Friday, April 7, 2017

What tunes are on the soundtrack of your life?

Rebecca Marker-Smith
Director of Marketing
I believe in the power of music and how it sparks memories. I believe in the Music and Memory program that we offer at Green Hills Community.

The earliest song that I remember from growing up is the theme song of Josie and the Pussycats, a mini-record that I cut out from the back of a Honeycomb cereal box. The band was part of the Scooby-Doo show – one of my favorite Saturday morning cartoons.

My parents had a very extensive record album collection, a great stereo system, and we listened to the radio all the time. 

When I got to high school – I would “discover” a song and sing it before anyone else knew about it. Eventually, the song would hit the Top 40 and I was over it – tired of hearing it and onto something else new and exciting.

While a student at Bowling Green State University, I fulfilled my dream by becoming a disc jockey at 88.1 FM WBGU. Garage bands were the rage, MTV was exposing us to all sorts of exciting sounds, college radio was king, and U2 was finally making a name for themselves. It was a great time to tune into the music industry and WBGU-FM hosted a wide range of formats.

I began with an early morning Saturday shift playing “alternative” music – anything that was NOT played anywhere else, like Depeche Mode, Roxy Music, Echo and the Bunnymen, New Order, the Smiths and many others of that genre.

Later, I spend two semesters playing 60s and 70s music with a “Classic Flashback” show in which I always opened with Rod Stewart’s Every Picture Tells a Story, which I picked from my parent’s record collection along with tunes from Kenny Rogers and the First Edition and Three Dog Night. Wow, did I have a great time with that show.

During my last year at college, I took over as director of “Jazz Afterhours,” featuring music from classic jazz artists and more modern jazz/new age crossover artists like George Benson, Larry Carlton and John Scofield.

Yes, I love and appreciate music. My greatest fear is that when the day comes that I no longer recognize my family, that someone will play Top 40 tunes from 1984 thinking that I want to relive my high school years. I. Will. Go. Nuts. if I hear Oh Sherrie from Journey or something from Madonna. 

What do I want to hear? I’m so glad you asked. Here are a few songs on my list:
Early compilation albums from the Windham Hill record label and anything from Bob Marley.

Think about it. What songs always put you in a good mood or reminds you of a special event in your life?

Just like making a will or appointing someone to handle your affairs, I believe it is also important to write what you want to hear when your short-term memory starts to break down.

Now, it’s your turn. What songs are on the soundtrack of your life?

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