified!

I think that’s one concert I’ll always regret not sneaking out to see : (

My list wouldn’t be complete without a Barbra Streisand record to represent all the many Streisand records I’ve listened to and loved while growing up.  I would put this album on whenever I was going through any kind of teen angst like a break up or something.  I adored her voice,  her lyrics and her movies.   This one, The Way We Were, came out in 1974 and was #1 for 2 weeks but I didn’t start listening to it seriously for several years.

Ahhh, great memories!  What albums meant something to you?  Sometimes it can be surprising who you find on the soundtrack of your life.  RIP MJ.