Three men I love turned 70 this year- Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, and my dad. We had a big party for him at my parents’ house in Connecticut. (Bob and Paul regretfully declined). Amidst the calls from my mother regarding the guest count, (the week before we were up to 60 people; the week of, it was 86), I had been telling people my dad’s big birthday number and many could hardly believe it. For one thing, I am only 28 years old and so that number seems high, but for another, he doesn’t look 70. (He certainly is in a lot better shape than Dylan, not that that’s hard to accomplish).
My dad is not the rabid fan of the aforementioned musicians that I am, but I would not have the eclectic musical taste I believe I have if it weren’t for both my dad’s genes and the influence of his musical appreciation in our house. Twice annual car rides down to North Carolina provided ample opportunity for him to impart his musical eclecticism as well, and in this case, (unlike several others), his lessons were actually heeded. The passenger seat is still my unofficial spot in the car because, as my late grandmother pointed out on one roadtrip; “Nope, I’m going to sit in the backseat, because Katie will just be reaching up the whole time to talk about the music”
So let’s talk about the music. As a 70th birthday tribute, below are a few of my dad’s more obscure favorites: The first clip, performed by Joan Baez, (also 70 this year), is a classic example of Mexican honor. Translated, the title is “Prisoner Number Nine”. It is the tale of a man who goes to confession before being executed for the murder of his unfaithful wife and his best friend: “Father, I do not repent, and I don’t fear death… I will hunt them both down in the afterlife”. We love the song both for its beautiful melody and its unusual poetic sentiment. As an adult, I am grateful that there was very little prudish musical censorship in my household, (See also: the time my dad asked me as a child if I knew the meaning of “The House of the Rising Sun”).
So let’s talk about the music. As a 70th birthday tribute, below are a few of my dad’s more obscure favorites: The first clip, performed by Joan Baez, (also 70 this year), is a classic example of Mexican honor. Translated, the title is “Prisoner Number Nine”. It is the tale of a man who goes to confession before being executed for the murder of his unfaithful wife and his best friend: “Father, I do not repent, and I don’t fear death… I will hunt them both down in the afterlife”. We love the song both for its beautiful melody and its unusual poetic sentiment. As an adult, I am grateful that there was very little prudish musical censorship in my household, (See also: the time my dad asked me as a child if I knew the meaning of “The House of the Rising Sun”).
The second clip here is the same song in an earlier rendition. This is purely to satisfy my dad’s complaint that mariachi singers in restaurants never know the complete song:
The third clip is a rendition by Jimmy Rushing and the Count Basie orchestra- “Sent for you yesterday”. This tune is in fact so obscure that I almost couldn’t find it on youtube. My dad also asked me what I thought the lyrics of this song meant as a child and I allegedly didn’t know the answer to that either. I do know that when I returned for the summer after a semester in Italy, my dad played this song on his old record player as an early morning wake up call. He said “How do you like that Kate? You know you’re home when you hear the songs you only hear at home”.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsWVsp-P_UQ
There might be something to be said as well for my dad’s generation and the influences that helped shape his musical sophistication. This article in the Times, (first sent to me in the mail by my mother), elucidates the possible cause of the many musical talents that share the age of 70 this year.
Well, what we can say is that 1941: it was a very good year.
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