G is for...

Go Your Own Way...Fleetwood Mac, 1977.

A Serenade of Seventies songs, from the soundtrack of my life, is my theme for the A-Z challenge this year.

Please note: I realize the sound quality on this video may not be the best, but I swear that Lindsey Buckingham rocking that 'fro makes it worth the small sacrifice. I also figured that, like me, you'll be singing too loud to care.

I am sure my mom was thrilled that the lyric sheet was included, thereby elevating my singalong experience. Oh how I loved this album! It is hard to put all of the awesomeness in this one song for this one letter.

Loving you isn't the right thing to do
How can I ever change things that I feel?
If I could, maybe I'd give you my world
How can I when you won't take it from me?

I used to pour over the foldout lyric sheet, learning everyone's name, matching last names, pouring over the photos. I thought if I just sang loud enough and wished hard enough nobody would go their own way. Stevie, get your head out of the clouds and listen to him!

You can call it another lonely day
Another lonely day

The record, the lyric sheet and a fantastic picture of mom and me from right around when this album was released. Her hair may or may not have been inspired by Lindsey's.

F is for...

Fernando...ABBA, 1976.

A Serenade of Seventies songs, from the soundtrack of my life, is my theme for the A-Z challenge this year.

Mamma Mia! Thanks for taking a chance on me, despite my not being much of a dancing queen. Knowing me, knowing you, I almost had to issue an S.O.S. Where was I going to fit this seventies super band? Alphabet fun, that's the name of the game. Letter F was free, and just the right fit for Fernando...he is the winner and, you know, the winner takes it all!

I kind of remember having just one big Abba song in my head as a kid. I just put them all into one looping medley, giving me optimal opportunity to belt out every single chorus.

If I had to do the same again 

I would my friend, Fernando

E is for...

Emotion...Bee Gees and Samantha Sang, 1978.

A Serenade of Seventies songs, from the soundtrack of my life, is my theme for the A-Z challenge this year.

It's over and done, 

But the heartache lives on inside...

Wait, no, that's not right. We're just finishing the first week of the challenge...phew! 

As a kid, I spent a lot of quality time with the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack, which left me completely unphased about being too young to see the movie itself. My a-z list would have seemed incomplete without some Bee Gees love. Since I had the letter E open, I decided to let Barry and the boys bring Samantha Sang along to their groove fest.

And where are you now, now that I need you?

Tears on my pillow wherever you go

I'll cry me a river that leads to your ocean

That's what they said, but let me tell you what this girl...

Please note fashionable stick pin in collar. 

...who turned nine in 1978, thought they said:

I'll cry me a river that leads to erosion.

Apparently I was very eco-conscious at a young age. Not only were these artists completely heartbroken and soggy, but I assumed they had environmental concerns to grapple with as well.

Thank you for visiting...

But if you don't come back

Come home to me, darling

You know that there'll be nobody left in this world to hold me tight

Nobody left in this world to kiss goodnight

Sorry, the emotion took me over!

D is for...

Diamond Girl...Seals & Crofts, 1973.

A Serenade of Seventies songs, from the soundtrack of my life, is my theme for the A-Z challenge this year.

My aunt is twelve years older than I am, so that means she was sixteen when I was four, and that means she was basically one of the coolest people ever. (She still is quite frankly.) I used to spend a lot of time at my grandparents' house, which was made infinitely more fun by the fact that Aunt Tina lived there as well. 

Aloha from Aunt Tina and me in 1977.

I was flooded with nostalgia today when I was at my grandparents' house. I walked into the room that used to belong to Aunt Tina, and remembered the joy I used to feel when I got invited in. I could still picture where the stereo was, the cat doorstop and the rest of the treasures that used to adorn the space. The troll dolls with their green and orange hair braided together were a favorite. (My recall for these details, as important as they certainly are, may explain why I had no room for any actual historical facts and figures in school.) There was a steady stream of good music coming from the speakers. One of the classic 8-tracks in her collection was Seals & Crofts. I loved the music, and the opportunity to just hang out.

And so our true voyage into the sappy, sweet, soft-rock serenades of the seventies begins...

Oh my love, you're like a precious stone

Part of earth where heaven has rained on

Makes no difference where you are

Day or night time, you're like a shining star

How could I shine without you

When it's about you that I am?

The a-z challenge is here! Thanks for stopping by for a few bars. 

I will be responding to comments via email when available, and here in comments when it is not.

C is for...

Cats in the Cradle...Harry Chapin, 1974.

A Serenade of Seventies songs, from the soundtrack of my life, is my theme for the A-Z challenge this year.

Oh how I loved this song when I was a child, young enough to be excited by the notion of a yarn game and some nursery rhyme lyrics. Back then I thought the message had something to do with it being okay for fathers to be busy.

"Can you teach me to throw?" 
I said "Not today, I got a lot to do" 
He said "That's okay."

The concept was a little foreign to me still, as my father didn't live with me by the time I was four, but I never once felt like he was too busy for me. We always had a good time when we were together, so I just figured these people would as well. One of the things we did a lot was sing. My father taught me so many absolutely incredible songs, some of which will show up later in this challenge. Sometimes we even had the words right.

My dad, his awesome outfit, me, and my grandfather in 1975.

 As I got older, and started paying attention to the second half of the song, I found it to be one of the saddest ones I had ever heard (aside from Taxi). Still, I never stopped singing and loving it. Harry Chapin's ability to tell a complete story while pulling us into his world in four minute bursts was incredible. 

The a-z challenge is here! Thanks for stopping by for a few bars. 

I will be responding to comments via email when available, and here in comments when it is not.

B is for...

Bridge Over Troubled Water...
Simon & Garfunkel, 1970.

A Serenade of Seventies songs, from the soundtrack of my life, is my theme for the A-Z challenge this year.

I feel like I truly grew up with and into this song. There was never any question that I loved it. Can you possibly deny the beauty of it? Well, of course you can, but please don't, not right now in the middle of my singing (that you fortunately cannot hear).

When you're weary, feeling small
When tears are in your eyes. I will dry them all.
I'm on your side when times get rough
And friends just can't be found

I know there was a period of time when I thought this song was referring to parents, because in the mind of an elementary school kid, who else loves you like that. 

The a-z challenge is here! Thanks for stopping by for a few bars. 

I will be responding to comments via email when available, and here in comments when it is not.

A is for...

American Pie...Don McLean, 1971.

A Serenade of Seventies songs, from the soundtrack of my life, is my theme for the A-Z challenge this year.

A long, long time ago
I can still remember how that music used to make me smile...

I used to sing this song in grade school, while riding my bike around in my grandparents' driveway. There were some brief explanations here and there as to what the lyrics were talking about. I admit that it didn't matter much to me at that time, as I just liked to sing.

Over a decade later we were singing this same song in bars at college. Everybody knew the chorus at the very least. It was a sort of legacy that had been passed down. My sixteen year old is familiar with it as well. If you know kids currently in college, can you find out if they are still singing it? Do they know what it was about?

Do you recall what was revealed the day the music died?

The a-z challenge is here! Thanks for stopping by for a few bars. 

I will be responding to comments via email when available, and here in comments when it is not.