I started listening to music on AM radio when I was a little boy, and began collecting records in the mid-1960s. The first LP record I recall buying was Mr. Tambourine Man by The Byrds in summer 1965.
I still consider 1964-1976 the Golden Age of Popular Music, and much of my collection is made up of music recorded during that fertile period. I keep telling myself that someday, I'll write a long article on my home blog, Hot Water Sandwich, about my love affair with music in general and record collecting in particular. I consider 1964 the onset of the Golden Age since that's when the Beatles and the British Invasion really became popular in the United States, and 1976 was the year before disco, punk rock and new wave became dominant forms.
During The Golden Age (1964-76), one of my favorite musical genres was the one broadly referred to then as soul music, which actually encompassed several styles. We had the Motown sound, the Philadelphia sound, the Memphis sound, etc. Someone buying soul music in those days owned records on the Atlantic and Stax labels, and was seeing the names Jerry Wexler and Isaac Hayes regularly.
Jerry Wexler was most famous as a producer at Atlantic, and was responsible for some outstanding records by Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, and other roster artists. Isaac Hayes was a renaissance man of sorts, writing and performing, even acting later on. To this day, "Theme from Shaft" is one of my favorite songs, and Hot Buttered Soul one of my favorite albums.
Wexler and Hayes both passed away recently, and The Golden Age of Popular Music continues to move gradually toward becoming a distant memory.
I still consider 1964-1976 the Golden Age of Popular Music, and much of my collection is made up of music recorded during that fertile period. I keep telling myself that someday, I'll write a long article on my home blog, Hot Water Sandwich, about my love affair with music in general and record collecting in particular. I consider 1964 the onset of the Golden Age since that's when the Beatles and the British Invasion really became popular in the United States, and 1976 was the year before disco, punk rock and new wave became dominant forms.
During The Golden Age (1964-76), one of my favorite musical genres was the one broadly referred to then as soul music, which actually encompassed several styles. We had the Motown sound, the Philadelphia sound, the Memphis sound, etc. Someone buying soul music in those days owned records on the Atlantic and Stax labels, and was seeing the names Jerry Wexler and Isaac Hayes regularly.
Jerry Wexler was most famous as a producer at Atlantic, and was responsible for some outstanding records by Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, and other roster artists. Isaac Hayes was a renaissance man of sorts, writing and performing, even acting later on. To this day, "Theme from Shaft" is one of my favorite songs, and Hot Buttered Soul one of my favorite albums.
Wexler and Hayes both passed away recently, and The Golden Age of Popular Music continues to move gradually toward becoming a distant memory.
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