Saturday, April 4, 2009

Classic Memories




Just the other day, I got an e-mail from one of our local theaters announcing a new show called Rocketmen. It features the music of Billy Joel and Elton John and is at the American Music Theatre from April 17th to June 6th.






Now, I'm going to be showing my age here, but I grew up with this music. Not only that, but I could probably sing Elton John lyrics before I could walk. Ok, maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration, but when I was a kid, my parents had an 8-track player and Elton John was one of my mother's favorite artists. There was a time that I could recite for you not only all the lyrics of all the songs on each tape, but I could tell you what order they came in and between which songs the tracks changed. That was a sound like no other! That big 'click' in between tracks. Sometimes it occurred right in the middle of a song. By the time I was 4 or 5, I could operate the thing. I wonder if my parents marveled at the technology that was available to me at that age that they didn't have. Sort of the same way I marvel at our 10-year-old with her i-pod (only on a much larger physical scale).






I find myself quite surprised at the memories that certain sounds hold for me, especially music. There were two places that we would go on vacation on a yearly basis - my uncle's mountain lodge cabin in Northern Pennsylvania and we'd rent a cottage in Conneaut Lake, Ohio. It seems, as I remember, anyway, that there was always music playing in the background. And it was GOOD music; Classic music. Notice I didn't say classical music. My husband finds it quite amusing that the only exposure I had to classical music as a child was whatever I heard on the Looney Tunes cartoons. There's a lot more to that story, but that's another blog for another day.






When I think of the music of Elton John and Billy Joel, I can hardly imagine anything in the music stores these days ever being considered as classic as that! Music 'artists' of today come and go so quickly - but Elton's first album was in the late 60's and he's still going stronger than the Energizer Bunny! Wonder if he has a pink bunny-eared costume. Classic music of the 60's and 70's was much like the cars of that same time. When I was in high school in the 80's, every guy I knew was trying to restore or purchase a muscle car. They just don't make cars like that anymore. I really don't believe that someone 20 years from now is going to want to own a 2009 Ford anything, but the 1965 Mustang is a completely different story!






So, if you're a friend or fan of the "Classic" anything - cars, music, or food - you can find it here in Lancaster. Come re-live some of your classic memories or create some new ones! Of course you're going to want to stay at a 'classic' bed & breakfast, so don't forget to make your reservations. We're here to help make your stay a memorable one.