Were your parents into rock music?

[Deleted member 5962]

My parents were very involved in music as, I’ve told many times before, but not into rock and roll at all. Mom was a classical pianist and dad played several instruments but mainly sang. He listened to people like Andy Williams and things like that.

They never stopped me from listening to rock and roll, but I did have a Black Sabbath album confiscated due to the album art. Sabbath Bloody Sabbath is one of the greatest albums ever, but that front cover is a little much for a Baptist preacher’s daughters home. LOL.

Their appreciation rock was mainly limited to just a couple things. As (again) I’ve told before, my mom really liked Bohemian Rhapsody. And the first time she heard ELP she came in my room to ask who the piano player was, and later told my dad that she had never heard anyone play like that. And she meant that in an extremely complimentary way. After her telling dad about it, he heard some and agreed.

Dad heard plenty of rock and really didn’t like any of it. He was always quick to point out less than great singers. He REALLY didn’t like Rush! LOL. But, after her heard me play Eruption on my new Ibanez they bought me for graduation, he not only said it was great, he asked me who it was, how I learned to play it, and even asked me to play it again several times for other people when we had company. When I played the original for him, he said “that guy is really good!” Yeah Dad, he was. He too had never heard or seen anyone play like that. When I did the tapping part I saw him start watching closely to see what I was doing, and he was really impressed. When he asked how I learned it, I told him that I learned all those songs just by ear… but that tapping part I couldn’t figure out til I saw Eddie play it on TV. He was impressed that I could see it once and figure it out, but I told him it was seeing the technique that opened the door, and the notes were easily figured out after that. But he was impressed by Eddie, enough to remember his name. LOL.

 

[Alan Manning]

There was always music playing when I was a kid. My father had a great voice and loved to sing,
he knew everything from Buddy Holly to Johnny Kid & the Pirates all the crooners and the Beatles among many more.
My Mother was a very good dancer as a youngster & was heavily into Mowtown. It was a fight who got to the record player first.
I had 2 LPs confisgated in one day ( not bad eh) First was Bowies Alladinsane ( They didn't appreciate Time) The second was Alice Coopers Billion Dollar Babies. ( I love the dead wen't down like a lead balloon).
We did appreciate each others tastes to a large extent. They bought me a drum set when I was 13 (Bad move).
When I bought an acoustic I think they were relieved but a couple of months later I got an electric with a nice amp turned up to 11.
Happy days when your a kid!!!

 

[Alnus Rubra]

Dad always had the radio on when I was a kid, I remember Free, Bowie, Elton etc. playing.

Mum (75) and Dad (80) are both musical.

At the moment they play in a band together with friends. Dad on guitar and Mum on bass. They play Jazz standards.

Dad was in a professional band in the 60’s touring the UK and mostly playing in London.

He was the reason I learnt to play trumpet. This was a jazz band he played in (circa ‘62)



In the early 70’s they were into folk and popular music. They loved Joan Baez, Bob Dylan etc.



(They still have those guitars)

In the 80’s I played in a jazz band with them and friends. My avatar features the Baritone Sax my Mum played at that time.



Into the 90’s, I played in a band for some time and used both trumpet, guitar and vocals.



So the answer is yes if you include Beatles, Seals & Crofts etc. But the vinyl collection also included Debussy, Holst and “Sound of Music”.

 

[Moondog Wily]

I did not know rocks played music, I will have to look into that! Almost sounds like a Monty Python skit (rocks clanging together to mimick the sound of horses, or was the coconuts)!! Thanks for sharing!!!

 

[Dirty_Boogie]

Yes. Two things that stick out in my mind from when I was a kid…

The first time I ever saw my Dad cry was when Elvis died. I was 8.

My Dad had the Beatles Live at the Hollywood Bowl album. 40 minutes of fans screaming. Played it a lot.

Between those two things, I figured rock ‘n roll was pretty powerful stuff, and my Dad was pretty cool for liking it so much. He was also a huge jazz fan. As I got older and discovered my own music, he was (mostly) always into it as well - SRV, The Police, Dire Straits, etc. It’s when I came home with Iron Maiden’s Killers that he started to wonder where he and my Mom went wrong with me. (just kidding… he even tolerated that)

 

[Dirty_Boogie]

Dad always had the radio on when I was a kid, I remember Free, Bowie, Elton etc. playing.

Mum (75) and Dad (80) are both musical.

At the moment they play in a band together with friends. Dad on guitar and Mum on bass. They play Jazz standards.

Dad was in a professional band in the 60’s touring the UK and mostly playing in London.

He was the reason I learnt to play trumpet. This was a jazz band he played in (circa ‘62)



In the early 70’s they were into folk and popular music. They loved Joan Baez, Bob Dylan etc.



(They still have those guitars)

In the 80’s I played in a jazz band with them and friends. My avatar features the Baritone Sax my Mum played at that time.



Into the 90’s, I played in a band for some time and used both trumpet, guitar and vocals.



So the answer is yes if you include Beatles, Seals & Crofts etc. But the vinyl collection also included Debussy, Holst and “Sound of Music”.

Absolutely love this, and thanks for sharing the pics.

 

[WEDGE]

My dad was not a rock guy, at least nothing past Elvis or maybe Santana. He played flamenco guitar and was not into the stuff I listened to. Eddie VH was my was of bringing him up to speed when I played Spanish Fly for him which he loved, and I enjoyed the look on his face when I told him it was Van Halen.

 

[bodia]

Dad always had the radio on when I was a kid, I remember Free, Bowie, Elton etc. playing.

Mum (75) and Dad (80) are both musical.

At the moment they play in a band together with friends. Dad on guitar and Mum on bass. They play Jazz standards.

Dad was in a professional band in the 60’s touring the UK and mostly playing in London.

He was the reason I learnt to play trumpet. This was a jazz band he played in (circa ‘62)



In the early 70’s they were into folk and popular music. They loved Joan Baez, Bob Dylan etc.



(They still have those guitars)

In the 80’s I played in a jazz band with them and friends. My avatar features the Baritone Sax my Mum played at that time.



Into the 90’s, I played in a band for some time and used both trumpet, guitar and vocals.



So the answer is yes if you include Beatles, Seals & Crofts etc. But the vinyl collection also included Debussy, Holst and “Sound of Music”.

Great share!

 

[Alnus Rubra]

Great share!

Thanks bro.

 

[Mike Duncan]

I come from a mixed marriage...

Mom liked The Beatles, and father likedThe Rolling Stones.

My Mom had really great musical taste, and went to most of the live concerts...The Beatles, Eric Clapton, The Eagles, etc...

 

[Tom Bradovich]

Can't say they really liked rock music, probably tolerated some of it would be more accurate. They listened to show tunes, big band, Sinatra, Dean Martin and of course polka and tamburitza music. Either the radio or stereo would be playing during the day. They were OK with the Beatles (older stuff, not the later) and early Stones, but didn't like the harder stuff. I remember late one afternoon they came home from shopping and I had In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida blasting out - it was right in the middle of the drum solo - and Dad comes over yelling "Turn off that GD jungle music!" and yanked the tone arm. Maybe they'd been arguing Later on when I was in high school, some buddies and I formed a band and I have to say Mom and Dad were actually supportive. When we played in town, they'd take my little brother and sister downtown, get some ice cream from Shultz's and park outside the Canteen to listen to us play.

 

[ScottR]

Dad always had the radio on when I was a kid, I remember Free, Bowie, Elton etc. playing.

Mum (75) and Dad (80) are both musical.

At the moment they play in a band together with friends. Dad on guitar and Mum on bass. They play Jazz standards.

Dad was in a professional band in the 60’s touring the UK and mostly playing in London.

He was the reason I learnt to play trumpet. This was a jazz band he played in (circa ‘62)



In the early 70’s they were into folk and popular music. They loved Joan Baez, Bob Dylan etc.



(They still have those guitars)

In the 80’s I played in a jazz band with them and friends. My avatar features the Baritone Sax my Mum played at that time.



Into the 90’s, I played in a band for some time and used both trumpet, guitar and vocals.



So the answer is yes if you include Beatles, Seals & Crofts etc. But the vinyl collection also included Debussy, Holst and “Sound of Music”.

DUDE!!! This is awesome! What a cool legacy!

 

[Tucson Thump]

I know some of you here (maybe most!) are much younger than me. So I'm sure for some of you the answer is a big yes.

I was 10 when the Beatles first appeared on Ed Sullivan in 1964. Dad was 39 and mom was 36. They recognized right away the Beatles were very different but they really didn't care for their music at the time. In later years they came to appreciate their music from the laid back instrumental orchestral records they listened to. Fact is mom once said "you can always tell when it's a Beatles song."

I remember playing "Tommy" by the Who when it first came out. My mom was sitting in the living room with me and she really liked the Overture and the next song 21 a lot. I remember that very well.

By and large they really didn't care for rock at all, but surprisingly my dad really liked a few things by the Doors. I think it's because dad used to play the piano, so things like "The Chrystal Ship" and "Whiskey Bar" and "People Are Strange" were a few he liked.

So for the most part, mom and dad enjoyed just a few snippets here and there with rock music but it really wan't their thing.

My Dad was into Tijuana Brass and Eddy Arnold. My Mom was 13 years younger and into Roy Orbison and Perry Como, but then Jethro Tull and the Beatles. However when they were in their later years and traveling around the US my Dad would always ask Mom to "put the Peppers on".

 

[Mike J.]

My Dad was into Tijuana Brass and Eddy Arnold. My Mom was 13 years younger and into Roy Orbison and Perry Como, but then Jethro Tull and the Beatles. However when they were in their later years and traveling around the US my Dad would always ask Mom to "put the Peppers on".

Oh my gosh! I forgot about the Tijuana Brass! My folks loved them and had their albums.

 

[rb1]

My parents had a small and lackluster album collection. They were more into late 50's/early 60's pop music than rock. Stuff like the Kingston Trio. I do recall my dad was really into Jim Croce. [Edit to add: almost forgot. They were Neil Diamond fans. And they had some old light country stuff like Roger Miller]. They had exactly one Beatles record (the first album US release, Meet the Beatles) and one Jimi Hendrix record (Are You Experienced. They weren't) which they never played, so I took them. I'm sure my musical tastes were more developed by whatever was on the radio in the 70's and 80's.

My dad's younger brothers were full on hippies though. My uncle used to play all kinds of cool 60's and 70's rock and gave me a bunch of good records back in the day.

 

[Alnus Rubra]

I had a really interesting conversation with my Dad today.

We were out having coffee with a friend who asked about his bands appearance in a film back in the late 60’s. Dad had written some music for the film, for which he still receives EMI royalties.

Dad started telling us about gigging all over the UK and his experiences of recording in London.

On one occasion his band went into the studio as Eric Clapton was leaving.

They would quite often be on the same circuit as The Animals, Zoot Money etc.

 

[Texas_minor_blues]

Not even a little.
They were into classical music. They were less than amused when I told them I wanted to learn how to play guitar. I was instantly black sheeped when they found a tape of Living Colour's vivid in my room. My older siblings did much better at hiding their music, lol.

 

[László]

This thread makes me feel really, truly old. Aw hell, there's a reason for that!

My parents were born in 1916 and 1924. They're no longer around. My mother died just about one year ago at 97. A good, long life. My father died fairly young at 70 in 1986.

I miss them. But considering the music they came of age with, no wonder they didn't understand rock!

My dad thought the greatest car ever was a Stutz Bearcat! A brand that stopped being made in 1935.

However, they were both good piano players and did the Standards of their day quite well. My mother did musical theater and majored in it in college. Maybe they genetically provided some talent. We'll never know for sure.

It's probably not a coincidence that I left the practice of law and got into music within a couple of years of my father's death. He thought a music career would be a pretty stupid choice. If I had a psychiatrist, that'd be something interesting to discuss. What say you, Dr. Freud?

"Turn off the damn Ouija board, I'm trying to sleep. Call me in the morning."

"Sheesh!"

"By the way, your father was right!"

 

[Tom Bradovich]

My dad thought the greatest car ever was a Stutz Bearcat! A brand that stopped being made in 1935.

A car so cool that Lou Reed gave it a nod in "Sweet Jane"

Ridin' in a Stutz Bearcat, Jim
You know those were different times
All the poets studied rows of verse
And those ladies, they rolled their eyes

 

[Tom Bradovich]

They had exactly one Beatles record (the first album US release, Meet the Beatles) and one Jimi Hendrix record (Are You Experienced.

I wonder how or why they were in possession of the Hendrix album? Did you ever ask them why they bought it? Or, was it a gift? My folks were OK with the Beatles, but like a significant portion of the American public, could not stand Hendrix. He was a polarizing figure, which is too bad since he was such an innovator. Perfectly paired with Eddie Kramer who helped put down on tape what Hendrix heard in his head.