American Pie: Part II

Being the youngest of three growing up I was exposed to all different kinds of music. On any given day I would hear different artists and different genres either by way of records, cassette tapes actually, played by my brother and sister to radio stations that my parents had set in their cars. And while I remember my mom listening to stations that mixed songs from various decades what still stands out in my mind is getting in my dad’s car and listening to the oldies station.

Back then, the oldies station played songs from my dad’s youth, the 50’s and early to mid 60’s, mainly consisting of Motown and early Rock 'n' Roll classics. Even when I was younger, I was never one to pay much attention to the latest hits. Only on the rare occasion would I listen to new songs or new artists which made those car rides with my father even better because I liked that kind of music and I still do to this day.

The problem these days is that the oldies station is no longer the oldies station. When I turn the dial to the same station today, I can usually only hear a couple of those songs and only if I were to be listening the entire day. They are dominated by music from the late 60’s and 70’s (and now even the 80’s). Livin’ On A Prayer (Bon Jovi) is NOT an oldie but it was played on the local oldies station this morning.

What happened to Buddy Holly and Bill Haley? How can we expect this generation to appreciate some of the classics from the beginning of the Rock 'n' Roll era? Have you heard some of the stuff that is playing on the radio these days? This generation needs to hear more than just the occasional song by Elvis Presley or The Supremes song. They need to hear what I heard growing up. They need to have access to an oldies station not a retro remix.

I’m sure that someone will comment that you can find an oldies station on Serius. The issue I have with that is that I don’t want to have to pay in order to listen to the radio. I just want a simple oldies station to stay true to its title and play oldies.

Of course, maybe it is simply a sign of getting older when the oldies are no longer oldies and the songs of your youth begin filtering through the airwaves. To heck with that! Not everything needs to be changed. Bring back the oldies station and come up with something else to fill in the middle.