The Osmond Effect

1.  Go Away Little Girl by Donny Osmond

2.  Hey Girl by Donny Osmond

3.  Sweet and Innocent by Donny Osmond

4.  Puppy Love by Donny Osmond

5.  Too Young by Donny Osmond

6.  One Bad Apple by The Osmonds

7.  Yo-Yo by The Osmonds

8.  Down By the Lazy River by The Osmonds

9.  Before the Beginning by The Osmonds

10.  Let Me In by The Osmonds

11.  Are You Up There? by The Osmonds

12.  Darlin' by The Osmonds

Ok, well, you KNEW it had to be coming sooner or later!  I couldn't reminisce about my life via music without including the music that was nearest and dearest to my pre and pubescent life, now, could I?  Seriously, people!!  The Osmonds were IT!  I mean, I had other artists that I listened to ~ Bobby Sherman, The Monkees (swoon re Davy Jones!), David Cassidy (sigh!) but The Osmonds topped them all by leaps and bounds.  Now, how did this happen?  Let me tell you!!

Before church was a solid three-hour block you used to go to church in the morning for Sunday School.  There was Junior and Senior Sunday School with both having their own exercises ~ prayers, talks, singing ~ similar to Primary opening exercises today.  After opening exercises you broke up into classes by age.  After classes you were dismissed to go home. Then later that day you'd come back to church for Sacrament Meeting which was conducted like our Sacrament Meetings today.  Church was, literally, an all-day experience ~ especially when you lived as far away from the meetinghouse as we did.  There were few members in the Warren, PA area back in the mid 60s when my family joined the church.  We had to travel to Jamestown, NY to attend.  We were in the Jamestown Branch which was part of the Erie District.  This was a little more than a half hour drive each way - no highways - just two-lane roads the whole way.  When it was District Conference we had to travel to Erie which was about an hour and a half drive - again - just two-lane roads.  We just accepted it as that was the way it was going to be.  The youth of the Church found this arrangement as a great opportunity to socialize with each other.  LDS friends were rare and we were so spread out, it was nice to be able to hang out with each other.  So what we'd do is ask (even beg!) our parents to let us go to each other's houses during the afternoon break.  We'd go home and have lunch and/or dinner and then return for Sacrament Meeting and switch back to our families and return home.  Pretty slick, eh?  We thought so!!  Well, I had a friend named Vera who I went home with often.  It was so different at her house.  She, at that time, was an only child and her house was soooo quiet!  She also lived right in town and Jamestown was much bigger than Clarendon or Warren.  We'd get to her house and we were hungry, of course. She'd make me a tuna fish sandwich which was always so delicious!  She is the one who originally taught me how to dice up an onion.  We'd take our tuna fish sandwiches and go up to her room.  The first time I walked in was similar to when I saw Westminster Abbey the first time - mouth open in awe!  Vera was a little older than I was and she had already found the world of pop idol mania.  The walls of her room were covered with posters of the day's pop stars.  She had her own little record player and she'd put on record after record and we'd lay on her floor or bed and listen to David Cassidy, The Osmonds, The Jackson Five, etc and we'd swoon.  Vera taught me how to perfect swooning - my aunts had swooned over Engelbert Humperdink so I sort of already knew what it was - but Vera taught me how to swoon like a proper American teenage girl.  I had heard The Osmonds songs on the radio.  One Bad Apple was still in play and I loved the sound.  Merrill's voice had that raspy edge that I still like today but the whole sound was wonderful!  Her parents let her get Tiger Beat magazine and several other publications and we'd look through those and devour every story on every page ~ filing away little tidbits of info about each of our favs.  I could tell she really liked Donny Osmond and the more I learned the more I knew there would be trouble because I really liked him, too!  We had friendly arguments over him but, in the end, we realized that he was younger than her and really more suited for me so she got one of the older brothers, I forget which.  Or maybe she opted for another pop idol, I can't remember.  But I still remember the day she pulled me into her room with eyes open wide and told me the biggest news of my entire teen years ~ THE OSMONDS WERE MORMONS JUST LIKE US!!!!!!  No way! I couldn't believe it!  Could it be true?  Well - then that's a sign!  Oh my gosh - it must be true then - that I was meant to be with Donny forever!  I mean, I loved him so much!  We would meet and he'd fall in love with me and that was it!  Sigh!!  I couldn't believe my good fortune!  

Now all the songs had so much more meaning to me coming from my future husband and all. Go Away Little Girl was him telling me that it wasn't time for us yet.  Hey Girl was reassuring me that he still loved me and not to worry.  It was anguish for him as well!  Puppy Love and Too Young helped me get through the times when people made fun of my adoration ~ they didn't understand that sometimes you DO find your love early in life!!!  And this was one of those times!!  I was serious!!  Just listen to these songs.  You'll clearly understand how a girl can find meaning in the words!!  And the voice, well - think what you like, but I adored that high-pitched sound!  And I love listening to the voice chronologically and hear it deepen and mellow with age.  

And so it continued like this for years, the surety of my path in life, until I was about 15, I think.  As I grew older I became more aware of the world beyond my 60 mile radius and I realized that, although there were few Mormons in my area, there were many more Mormons elsewhere, namely in Utah, where Donny was from.  And I started to understand that he was probably surrounded by lots of Mormon girls with the same dream that I had who were probably much prettier than I.  Besides, in the meantime, I started noticing boys in general. Real boys.  The ones who lived within my radius!  The thought was always in the back of my mind, about Donny and I, but I knew it wasn't likely to happen.  But, still, it was fun and I am grateful to Vera for those wonderful memories.  In my later teen years The Osmonds produced an album that would have a tremendous impact on me.  It was called The Plan.

The Plan is a musical presentation of the Plan of Salvation that our Father in Heaven prepared for us. It answers the questions of where we came from, why we are here, and how to return to live with Him again someday.  It talks about how, if we live worthily, we can be with our families for eternity.  I think it is their finest work.  Some may think this weak, but it is what sustained my testimony throughout those teen years.  People may say I should have found that strength in the scriptures, but I can tell you that listening to this album sent me to my scriptures more than any lesson or talk at church.  By this time my family had bought a nice stereo which was in the front room of the house.  I liked the better sound than what I got on my box record player.  So I'd put this album on, sit on the floor with my back up against the speakers, and follow along with the words in the album cover.  Not that I really needed the words for long.  I had these songs down pat!  But, I loved hearing its message. And I listened to it over and over and over again, letting the peace just flow over me.  My husband comments on the times he'd come over when he was a missionary and I'd be in the front room listening to The Plan and singing along.  He thought it was funny - really funny! But I don't think he realized the missionary work which was going on at that precise moment! 

This album helped me get an A on an English paper when I was in the 11th grade.  There were only a couple other LDS kids in my high school and everyone knew I was a Mormon.  It set me apart, I know.  My English teacher, Mrs. Williams, whom I LOVED, would call me a ducky Mormon.  It was said in a friendly, kindly way.  I think I saw a bit of respect for me in her eyes  because I would stick to my standards amid the constant barrage of temptations.  There was pot in the bathrooms, cigarettes on the bus and out behind the band room, keggers on the weekends (I was never invited).  She knew there were plenty of opportunities for me to join the crowd.  But I held my ground.  By that time in my life I was sure of what I was about and what I wanted.  It wasn't tempting to me at all.  And I think she noticed.  Anyway - we had an assignment in class to read a book and then give an oral presentation in class.  The presentation should be more than just standing up and giving an oral report.  It should have a big of production to it.  We could dress up like one of the characters.  We could use media (note that this is before VCRs, DVDs, CDs) or act out a scene.  It was going to be a big part of our grade.  It was sort of like a culminating project to the class.  We had a list of classics to choose from.  I don't know why but I seem to remember having to choose towards the end, after which most of the more popular ones had been taken.  I ended up getting The Bridge of San Luis Rey by Thornton Wilder.  Mrs. Williams had a little smile on her face as she noted which one I had.  I wasn't sure why.  But, then I started reading, and soon found that I was very comfortable with the content of the book.  A bridge in Peru collapses and five people die.  The book then goes on to posit questions about life - where we came from, why we are here, where we are going.  What is life?  I knew instantly what I would use for my presentation.  But - how would it be received?  Would the kids think it weird that the Mormon girl brings a record by a Mormon band singing about LDS doctrine - much of it which was foreign to them?  I commiserated over this until I was about sick.  But, every time I went over my presentation I knew that the songs I had chosen were perfect.  The day came for my presentation and, shaking like a leaf, I stood up in front of the class and began my presentation.  Mrs. Williams sat in the back of the classroom with that same little smile on her face.  She had seen the album I had brought to back up my presentation.  I knew she was curious.  Finally, it came time for the first song I would share - Before the Beginning - which talks about where we came from.  It seemed to be well received.  Everyone thought the baby crying was a cool effect.  I talked some more then played the other song I had chosen to share - Are You Up There? - which talks about why we are here.  It asks all the same questions that the character in the book asks but the song gives reasonable answers to the questions.  I ended my presentation sharing my own personal thoughts to the answers of the questions and suggested that they, too, had their own answers to the questions.  It was very, very quiet when I finished.  And, then, the clapping.  Mrs. Williams' smile was not little now - it was her big, ear to ear, smile and she was pleased!  I think I still have a copy of the presentation somewhere.  I should find it and see what I think.  

A few comments about the songs from that album which I chose for this playlist.  Before the Beginning is just the sweetest song.  Merrill's voice is magic.  Let Me In is a song that got radio play and was well-received by the public.  Most people heard it as a love song between a man and a woman, however, I know it to be a love song between an individual and the Savior.  The person has messed up and wandered away from the teachings of the gospel. Now, realizing their mistakes, wants to repent and return to the Savior.  It's beautiful when listened to in either context.  I find it especially meaningful when listened to with the Savior in mind.  Are You Up There? just asks the same questions everyone asks.  Why me?  What for? And reasons you back to Father in Heaven.  It's powerful.  Darlin' depicts eternal love.  It is actually about the love between a man and a woman and the desire to be together forever.

An end note - shortly after my class presentation Mrs. Williams came up to me after class and said, "Hey, you ducky Mormon, a couple of young men stopped by my house last night."  She paused, waiting for me to say,  "Oh yeah, I sent them by!"  But I hadn't.  She continued, "I let them in and my husband and I talked with for a little bit.  It was very interesting!"  Like I said earlier, it was the end of the school year.  Probably even the last week.  When I returned to school for my senior year she had moved away.  To California I believe.  I always wonder what happened to her ~ if maybe she took the discussions and joined the church.  She was a wonderful teacher.  Very young, very hip, very enthusiastic about her teaching.  I always thought that if I ever became an English teacher I'd want to be just like her.

My Blue Box Record Player

1.  People by Barbra Streisand

2.  Second Hand Rose by Barbra Streisand

3.  He Touched Me by Barbra Streisand

4.  Free Again by Barbra Streisand

5.  Don't Rain On My Parade by Barbra Streisand

6.  My Man by Barbra Streisand

7.  The Way of Love by Cher

8.  Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves by Cher

9.  Fire and Rain by Cher

10.  He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother by Cher

I can't remember if I received this record player for Christmas or a birthday.  All I remember is that it was one of my all-time favorite gifts from my childhood.  It was a heavy cardboard type of material covered with this candy blue paper.  It had pink and white accents.  It played 33's (vinyl albums), 78's (smaller albums from really old days), and 45's (the small vinyl records with an A and B side).  Mine was a bit larger than the one in the photo but it was very portable. And it got used!!!  It was such an important part of my becoming who I am.  Maybe that seems silly to you, but it was!  And the reason it was is because it allowed me to take my affinity for music and my tendency to place myself into the music into the privacy of my own room.  Pre-blue box record player days forced me to listen to my music in the living room where everyone was around.  Come to think of it, I'm not sure I even HAD my own music prior to this.  I think I probably listened to what everyone else had - which is not bad, mind you.  I enjoyed their music, too.  But it was a reflection of them and their choices, not mine.  The box record player came at about the time I was earning money for babysitting and, like any respectable girl approaching her teens, I used my money to buy records!  And then . . . the record player came. So I took my purchases into my bedroom and listened and listened and listened.  I noted every inflection of their voices, and time after time after time, I tried desperately to reproduce that same quality with my voice.  I can only imagine the many times my family must have been outside that bedroom door, holding their sides and laughing that uproarious silent laughter that you do when something is so funny but you have to be quiet - like in church.  Of course, inside the bedroom, it was all serious.  I mean, SERIOUS!!!  I had to get this stuff DOWN!  I was going to be a big star someday and I had to know how to do this stuff!  I think I ended up doing a pretty good imitation though.  That ended up being my problem when I started actually performing with the family band, though.  I had spent my time learning to copy instead of figuring out how I should or would sing the song myself.  Still, it is what it is, and they were glorious moments in my life.  I'm sure that you'll notice that there are no Osmonds songs. There was at first, but then it soon became apparent that that would have to be its own playlist. What remains are songs from the two albums I listened to over and over and over again that were NOT of Osmond origin.  And these two women mesmerized me!  Babs and Cher!

Some people might think these odd choices for a young girl.  I'm pretty certain that Barbra was a result of the influence of my parents, more so my mother.  I don't think I gravitated toward her myself although she was big on the scene at the time.  Cher, though, was mine and purely mine.  We watched the Sonny and Cher show at home all the time and enjoyed it. I'm not sure how my parents felt about Cher as a solo act.  All I know is that I loved Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves on the radio and I HAD to have it!  The first album on the scene was Barbra's, though, so let's talk about her . . .

                           

The album Barbra Streisand's Greatest Hits opens with her rendition of People.  Cue the flute. Then the strings start with their beautiful strands, add more flute ~ wide, sweeping notes.  The curtain opens ~  the spotlight snaps on and there I am on the stage - all alone - just me and the spotlight.  My mouth opens and out comes the word "People."  Pause (for dramatic effect.) More violins.  "People who need people."  Then you let the song flow freely from you.  This was how I listened to this album.  It was me on that stage, not Barbra.  "What stage?" you ask.  Why the one that was in my bedroom!  Nobody else ever saw it, but it was there all the same!  And I sang on that stage many, many times!  Oh, I had rave reviews and demands for encores!  It was a great world there in my room with my record player and albums.  I could connect with each and every song she sang but these on this playlist were my favorites from this album.  They were very theatrical and, I can assure you, I gave it my all!  They say that when you die your life flashes before your eyes.  Well, if that's so, I hope I can hit a pause button and enjoy watching myself in my room with my record player.  It will be a blessed moment of joy and laughter - before I plummet down to hell! 

                                                                           

My Cher album, Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves, demanded a different sort of performance.  I'd say it was more like a prelude to today's music videos.  It was probably greatly influenced by the skits and song production numbers I'd see on the weekly variety shows that were so popular at the time.  But, when I sang the title song, I was walking through a gypsy camp ~ or what I envisioned a gypsy camp to look like!  It's funny to listen to the song now and remember how I knew what the song was talking about but I was pretty sure my mom didn't know what they were talking about.  You know how parents are clueless and all.  They don't understand such things ~ clandestine meetings, the seedy side of life.  As a twelve or thirteen year old girl, you're much more hip to such themes.  Still, I sang this song at the top of my lungs.  As I did The Way of Love.  Now, the meaning to that song flew right by me!  Listen to the words sometime - it's dealing with a subject that was just on the brink at the time but a mainstream topic today.  I'm curious to check out this album.  I mean the actual physical album.  As I look at the songs on it I realize that I am only acquainted to about half of them.  I'd be willing to bet that I only listened to one side of the album!  

Nothing against Cher, but being where I am today and knowing artists as I do, I'm a little sad to note that my introduction to the songs Fire and Rain, and He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother were not from James Taylor and Neil Diamond - it was from Cher.  And, as it goes, the person who introduces you to a song, in your mind, is the original artist.  It usually takes alot to convince you otherwise.  I'm happy to let you know that I have been successfully reconditioned now to recognize Cher's covers for what they are - just covers.  But her covers will always be dear to me.  And, I think, prove what is true - that a good song is a good song, no matter who records it.  

Mother's Day

1.  Red Roses for a Blue Lady by Al Martino

2.  Lady Love by Lou Rawls

3.  You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine by Lou Rawls

4.  Behind Closed Doors by Charlie Rich

5.  The Most Beautiful Girl by Charlie Rich

6.  Oh! My Papa by Eddie Fisher

7.  Mr. Lonely by Bobby Vinton

8.  Blue Velvet by Bobby Vinton

9.  Lady by Kenny Rogers

10.  Lucille by Kenny Rogers

11.  Que Sera, Sera by Doris Day

12.  Crazy by Patsy Cline

13.  She's Got You by Patsy Cline

14.  Smooth by Santana/Rob Thomas

So it's Mother's Day ~ the perfect day to reflect on memories of my mother.  In compiling this list it has become clear to whom I can give credit for my love of such diverse music styles.  It's my mom.  There was always music playing in the background at home.  It could have been pop, rock, jazz, gospel, easy listening, instrumental, vocal, tribal even!  My mom listens to it all.  I am not embarrassed at all to admit that I was a big fan of the Ray Conniff Singers.  It's all happy memories for me.  And, if in the process of housework, a good song came on the turntable, why we had to dance, of course!  On the same note, my mother was onto the whole music as therapy craze looonnnnggg before it became a degreed occupation.  She knew how music affected our moods and working habits and, as I got older (translated - in my teens) any sappy, "lovey dovey" (my mom's title), or "moon doggy" (again, my mom's words) songs were forbidden during cleaning time.  This meant no Donny Osmond, no Bobby Sherman, no David Cassidy. sigh!  What torture!  And since this was before cd's where you could quickly skip to the next song, this excluded entire albums.  It just took too long to pick up the arm and move to the next song without scratching the vinyl.  So, in the end, my mom usually chose the music ~ and I was happy with that.  We cleaned to everything from John Philip Sousa to rousing gospel songs. And she was right - it made you want to move around and get things done!  And we did!  I've used the same thought process my entire life and have used music to set moods or change moods.  It's powerful stuff!

This week's playlist are all songs that hold memories of moments with my mom. The first song is the background for a funny thing that happened ~ well, it's funny now but it was NOT funny as it unfolded!  My mother loved her baths as most women do.  She'd get the boys off to school or otherwise occupied and take me into the bathroom with her so she could keep an eye on me.  She liked her bath water really, really hot (as do I - one toe at a time hot!)  So she'd start filling the tub with the lovely, steaming, hot water and sprinkle in her bath salts or bubbles and the little room would fill with beautiful rose scents.  When the water was ready she'd put the lid on the toilet seat down, situate me there and slip into her bath. We'd visit while she soaked and her body turned this deep, deep crimson.  It was during this time that the song, Red Roses for a Blue Lady, was popular.  One day, in my childhood innocence, I noticed that my mom was a red lady!  So I switched the words to the song up a bit and sang to her my new lyrics - Wrap up some blue roses for a red lady!  She laughed and laughed and told everyone, of course.  It was our bathtime song after that!  Now for the near disaster. . .  One of these lovely mornings we were in the locked bathroom singing our songs and having a grand old time when we heard someone enter the house.  My mom's  ears pricked right up and motioned for me to be quiet.  The steps were heavy and, having already heard the noise in the direction of the bathroom, they were coming our way!  Sure enough, the doorknob was wiggled and, upon finding it locked, there came a tap, tap tap.  Well, being a child, I couldn't see anything wrong with letting someone in, although I'm sure my mother was gesturing wildly to me to stop!  As I climbed down from my perch and made my way across the bathroom, my mother's admonitions became louder and louder and she called out to the door, "Who is it!?" The reply, "The meter man!" (All the while my short, little legs are making there way to the door.)  My mother - "What do you want!?"  Meter man - "I'm here to read the meter!"  Mom - "Well, there's no meter in here!!  Get out! Get out!  Get out!"  Now at the same time my mother is saying to me, "Janice, don't!  Janice, don't! JANICE, DON'T!!!"  Well, my mother, in the process of all this is trying to frantically get out of the slippery bubble bath water, find a towel, slip across the floor, and grab me just as my little hand reaches up to unlock the door! My mother gives a scolding to the meter man which, I'm sure I can't repeat, and, as soon as he is gone (we hear the door slam) she gives me the scolding of a life about how you never, NEVER, open the door to strangers at all let alone the door to the room where your mother is NAKED in the BATHTUB!!  Now, it's all giggles and laughing. But then, not so much.

The Oh! My Papa is a song that would get promptly turned off if it ever came on the radio.  Why?  The same reason that I could not hear Christopher Cross' Sailing, or The Eagles' Greeks Don't Want No Freaks, and Dan Fogelberg's Longer - they were all songs that played endlessly during hard pregnancies.  These are songs that served as background music for vomiting, endless vomiting (or it seemed) and, therefore, a mental connection was made which, upon hearing it after said vomiting was in the past, made you want to vomit again.  Nausea inducing melodies as it were.  One of my favorite mother/daughter outings was to go into town for errands and stopping in at Murphy's or Kresge's, I can't remember which one it was now, but they had a soda fountain where you could get the most wonderful drippy grilled cheese sandwich.  You'd pull the two halves apart and the cheese would stretch and drip onto the plate.  You'd take a bite and you'd get that lovely initial crunch of the buttery toast which gave way to the delicate white bread and then the ooey, gooey cheese.  Ok - let's say it all together here - MMMMMMM! The fries were also perfection.  As we'd sit at the counter my mother would tell me about how, as a young expectant mother, she worked at this soda fountain, and how she had morning, afternoon, and evening sickness.  She'd be working along and have to run over to "that door there" and run down the steps to the bathroom and throw up.  Then she'd have to climb the stairs back up and go back to work. She said that Eddie Fisher always seemed to be singing Oh! My Papa and the mental connection was made.  I can't hear the song now without feeling empathetic for my mother and, eventually, knowing just what she meant!

Now, about Bobby Vinton.  I adore him!  I absolutely adore him!  And, I think the reason I do is because my mom did, too!  Or at least I think she did!  This is the impression I had as a little girl.  Mom would crank up the record player and the lonesome wails of Mr. Lonely would fill the walls and we'd belt out our woes along with him.  And you can't fully understand this until you actually listen to the song. Then you'll know what I mean.  His heart ache just sears your soul.  And his note intervals are genius, invoking gut-wrenching emotion!  I included his Blue Velvet as well because it was probably his biggest hit and I think my mom actually had a blue velvet dress at one time in which she looked stunning!

Now, about the stunning part.  I always thought my mother looked just like Doris Day, but as a brunette.  And I have a picture to prove it!  It's a professional picture of my mother in, I'd say, her early 20s.  Her smile is so wonderful as it includes her eyes which I think kind of sparkle - just like Doris Day's did!  Doris was a big hit in our house.  We loved her movies and we loved her songs.  My mom and I would sing Que Sera, Sera over and over.  I think my mom really liked the message it delivered - just take life as it comes and be happy with what you have.  It's impossible to sing the song without feeling your cares fade away.  Try it!

Now, about Patsy Cline.  Mom didn't do many of the lead vocals in the band.  Don't know why this was, but she played keyboard (which she taught herself) and sang backup.  But, around the house she'd sing Patsy Cline songs and I thought she always did a great job with them. I think most women liked Patsy's straight forward approach.  She was about women's power before women's power was vogue.  I particularly remember mom singing She's Got You and think she might have sung this on some jobs.  Not sure about that, though.

Now, about the rest of the songs.  I was a teenager when Lou Rawls, Charlie Rich, and Kenny Rogers happened on the mainstream radio.  Their songs were hits and I saw my mother near swoon when she'd hear them - much to my chagrin!  I mean, she'd swoon like I did when I heard Donny Osmond!  But these guys were OLD!!  I mean, EWWWW!  I just didn't get it!  I liked their songs OK, but I was not swooning for heaven's sake!  But the memory of it held and years later I caught the look on my daughters' faces as I would swoon when I would hear Sting sing. And it took me back to the 70's and I would think of those songs.  Good times!  I love how life cycles out and you can relive moments ~ but experience what it was like for the other person you shared them with because now you are in their shoes. You gain a new understanding of someone without having a new experience with them.  I was able to understand my mother as a woman, not only as my mother. I remember she came for a visit once while we still lived in Utah and her and I were going out to do some shopping.  As we rode along in the car, Smooth by Santana/ Rob Thomas came on.  We looked at each other and we both swooned at the same time!  A connection ~ a woman to woman connection ~ was made.  It was sweet! We both laughed and talked about how much we LOVED this song!

My mother still has a beautiful smile.  I cackle like she does when I laugh ~ and I'm glad.  I dance when the mood hits, like she does ~ and I'm glad.  And like her, I refuse to be a stereotype ~ and for this I'm eternally grateful.

The Pixie

1.  Paper Roses by Marie Osmond

2.  Top of the World by The Carpenters

3.  Superstar by The Carpenters

4.  Misty Blue by Dorothy Moore

5.  You Make Me Feel Like Dancing by Leo Sayer

6.  You Light Up My Life by Debby Boone

7.  The Loco-Motion by Grand Funk Railroad

8.  Deep Purple by Donny & Marie Osmond

9.  Are You Lonesome Tonight by Elvis Presley

10.  These Boots Are Made For Walkin' by Nancy Sinatra

11.  The Sweetest Thing by Juice Newton

12.  Break It To Me Gently by Juice Newton

13.  Baby Doll by Barbara Fairchild

14.  Somethin' Stupid by Nancy Sinatra with her father Frank Sinatra

So get a load of that picture!!  The Alspaugh Family Band, circa 1973.  I can date it because I have the pixie haircut but my ears aren't fully exposed.  My mother really wanted me to try the pixie "do" and to bribe me she said I could start wearing makeup if I agreed to do it.  Now, we all know how mesmerizing the word "makeup" can be to a girl of 13.  Heck - even a girl in elementary school is dreaming of the day she can wear makeup!  Some of us girls get the bug early, some are later, but most girls I know get the bug!!!  And it is a very potent driving force. My mother was very shrewd on that one!

                                                

This is a picture of me on my 13th birthday, fresh from the beauty salon.  Check out that helmet!! I can imagine the beautician thinking to herself, "I've just got to cut around these ears and get them out in the open!"  I remember this day very clearly.  I had the haircut, which I wasn't very comfortable with, but hadn't received the makeup yet.  Just me and my bare face hanging out.  Ugh!  My friends who came for the party were supportive, just as friends should be in these circumstances, but I know they were being kind.  I secretly think my mother felt bad because she had originally told me I could only wear a little eye shadow and some blush.  She really wanted me to wear the deep red lipstick they wore when she was my age but I refused! This was, after all, the 70's!  Hello!!  It was minimalism with makeup!  Sheer pink lip gloss if any at all - the natural look.  And women who wore too much makeup were catering to the whims of men - and why should we do things to make men happy?  It was all about being a natural woman! (Cue Carole King)  I was caught in the throes of women's lib, the sexual revolution, and the ecology movement.  Boundaries were being challenged everywhere - including the lipstick boundary in the Alspaugh household!  So I went upstairs to play with my mother's makeup and I put on eye shadow, mascara (gasp!), blush - I just basically went all out and put on the whole shebang - in subdued tones, of course.  I gathered up my nerve and went marching down to the kitchen where my mother was.  She stopped fixing dinner, took a good long look, assessing the result, and declared that I knew what I was doing and could wear it all! Score!!  What else could she say?  I had my FACE hanging OUT because my HAIR was GONE! When I got the makeup going I liked the haircut more but the following years' school pictures chronicle the continual growing out of the pixie. Here is my 9th grade picture.  Note that the ears are now hidden, thank goodness!

                                                    

                                                      

And then my 10th grade photo - a true testament to the horrors of growing out an unwanted haircut!  I honestly think I did not let a pair of scissors near my head for years - this is true growing out, not even a trim!

                                                        

                                                       

And now, to the playlist of the week.  Although my brothers and I had been performing as guest artists" with my parents' band for ages, this is when we branched out on our own as a family band.  We had jobs that were booked specifically for us.  We played wedding receptions, local dances (not school!), and night clubs and bars.  Now, how does a band with multiple minors get jobs in bars and night clubs?  I'm not sure but it might have had something to do with the fact that the parentals were right there with us and were known to not be drinkers themselves.  It's not like we'd be able to sneak off and get a drink.  You're sharing a microphone with your dad and brother sometimes - someone's gonna know!  I was never, ever tempted, though.  I saw how strong my parents were and I was happy to enjoy a "grapefruit soda" (translation - Squirt) just like my Dad!  The playlist this week are some of the songs I remember performing.  I just shake my head at some of them.  Honestly, what does a girl of 13 or 14 know about love, romance, and heartache?  Well, maybe you'd know a little about heartache, but would you have the maturity to be able to transfer that emotion into song?  Not this girl, I can tell you!  I got tons of compliments, though, and I think it was because my tone was good and my pitch was good.  But, what I wouldn't give to be able to sing some of those songs again and be able to put the emotion into them that they deserve!  I just can't imagine how amused people were when this short, little teenage girl got up and belted out about how her boots were gonna walk all over the scoundrel that had done her wrong!! Seriously, folks, I know you're laughing just reading about it!  I did get rave reviews and requests for my Debby Boone offering.  You Light Up My Life was HUGE!  It was a big hit on the radio and it was a big hit for me.  I loved performing it.  It meant even more when I found someone to whom I could sing it!  My husband, though, when asked what songs I sang will instantly break out into his own rendition of You Make Me Feel Like Dancing by Leo Sayer.  I'm thinking that, yet again, it was quite comical to see a young girl up there wiggling around as she sang about love and getting jiggy with it!  Deep Purple is a song I sang as a duet with my brother, Marvin, who sang the lead. People were always comparing us to Donny and Marie. After all, we were a singing brother and sister team, just like them!  Misty Blue is a bluesy song that my father insisted I sing.  I didn't feel comfortable singing it but he worked with me and worked with me on it.  I think I eventually did an acceptable performance but this is where the lack of maturity was a hindrance.  It's one of the songs I'd like to give another go around today.  I was also never ultra confident with the Are You Lonesome Tonight because, right in the middle of the song there was talking.  Talking!!!  How weird is that?  Well, today it doesn't seem weird but back then it was just . . .  weird.  When Nancy Sinatra sang a duet with her dad, Frank, my father immediately said, "We're going to do that!  You and I!"  And we did.  It is a very fun song to sing and remains a personal favorite.  The Juice Newton songs were actually after I left home and was married.  Whenever I made it back to PA for a visit my dad would sit me down and want to work on a new song that he thought would work well with my voice.  Juice was the craze at the time and her gutsy, clear songs were both fun and challenging.  We would usually find ourselves going with my parents to one of their jobs while we were there at which time my father would invite me up to the mike to share a song or two with the audience.  The Sweetest Thing was usually one of the songs and later, Break It To Me Gently, but I never felt as comfortable with the latter as I did with the former.  My husband enjoyed hearing me sing Juice Newton songs but they are strong and require strong vocal chords.  I find it hard to do them for too long nowadays.  Out of practice, I guess.

The photo of the band is great, though.  It brings back floods of memories.  The younger kids didn't play the jobs in the bars and night clubs, just in case you were wondering.  I guess that 13 was the cut off.  But they'd go with us to the receptions and some of the dances and shake tambourines and such.  As they grew older they performed at different functions.  Tina has a beautiful voice - she was the soprano.  Brenda provided the parents with the fiddler they had always dreamed of and at which I failed miserably.  They were the "guest artists" of the second half of the family.  I recognize these as truly unique experiences which most kids never had growing up.  I feel blessed.