Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Feeling the Beat – Is it Getting Fainter?



Classic, Oldies Rock & Roll take hits as stations disappear from your radio dial and we lose key pioneer artists. (Rushed? Skip the diatribe to scroll below for lists of terrestrial and Internet Oldies and Classic Rock radio!)

I vividly remember when The Beatles essentially took over the Earth without firing a shot. Do you? We chanted, “Long live Rock & Roll!” and “It’s gotta be Rock & Roll music if ya wanna dance with me!”! 1964 was pure magic in music.

Well, it may not die, but it’s definitely headed for an old folks’ home …

In the early Sixties one or two radio stations persisted in a Big Band format to placate the “old folks.”  I listened to my dance instructor mother, Florence, lament the loss of variety to enjoy strains of Swing and Strings.

We teens cared not. The powerhouse stations picked up on the popular wave of Rock & Roll and the world would never be the same.

Our once youthful exuberance and lack of fear is no match for Father Time, though. Rock & Roll, however mighty, is apparently not invincible.

At the time, my offhand attitude about the trend irritated and frustrated my mother. “Really, mom, no one listens to that anymore!” No one – meaning no one my age.