I Dig Rock 'n Roll Music

I Dig Rock n’ Roll Music

When I was a kid, I was in Girl Scouts. Even when most kids were really embarrassed to be in scouting, I loved it. I proudly told people I was a scout for nine years. I still tell people I was a scout for nine years. Tonight that appreciation was underscored in an unusual way. I am the fire maker in our house; in fact, just yesterday Ducky said I build a much better fire than he does. My reply, “I learned in Girl Scouts.”

The fifth annual Winter Folk Festival offered two days of Americana, Celtic, and Folk music; two folk classics headlined festival’s concerts. I really wanted to go see the Highwaymen last night and really I should have bought tickets. As a festival underwriter the station received tickets to the concert and a pair for the Sunday concert fell to me; the group headlining the day’s music, The Brothers Four. Wow.

I have always loved folk music and I thought that love came from learning the songs in school. I, naively, believed everyone knew those songs, having learned them in grade school. But I think I was wrong. As we sat in the Florence Events Center excitement began growing inside me. At the opening cords of the first song, my heart started beating faster, and I turned to Ducky and questioned, ”Yellow Bird?”

The look on his face was classic, “You’re asking me?” Sure enough the Brothers Four opened the concert with their rendition of Yellow Bird. Now I’ll admit the reason I know all the words to the song is because we sang it in Junior High chorus as part of our competition repertoire, Ducky on the other hand gave me a look as I sang that loudly spoke, “You’ve got to be kidding.”

Then the group blended in to Sloop John B. and Ducky was singing too. An awesome beginning to a concert that had most quietly sitting in their seats, applauding with gusto at the end of each song. Then they delved deeper in to the folk bag and drug out Woody Guthrie’s This Land Is Your Land, Pete Seegers’ Where Have All The Flowers Gone, If I Had A Hammer, and Arlo Gutherie’s City of New Orleans I was joyous. Singing low I realized, that except for the man seated behind me with the WONDERFUL voice, no one else was singing. I looked around watching silent lips, wondering how could this be? We learned these songs in school.

Afterwards, standing in the foyer waiting for them to come autograph my CD a lady asked to see my disk because she didn’t know if she wanted to buy it. She’d been to the concert the night before and was surprised she didn’t know many of the songs. Tonight she knew more, but she wasn’t sure the disk was for her. Heretic. Even without my glasses on I could tell the LP was full of great music. She bought a copy for herself. Now, I’m not an autograph hound and as the crowd to see them grew in size and clamor I decided to leave. I had the CD and that was the important part, along with that heady feeling you get after a great concert.

As we walked to the truck I asked Ducky what he thought, what his impressions were, and commented that I was happy he’d sung along on a few songs. His reply startled me as much as the lady’s comments in the foyer. He hadn’t known too many of the songs. With Ducky’s comment came my epiphany, I knew these songs and I had a love of these songs, a love of this music that brought tears to my eyes with the first cords of The Greenleaves Of Summer. I HAVE AN UNDYING LOVE OF FOLK MUSIC because of Girl Scouts. Folk music led to my love of Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young, The Mamas and the Papas, to Cat Stevens, Peter, Paul, and Mary, Loggins and Messina, and Bob Dylan. Thank God for Girl Scouts and all the lessons it taught me.

Okay, so I have to ask, if you love folk music too, do you love folk dancing? If you love folk music are you a head banger too? Because I really love Led Zepplin, David Bowie, Eric Clapton, and Clannad. Thank God I’m a DJ. And if you love music, do you know why? Does it speak to your heart? Is it the sound track of your life? Does each person you love come with a song attached?

You will be asked to put your pencils down in 10 minutes. The clock starts now.