My recent reminiscence about the summer of 1971 apparently put me into full recollection mode. I was suddenly adrift in a stream of memories, many of them (not surprisingly) musical. That’s because, while I was discovering the blues in a very deep way that summer, I was also awash in pop-radio fare. As a result, I’ll forever link many songs to that summer. But these are the real standouts:
- “In the Summertime”
- “Maggie May”
- “Reason to Believe”
- “Riders on the Storm”
- “Peace Train”
- ”Do You Know What I Mean?”
- “Draggin’ the Line”
- “Sweet City Woman”.
Since those days seem so long ago, feel so much freer and happier, and were so relatively unencumbered compared to the world of today and its myriad troubles (notwithstanding the Vietnam war and the fact that I was a year shy of potential draft eligibility), I was inspired to create this video:
Is it going to change the world? Certainly not. Is it going to take us back to a (seemingly) more peaceful time? Nope. Might it make one person feel better, at least momentarily? I hope so.
These days, especially, you have to take your respites where you can find them.
Mark, I love the Blues . Played them old blues song in many a bars across the south.
Larry, it sounds as if we had similar journeys; although, I was playing bars in the northeast.
Thank you for commenting.
Mark — A much needed tonic in these times, thank you. Cat Stevens… The Doors… I knew them well.
Thank you, Jeff. I still have much of the music from those days in my iPod. I love it as much now as I ever did.
Thank you for this, Mark. My husband is a huge Blues fan. Siegel Schwall Blues Band from Chicago, the original (Peter Green) Fleet Mac, Eric Clapton, John Lee Hooker, etc.
Darlene, I met my friend, George Stanley, in the summer of 1971. Believe it or not, he, too, was a fan of the Siegel Schwall Blues Band. I don’t think I’d heard their name since. All the rest were definitely on my list, as well.
In the mid-‘90s, I wrote reviews for a now-defunct website call NYCD Blues. I reviewed somewhere between 120 and 150 blues CDs, all of which are now parts of my collection.
I’ve never met your husband, but I like him already. 😉
Thank you for your comments.