[Otclassof1973] TAKE ME HOME COUNTRY ROADS

[Russ Malta]

It is a little known fact that the '60s actually ran from the beginning of 1963 until the end of 1972.  One of the best parts of that time was that our lives had a soundtrack.  And sometimes narration.  Yes, although it might sometimes have been in a Roundabout way, the music told the stories of our experiences.  Maybe I'm just Wond'ring Aloud but if it were Up to Me it would still be that way.  Whether I had a Stormy Monday, had the Statesboro Blues, or I was just feeling tied to a Whipping Post, there was always a cool tune to keep me company.  Even a whole Box of Rain leaking through The Attics of My Life, in a Brokedown Palace, couldn't keep me down as long as the music would just Ripple through air to help me Keep on Truckin'.  As long as we remember the songs that helped make us who we are, We Won't Get Fooled Again.  Who's Next?   

As Kevin Kline's character said in The Big Chill:  "There is no other music."

Russ
----- Original Message -----
From: neufsaid at juno.com
Sent: Saturday, July 28, 2007 1:16 AM
To: otclassof1973 at devel2.njit.edu
Subject: [Otclassof1973] TAKE ME HOME COUNTRY ROADS

I've been thinking about the summer of 1971, mostly because the local  
oldies station, KFRC here in San Francisco, returned to it's oldies  
format, and they just finished playing Delaney & Bonnie and  
Friends, "Only You Know and I Know" and now Carole King is  
lamenting "So Far Away."  

How can I help but be reminded of my very first summer on the sandy  
beaches of Raspberry Park?  Back when Aretha Franklin sang about the  
blacktop in "Spanish Harlem" as my sister and I spread our blankets on  
the beach a few blocks to the left of Convulsion Hall, the side closer  
to Big Deal and as far as possible from Ocean Grave.  We'd do a quick  
two-step across the hot sand while Tommy Roe sang "Stagger Lee,"  
and Richie Havens crooned "Here Comes the Sun" and then we'd tan to  
the Rolling Stones' "Brown Sugar."   

The DJs at WABC played War's "All Day Music" and every 20 minutes  
alerted us with their Sun-Tan-Turnover-Time, so we wouldn't get
burned.  THAT was one helpful PSA, 'cause as Jerry Reed said, "When  
You're Hot, You're Hot."

Before moving to Monmouth County, I lived in Elizabeth, up in  
Union County (Elizabeth was the first state capital of New Jersey -  
this'll all be on the test) so my first summer in Ocean Twp wasn't  
until 1971, the year Marvin Gaye asked "What's Going On?" and The  
Undisputed Truth warned "Smiling Faces Sometimes. . ."   

Well they do.  Can you dig it?

Sure, I'd been to other beaches: Atlantic City, Wildwood, Coney  
Island, Palisades Park, Miami (so young, so worldly).  I'm sure  
the purists among us will scoff and say that Coney Island and  
Palisades Park weren't true beach experiences, and to that I can only  
offer Lee Michaels' song, "Can I Get a Witness?"  But it was 1971 and  
while Tommy James was "Draggin' the Line," and the Temptations assured  
us it was "Just My Imagination," James Brown extolled the virtues  
of "Hot Pants."  That was probably when I realized (albeit  
subconsciously) that bikinis were little more than waterproof  
lingerie, but I was getting high on the scent of Coppertone while John  
Lennon was telling us to "Imagine" and the Stampeders were singing  
about a "Sweet City Woman."

I could sing the praises of tan lines, but I prefer to let Three Dog  
Night speak for me with "Joy to the World."   

Yes, Asbury Park will always live in my memory, the Chi-Lites might as  
well have been singing about her when they asked "Have You Seen Her?"   
Tom Jones knew "She's a Lady;" but unfortunately, today she needs  
Betty Wright's "Clean Up Woman."  

The Carpenters sang, "For All We Know," but I think this has been my  
way of giving that place and that time Three Dog Night's, "An Old  
Fashioned Love Song;" because as Michael Jackson said, "Got to Be  
There."

In the words of Marvin Gaye, "Mercy, Mercy Me."

Marvin

PS/ Hope everyone's having a great summer.  If anyone feels like  
writing, I think Diana Ross said it best, "Reach Out, I'll Be There."  

PPS/ I wonder if this would work with song titles from 1973?  "Let's  
Get It On," that was my main man, Marvin Gaye.

PPSS/ Don't make me go Barry White on you, people.  It wouldn't be  
pretty.

#9#9#9#9#9#9#9#9#9#9#9#9#9#9#9#9#9#9#9#9#9#9#9#9#9
I just want to celebrate another day of livin',  
I just want to celebrate another day of life.
Rare Earth, "I Just Want to Celebrate"   

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