Music your parents listened to: was it any good?

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Does your parent's music generally = mush? What does it say about the family relationship? The only things I can remember from the 8 tracks & LP's hanging around my house are mostly lite jazz and 70's adult soft rock. Mr. Acker Bilk, the most ridiculous clarinet blower who ever blowed. John Denver, Gordon Litefoot, Dolly Parton. Funny enough with EZ listening ruling the house, we never get along although more recently they picked up a few things I actually don't mind like some Enya and Abba. Did anyone grow up with motorhead and stuff like that and are you normal or insane now?

― sucka (sucka), Monday, 10 November 2003 20:05 (twenty-two years ago)

my dad's favorite artists: Dave Brubeck, Aaron Copland, Bruce Springsteen, E.L.O., all Euro-classical music, Kingston Trio, Ray Charles.

my mom's favorite artists: Motown girl-groups, Sam Cooke, Barbra Streisand, every doo-wop song ever (but not in an obsessive way), West Side Story soundtrack.

8-tracks we had in the car: Fifth Dimension, Sonny & Cher's live album, Mamas and the Papas, Hair, Godspell

― Haikunym (Haikunym), Monday, 10 November 2003 20:11 (twenty-two years ago)

I grew up with Led Zeppelin, Yes, Queen, Deep Purple, Jethro Tull, Genesis and Mike Oldfield. It only made me good.

― JP Almeida (JP Almeida), Monday, 10 November 2003 21:00 (twenty-two years ago)

my mom likes yanni and his ilk, so i never expected too much from her, but she did have a lot of leftover 80s LPs stashed away that i raided (modern english, tears for fears, etc.)
my dad actually likes a lot of good shit. he's always liked tom waits, the beatles, early genesis, zappa, devo, etc.
but my sister got me into depeche mode, the pumpkins, and radiohead, so she wins.

― Felcher (Felcher), Monday, 10 November 2003 21:16 (twenty-two years ago)

The 5th Dimension, Elton John and The Seekers. No, it was not.

― Chris Ott (Chris Ott), Monday, 10 November 2003 21:19 (twenty-two years ago)

Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops. Not cool.

― Jazzbo (jmcgaw), Monday, 10 November 2003 21:34 (twenty-two years ago)

You guys must have young parents. Mine got married in 1960 (I'm youngest of 6 kids) and never really collected music to begin with. My dad likes Sinatra, as does everyone else in the family, and my mom names Clyde McPhadder, Little Richard and Kai Winding as her personal faves. So yes, she has good taste! However in her old age she tends to listen to the "smooth jazz" station which is not cool.

When I got into the Beatles in junior high, my mom mentioned that she thought she and my dad had the "Rubber Soul" 8-track at some point. Heh!

― paige, Monday, 10 November 2003 22:00 (twenty-two years ago)

"Mine got married in 1960"
thats when mine were born

― Felcher (Felcher), Monday, 10 November 2003 22:02 (twenty-two years ago)

My dad's a huge George Jones fan--I can't begin to count how many times I've heard I Am What I Am. I wish he'd branch out a little (my dad) but really, I can't complain.

― Keith Harris (kharris1128), Monday, 10 November 2003 22:06 (twenty-two years ago)

The Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Dylan, Joni, The Band, Frank Zappa, The Supremes, etc. Plus a load of classical - Bach to Britten, pretty much - and jazz, generally Big Name stuff. The only car tapes I can remember were Blondie and a Motown compilation.

My parents' taste in music roxx, u r all etc.

― cis (cis), Monday, 10 November 2003 22:19 (twenty-two years ago)

I grew up on a strict diet of Rolling Stones, Lou Reed, JJ Cale, early Pink Floyd, Janis Joplin, The Doors, Beatles, very early Clapton, Santana, and early Leonard Cohen. I'd say they nailed it pretty good, apart from the fact that they owned next to zero black music (w. Sonny Boy Williamson as the only exception).

Then, of course, things went wrong: They hit the 1980ies and started to hail the likes of Tina Turner, Elton John, Roy Orbison, and Evita (the musical!).

Now, they've actually kinda had a second coming, not least in part to the fact that I introduced them to my tastes up through the 1990ies. Stuff they actually like a lot today (they are in their 50ies): Portishead, Massive Attack, Gotan Project, Ibrahim Ferrer, and tango music.

― Jay Kid (Jay K), Monday, 10 November 2003 22:40 (twenty-two years ago)

The Eurythmics, Tori Amos, the Beatles, the Indigo Girls, Alanis Morisette, Frank Sinatra, Cindi Lauyper, Sarah McLachlan, Elton John... I can't complain. I grew up on the stuff and still enjoy most of it to this day.

― Nikki (Nikki), Monday, 10 November 2003 22:43 (twenty-two years ago)

half and half. mom liked crappy MOR ballads but she also liked Motown, Prince, Al Green. I taped between 1/4 and 1/3 of her CDs in high school.

― M Matos (M Matos), Monday, 10 November 2003 22:46 (twenty-two years ago)

matos otm - i just stole'em instead.

― Jay Kid (Jay K), Monday, 10 November 2003 23:04 (twenty-two years ago)

I feel so sorry for people whose parents have crappy taste. That must be a living hell. It's a wonder you can even hear -- personally I would've done my best to rewire my brain to ignore my ears.

― Ann Sterzinger (Ann Sterzinger), Monday, 10 November 2003 23:12 (twenty-two years ago)

While they didn't really have a clue about anything at all, The Beatles and Simon & Garfunkel is hardly the worst thing you can listen to.

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Monday, 10 November 2003 23:21 (twenty-two years ago)

both my parents studied classical music at university, so i grew up in a house of webern, berg, stravinsky etc etc & didnt have a clue about pop music until i was 10(ish). i used to think my parents were the most normal people ever, but recently found some photos of them in the sixties ; my dad used to drive a vespa around aberdeen with a bartok string quartet zooming around his brain...what a weirdo! (i'm secretly impressed tho...)

― joni (joni), Tuesday, 11 November 2003 01:14 (twenty-two years ago)

My mom's musical tastes were so dud. James Taylor, Carly Simon, Dan Fogelberg. 70's torture music.

My dad was always bringing home records, though. Nitty Gritty Dirt Band Will the Circle Be Unbroken sticks out in my mind. And Thriller. I made a tape of that one and used it to win favor among other third graders. This is a trick I still use -- this morning I gave a co-worker a copy of Jay-Z The Black Album, and she hugged me.

― Kenan Hebert (kenan), Tuesday, 11 November 2003 01:17 (twenty-two years ago)

a mix of the good, bad and ugly.

pops- Neil young(when drunk), seals and crofts, gordon lightfoot(Sundown is still an awesome song), kenny rodgers, Boston, Queen, Wings, Carpenters, Ray Parker Jr( im in love..with the other woman)

mom- Massage school/librarian/new age. very thankful that she had allmost all of Brian Eno's albums , Eno & Cluster/Music for Airports were almost always on the turntable. Carly Simon(Hotcakes!), Fleetwood Mac, Kim Carnes, Todd Rundgren, Kitaro..etc

― darth nader, Tuesday, 11 November 2003 01:52 (twenty-two years ago)

both parents were pretty decent...

dad: i remember a lot of dylan (who i dont like but saw in concert with him), the soundtrack to "jacques brel is alive and well and living in paris", misc. bop jazz. he listens to a lot of world music now, and torch songs. he used to like the beatles too.

mom: doesnt listen to music at all now :-(. used to like Big Brother and the Holding Company, Blues Project, and the Rolling Stones (she still bitches about what wimps the Beatles were in comparison, but in a hilarious way). She also liked Astrud Gilberto. I think she also got the Sam and Dave best of, and the "25 years of #1 hits" motown double LP comp. Her parents left her with a few Martin Denny and Arthur Lyman records!

― Aaron Grossman (aajjgg), Tuesday, 11 November 2003 02:02 (twenty-two years ago)

kenan> funny and subtle writing. you have a way with words. do a novel (if you haven't already).

― Jay Kid (Jay K), Tuesday, 11 November 2003 02:16 (twenty-two years ago)

aww...

― Kenan Hebert (kenan), Tuesday, 11 November 2003 02:17 (twenty-two years ago)

really!

― Jay Kid (Jay K), Tuesday, 11 November 2003 02:19 (twenty-two years ago)

My mom had the BEST taste, man. Bands I was introduced to by her, ages 13-17:

Led Zeppelin
Bob Marley
Jimi Hendrix
Rolling Stones
Bob Dylan
Van Morrison - Beautiful Vision (GREAT record!)

― calstars (calstars), Tuesday, 11 November 2003 03:47 (twenty-two years ago)

Most of my first favorite albums were stolen from my parents' collections: Tom Waits, Fishbone, P-Funk, Sly, Miles, Zep, pretty much everything my entire taste is built on - stolen from my 'rents.

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Tuesday, 11 November 2003 07:31 (twenty-two years ago)

mom: the beatles, parliament, sly and the family stone, earth wind and fire, various disco/funk groups in the 70s, motown, prince, kate bush, the talking heads.

dad: the beatles, pink floyd, john denver, elvis, fleetwood mac, jefferson airplane.

mom wins.

― adam west (adamwest), Tuesday, 11 November 2003 07:40 (twenty-two years ago)

When it was good, it was really, really good. A lot of 70s soul and funk albums, Jimmy Cliff, Bob Marley and classic Motown. Also, some Richard Pryor stand-up stuff.

When it was bad, it was unbearable. I'll never forgive them for Nana Mouskouri.

― J-rock (Julien Sandiford), Tuesday, 11 November 2003 07:47 (twenty-two years ago)

My mom would put stacks of sixties 45's on the record player while she worked around the house. She'd play tons of Beatles, Beach Boys, Simon and Garfunkel, Paul Revere and the Raiders, Herman's Hermits, etc. Her favorite artist was Helen Reddy, though. She also loved the Carpenters. I blame her for my pop-music fixation.

Dad listened to country music. He loved Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings. When I got into high school, he started listening to a lot of the bands I liked. Our family would go see the Thompson Twins every time they came to town. Dad gave me my open mind.

― Jakels (Jakels), Wednesday, 12 November 2003 03:10 (twenty-two years ago)

My Dad listened (listens) to a lot of old school Argentine tangos. And it's very good. Tango is the Blues for Argentines and Colombians, esp. those from the Antioquia area (Medellin, Cali), where my folks come from.

― Jay Vee (Manon_70), Wednesday, 12 November 2003 04:02 (twenty-two years ago)

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