JPF Home Page Forums General Messages General Message Forum Top 100 Pop songs of 1967

This has been a very interesting thread.
It started as a little trip into yesteryear's 1967 top 100 chart and evolved into a discussion about the merits of different decades of music.
Mike Caro, Mr. music Encyclopedia, has again shared his wealth of knowledge with us. Thanks Mike. I cannot disagree with anything you had to say about the 70's, or any other era for that matter.
But I got to thinkin' on this because it bothered me that Mike said the only people that hated disco were non musicians. I was a little offended by that. For one thing I never said I hated Disco. Not liking something is a far cry from hating it. The only music I would say I hate is the vulgar RAP that relied on vulgar, hateful, exploitative lyrics as a shock mechanism to sell the stuff.
Mostly I listen to all kinds of music. Heck, 1977's Saturday Night Fever was one of my favorite movies. It was DISCO.
I even danced a little disco myself. (yoo hoo! Alan)

I concluded this.
I am a carpenter. I work with wood. One of my most Challenging jobs was restoring a Bar in a club a few years ago. When doing the job I learned that Del Shannon had played the club many years ago. I was restoring a bar that Del Shannon sat at. The Bar had water damage and damage from 75 odd years of drinks, food, cigarettes, fights, etc. They brought me a big pile of 1"x12" oak planks and I hand made all the parts. I was pretty proud of it when I got done.
One thing I worried about was what other carpenters would think of the finished product. I had already been praised by other people about the job I did. The loved it, thought I did a wonderful job. But would another craftsman?
I know that I always looked at other's work with a critical eye and really appreciated good craftsmanship. I always marveled at fine furniture craftsmanship and inlays. What a really skilled craftsman could do with wood.
But you know, I didn't wonder what Del Shannon would think of it. He wasn't a Carpenter. He was a Musician.

What does this mean to me? Well it makes me see Mike Caro's comment in a different light.
As a musician, artist, craftsman of music Mike sees the music of the 70's from a different perspective than a person like me. I am not a musician. I have not spent my whole life in the pursuit of music. I spent my life as a carpenter. And I hope with as much passion as Mike. It was what I did for hours every day for a very long time.
I was a listener. I heard the music. I didn't hear the bass line, or the skill of the guitar riff. When I listened to Black Sabbath, Yes Mike I did, I heard the whole song. I didn't have a clue who the bass player was or who the lead guitar player was. I just knew it was Black Sabbath.

So to look back at 1967 and see all those wonderful songs is a look into my past. Certain songs bring back memories of what I might have been doing when I heard the song. The music of the 50's and 60's will always be the best in my mind. I can't help it. It had such an emotional impact on me it will be with me forever. My formative years, My first love, Losing my Virginity in the back seat of my 1954 Chevy convertible, The Vietnam war, JFK, MLK, RFK, Kent State, The Chicago Convention, My God the memories with those songs are incredible. I first heard the Beatles in Germany where I was stationed in the Army.
But if I think about the 70's and 80's It is a different story. It was a terrible time in my life. My daughter died, my son died, Divorce, Drinking, drugs, Doing things I am only ashamed of now, an awful time of my life when I became a person I can only think of as an a$$hole. Maybe I remember the music that way too.
I cannot look at the music from a technical view. I didn't hear it from a technical view. I heard it as a teenager with raging hormones and the way the music made me feel is all I cared about.
I always wanted to play guitar, create music, but I never did. I was too busy being a Carpenter and listening to the great music made by others.

So thanks Mike Caro. You have given me a new perspective on Music. I can now look at music from different era's from a different perspective. I think I have already begun doing that since I started dabbling in Guitar playing, writing songs, and learning about recording. And yes I dabble. It is not with the passion that you have.
But I think I will still always be just a Carpenter. Heck I just finished the drywall in my new project studio (that's what I call it but it is really a man cave) and am going to the store today to by the trim and flooring. And I have done every aspect of the job myself. Because I have the skill. I am a Carpenter.

But I still remember the 70's as DISCO