Music and Family

For this blog I will be interviewing my mom. I traveled all the way to Pennsylvania just for this blog, so I hope you enjoy it and find it interesting. Just kidding, I travelled home for Easter and this blog popped up at the perfect time to go home for it. My mom also grew up in Pennsylvania, in a small town called Fairchance, she is currently 54 and she's always loved listening to music and being involved. Down below is a dialogue of our conversation :)

Me: What role did music play during your childhood?
My mom: I've always loved music! As a small child I loved listening to nursery rhymes, church songs and especially the songs you would sing and hold hands with your friends and dance around like "Little Sally Ann sitting in the sand" and "ring around the rosie". Then in sixth grade I started listening to music on the radio and every Friday they would play oldies, which I loved, like the 50s and 60s at eight all the way to midnight and I would stay up late just to listen. 

Me: Who was your favorite artist when you were a kid?
My mom: When I was five years old, I fell in love with Donny Osmond and Shaun Cassidy. I listened to them all the time and had posters of them all over my room.

Me: What was your favorite genre/style of music as a kid?
My mom: As a kid since it was like Donny Osmond and Shaun Cassidy, they were pop singers, so pop.

Me: How did the music you listened to as a kid influence the music you listen to now?
My mom: I still listen to pop and love Donny Osmond but ever since I was little, I loved reading into lyrics of songs. When I was in junior high, I remember buying lyric magazines from the store because we didn't have the lyrics online, you had to go buy a book with the lyrics. So, they always were a lot to me, and I feel like that's something that has never left.
Me: So, you say Donny Osmond. What was his songs about? Was it love songs?
My mom: Yes, like he wanted her to be his girlfriend kind of songs.

Me: What kind of music did you dislike as a kid?
My mom: I never been a huge fan of country... only old country. 50s and 60s kind of country is what I enjoy but honkytonk I have never liked. 

Me: Do you have a first memory of music?
My mom: Yes! when I was very very little, I'm talking 3 or 4, Sonny and Cher had a show. Every Thursday Sonny and Cher came on and I would sing with them. 

Me: What kind of music did your parents listen to?
My mom: My parents listened to 60s and 70s kind of music, but I was a child in the 70s so that was out in the moment 
Me: Did you like it?
My Mom: Yeah, and I still like to listen to the 60s/70s

Me: What kind of music did you listen to as a teenager?
My mom: New Wave!

Me: Did your friends listen to the same type of music?
My mom: Some of them. Some of them listened to regular 80s rock which I wasn't too much into it. Loverboy and Foreigner and them were okay but I loved Flock of Seagulls, Duran Duran, Thompson Twins and all the British new wave.

Me: Did you go to any live concerts?
My moms: Yes I did! As a teen my first concert was the Thompson Twins and he touched my hand while singing "hold me now" 
Me: How old were you?
My mom: I was in tenth grade. 
Me: Aww
My mom: Yes and I completely lost my mind (laughs) 
Me: Any other concerts?
My mom: I've seen Billey Joel seven or eight times, Harry Connick Jr. seven times, Loverboy, Elton John, Thompson Twins, a group called Climax, usher, Ricky Martin, Nickelback, Avril Lavigne
(And many more she listed ha-ha) 
Me: What were they like?
My mom: I loved going to concerts. A lot of people are at them but it's fun because everyone is so excited. 
Me: Were a lot of them stand ups or sit downs?
My mom: It was all a mixture of the both, some in stadiums, some you had to sit in the grass for.
Something people loved doing was to light their lighters like how people use their cell phone lights now at concerts and wave them back and fourth.

Me: Were you ever involved in band, choir, etc.
My mom: Yes, I did chorus in school, I sung soprano and the choir when I was in my 20s/30s

Me: Who were the most popular artist in your teens? did you like them or were you an outsider?
My mom: Duran Durna, Adam Ant, Quiet Riot, Twisted Sister, Prince, Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston - I liked listening to them all.

Me: Were people influenced by the way they dressed because of music artist?
My mom: Yes! I shaved the side of my head when I was a senior in high school.
Me: Who influenced you to do that?
My mom: Thompson Twins, one side of my head was very very crew cut length and the other side was long and curly.
Me: Cool!! How about other stuff like clothing wise?
My mom: A lot of people wore the fishnet gloves, leggings with black high heels and skirts.

Me: Going to church what kind of music was there?
My mom: Traditional Hymes, southern gospel songs and praise choruses

Me: What was the technology used when you wanted to listen to music as a teen?
My mom: We had tape recorders where you had to sit next to the radio and wait until your favorite song came on and hit record to save it on the recording. 
Me: No way! cool.... 
My mom: Then also car radios, track tapes, cassette tapes, records, CDs, and now streaming music

Doing this blog was so much fun and allowed my mom to remember memories she almost forgot about! We had a bunch of laughs while interviewing her. It's so cool to see how much has changed since she was just a little girl. I hope you enjoyed this interview!!