Janis, Joan Osborne, Johnny Winter, Harry Connick, Jr, Tom Anderson (co-founder of MySpace and President of MySpace Records), Mae West, Chris and Charlotte McBride (author White Lions of Timbavati & owners & operators of McBride Lodge, Africa), & Willy.
Like writing, your musical preferences are part of your biography. Back in high school I was grounded and snuck out of the house to see a Johnny Winter concert. He was my musical hero. Bob Dylan, The Band, Janis Joplin, Donovan, Mamas & Papas, Woody & Arlo Guthrie & Their Friends, Van Morrison - anyone for a Moondance? How about some Tupelo Honey in your tea? It's A Beautiful Day (gotta love that White Bird), Sha-Na-Na - saw those boys live - they rock, Led Zepplin, Uriah Heep, Ike & Tina Turner, Ides of March, Canned Heat (I wrote Speed Kills on the dented fender of my first car, a late 60s navy blue Mustang, because of their Amphetamine Annie song),
Nat King Cole, Sammy Davis, Sade, Otis Redding, Rolling Stones (if I look hard enough into the setting sun, my love with laugh with me before the morning comes - Paint It Black - one of my all time favorite rock lyrics), Sly & The Family Stone, Carlos Santana, King Crimson, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Tom Petty & Stevie Nicks, Tom Petty in that band with Bob Dylan - The Travelling Whirlies or something like that - couple good songs on their album, Ricky Lee Jones, Deep Purple , Beatles, Ella Fitzgerald, Louie Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Jimi Hendrix (my first hubbie cried when he told me this left handed Hero had passed - Angel came down from heaven yesterday, stayed with me just long enough to rescue me - Angel), Pink Floyd , Fleetwood Mac, Black Oak Arkansas, Electric Light Orchestra, John Prine, Crosby Stills Nash & Young, Neil Young alone, Melanie, Charlie Parker (The Bird), Chet Atkins, Joan Baez, and there was this band, I forgot their name, Moody Blues , Jefferson Airplane, Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band, Heart, Cream, Ten Years After ( me and my baby...never get the blues ), Some Bowie, Kinks, Some Grateful Dead, Elvis Presley, Bing Crosby (White Christmas - what a baritone), Jerry Lee Lewis, the guy who sings The Wanderer (Dion), remember Peter Frampton? Styx, ZZ Top, The Allman Brothers, Blondie (chased my little boy through the house singing "One way or another - then I'd catch him and tickle him - I'm gonna find you, I'm gonna get you get you get you"), Buddy Holly, Savoy Brown, Iron Butterfly, Bette Middler, Marvin Gay. Hung out with a band called Midwest Expedition in the late 70s. From Chicago, around Midway Airport. Their lead guitarist, Fox, put music to my first lyrics. Burnt Matches is the name of the song. Attended many of the Southside Productions band jams. They were fun. At a Halloween party inside a club, most everyone dancing in costume, there was this guy dancing with his dog almost eye to eye. Oh yeah! There were so many back then when partying was king, time seemed forever and we stayed up all night. Usually there were song favorites from each group. Then came the early motherhood years and the same songs turned on our turntable along with... Bonnie Raitt, Patsy Cline, Maggie Bell, Bessie Smith, Odetta, Etta James, Billie Holiday, 2nd hubbie brought his Doors collection & some Chuck Mangione (spelling), Corky Siegel & Schwall, Roy Buchannan, Muddy Waters, B.B. King, Kris Kristofferson, Rita Coolidge, and the list goes on. Nowadays we've got James Blunt, Norah Jones, Nick Drake, Peter White, Ray Charles, Tom Waits, Bruce Springstein's new cover of Pete Seeger's songs, Sarah McLachlan, Jewel, Peaches, Joan Osbourne - love her Let's Just Get Naked song -the ultimate make up song - Gavin McGraw, Sheryl Crow, Eminem comes out of my daughter's room along with Jet, Papa Roach, Lynard Skynard, Kottonmouth Kings, Pink , some Irish music (Oh Danny Boy-)and so many more. Some of my favorite CDs are the ones I burn of the song submissions we are working on. The artists are varied from classical to hip hop. The songs are good and when I hear them, I feel connected to them because I am helping get them into the world. A midwife of sorts -that's what a Creative Director does. Did I mention Johnny Cash and The Blues Brothers ? Koko Taylor, Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, Dusty Springfield, Bobby Darin, The Temptations, Smokey Robinson, Judy Garland, Chicago, Tracy Chapman, Fiona Apple, Faith Hill, ZZ Top, Charlie Daniels Band, Willie Nelson, Roy Orbison, Some Barbra Streisand, Hank Williams, Lori McKenna, one day -YOUR BAND!!! The list is endless .............
The Wizard Of Oz was a yearly event in my childhood. It came on once a year and we knew in advance for days when it was coming on. I love that movie. Same with the animated Gulliver's Travels. It awed me. Still does. Pee Wee Herman's Great Adventure. The Piano - a masterpiece of passion. JAWS - stood in a very long line to watch that one when it first came to the theaters. All the Cheech & Chong movies, or most all - That Brothers one was kind of out there. Princess Bride- reminds me of when the kids were little, that and Never Ending Story (the nothing is coming!) Home Videos -mine! Fairy Tales. Homeward Bound. Pinnochio. Alice's Restaurant - or was that a song? Spartacus. Mary Poppins. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. The Shaggy Dog. The Newsies (I say that what you say is what I say!)
A Streetcar Named Desire & Giant & Cat On A Hot Tin Roof & The Outsiders & Rebel Without A Cause & Gone With The Wind & Some Like It Hot. Woody Allen. How about The Birds and The Exorcist and Psycho! That stuff used to be scary!!! Whale Rider. Woodstock. The Last Picture Show & The Last Waltz. Sweet And Lowdown (Sean Penn does a great job playing the famous jazz guitarist Emmet Ray). The Good The Bad and The Ugly(that soundtrack - who can forget the whooa-whooa-whooa sound). The Godfather was a staple in our house. I can not believe how many times HE watched that movie!!! Henry & Anais. Dazed & Confused. Easy Rider. One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest. Debbie Does Dallas (Woops! I wanted to see that one but it left town.) Needle Park. Blow. Basketball Diaries. American Graffiti. Hollywood Knights. The Big Lebowski. What About Bob? Both Ice Age Movies. Finding Nemo. Shrek. Minnesota Fats. Mr.Cheech & Mr.Chong+ Rounders. Analyze This & Analyze That, Sideways. Cool Hand Luke (Seems like what we've got here is a lack of communication!) Jerky Boys. Chocolat. Man On The Moon. Pat Garrett & The Sundance Kid. How many of you saw The Red Balloon ? ~ no lyrics but powerful statement. National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation & all their Vacations. But especially the Christmas one. That and A Christmas Story (You'll shoot your eye out!) and the animated Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer (the abominable snowman with a bad tooth) all remind me of the season. I can play Christmas music from November 1 to Valentine's Day. Tombstone & Wyatt Erp movies. Bonnie & Clyde. Casino. Eat My Dust - saw that movie on a Saturday afternoon in a theater packed with young boys. They were throwing popcorn boxes at the screen during the chase scenes. Rowdy crowd+++ Free Willy. Fly Away Home. Lion King by far a classic & E.T.. 40 Year Old Virgin was funny & Wedding Crashers. Ghostbusters. Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolf (poor little bird). Both of the A Star Is Born movies. The Rose . Masked and Anonymous -Bob Dylan's preach/teach/interpretation. My brother took my little sister and I to see the Beatle's I Want To Hold Your Hand. The experience of a theater full of screaming girls older than I is lasting. Godzilla and King Kong. The Wonder Boys. A Beautiful Mind. Amadeaus. Crossroads ... and on and on ...Simpsons & Bull Riding & Chicago Bears Football & Ice Skating & Comedy & Biography
Early on - The Old Man & The Sea, Anything Ray Bradbury & Jack London, The Bridges Of Madison County, Matt Groening - He writes funny & draws funny cartoons too, Erma Bombeck, Anything e.e. cummings or Mary Oliver or Julia Cameron or Louise Hay or Marsha Sinetar.
Beryl Markham's West With The Night - A must read memoir (The movie about her life is Shadow On The Sun) Positively 4th Street. A Story Is A Promise. Girls you gotta read Sex Signs by Judith Bennett. It will make you a better person. Deepak Chopra. Linda Seeger. Dictionary, Thesaurus & Rhyming Dictionary. I'm reading about 5 books at once now. The important thing is - Stay In School & Don't Do Drugs ... and READ! It is one way to get smart! My two poetry chapbooks titled The Love Poet Has Spoken and small hope.Daddy, Mother Teresa of Calcutta, Kevin & Augustina, My Songwriters, Karl, Gina, Harvill Hendrix, Judith Bennett, Civil Servants, Teachers of the positive kind, Keewee, Ruth Hay, Rain Wilson & Reagen Bricks -keep working with those youth + they have to feel the love before they can spread it, Mary Oliver,
My Brothers (Occassionally - if Harry will take me out in his boat he gets 2 brownie points), UNDERDOG (there's no need to fear...), Char, Evelyn McCloskey, Chet Chylinski*, Janis Joplin - if we could live with just a little of her passion, Mae West (she made it in the boy's club), Johnny Winter (gave me some great concert experiences - when you coming back to Chicago?) Thomas Edison, Mozart, Bill & Melinda Gates, my Ex-husband Kevin, The Gershwins, Carmen Mormino, trees and flowers , rain. > <P