I never felt so young as seeing people so old.
I Watched the ‘Rock n Roll Hall of Fame’ special on HBO, and never felt so alive.
I trust that there are very few rock n rollers who are also Broadway fans but, in the show, ‘Pippin,’ in a song called “Just No Time at All,” sung by ‘Granny’ Irene Ryan, she said: “I believe if I refuse to grow old, I can stay young till I die.”
Truer words were never spoken.
The inductees over the years are those who moved and influenced a generation, not just had a few hits. They played music and didn’t just dance. Their songs were pure and not crap. We called the crap ‘bubblegum’ music in the 70s, 80s, and 90s..something you can chew for a bit, then it loses its taste quickly and you spit it out.
I marveled at those inductees who are my age and older and the music industry people I saw in the cutaways. I wish more would have gotten up and danced. I’m hoping they were not jaded..just maybe recently had hip surgery.
So, people say you are as young as you feel. Everyone has a date in their head. I have no patience for those who post senior memes about getting older. Only if you accept age as a measure, you are forever a slave to it. I knew 17-year-olds in high school who were 70 and met 70-year-olds who are 17.
As a privileged white kid growing up in middle-class Long Island, it was safe to rebel because when the shouting had run out on the record, we were nestled in our beds, ready to live another day and fight in our bell bottoms, fringe jackets, and Water Buffalo sandals.
What reinforced my belief that talent loves talent, were the musicians who did mashups with artists you never thought they were fans of. Dave Grohl and Lionel Ritchie. Rob Halford, Simon LeBon, and Annie Lennox with Dolly Parton.
It also ties the thread in politics today. There are still many of us with divergent views who can ‘jam’ with those who think differently. It sounds corny but finding what unites us, rather than divides us is the key in any walk of life, profession, or faith.
This sounds like a kumbaya moment but it may actually be a Thanksgiving prayer.
Perhaps the most poignant words ever spoken were by President Abraham Lincoln, who said: “Four score…and 7 minutes ago, WE, your forefathers were brought forth upon a most excellent adventure. Conceived by our new friends, Bill and Ted. These two great gentlemen are dedicated to a proposition, which was true in my time, just as it is today. Be EXCELLENT to each other and…PARTY ON DUDES!”
"Barry, Barry bo Barry
Banana fana fo Farry
Fee fi mo Marry...
BARRY!!"
Thanks for an excellent post, Barry! I wonder if you ever visited the Jimmy's Music World in Oceanside or East Meadow when I was managing them...