40 years ago this month, while walking home with his wife to see their little boy, John Lennon was shot and killed in New York City. (October 9, 2020 would have marked Lennon’s 80th birthday). Like the other members of the Fab Four, Lennon’s ‘70s solo career was overshadowed by the Beatles’ musical legacy and, at the time of his murder, a new generation of artists- including punk and new wave (some of which Lennon reportedly liked)- were taking over the charts. While the new wave and its fans had little use for their parents’ Beatlemania, for kids like me it was AM radio that introduced us to the sounds of “older” artists like the Beatles, the Mamas and the Papas, Simon & Garfunkel, and even Frank Sinatra.
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| John Lennon |
Driving home with mom from some Long Island strip mall on a dreary Sunday afternoon and listening to AM radio, a song by the Beatles, the Mamas and the Papas, Simon and Garfunkel, or John Lennon might suddenly come on like a ray of sunlight shining down from heaven to make everyone feel alright. Not merely oldies, AM pop (which runs roughly from the birth of the Beatles to Lennon’s death) has a distinct sound and feel and includes music that a majority of Americans at the time agreed was the best pop music humanity had to offer up to that point. There was little debate and quite a bit of comfort in knowing that when you turned on a scratchy AM station- at least in New York- you were going to hear the soundtrack to your life- or, in my case, the lives of my parents. Here are some of my faves. Enjoy!
01. Frank Sinatra – “I Would Be in Love (Anyway)” (1970)
02. The Mamas and the Papas – “Go Where You Wanna Go” (1966)
03. Simon & Garfunkel – “Mrs. Robinson” (1968)
04. Frank Sinatra – “Mrs. Robinson” (1969)
05. The Beatles – “Nowhere Man” (1965)
06. The Searchers – “Needles and Pins” (1964)
07. Don McLean – “Till Tomorrow” (1971)
08. John Lennon – “Imagine” (1971)
09. Carpenters – “Rainy Days and Mondays” (1971)
10. Don McLean – “American Pie” (1971)
11. Sly & the Family Stone – “Everyday People” (1968)
12. Simon & Garfunkel – “At the Zoo” (1968)
13. John Lennon – “Instant Karma! (We All Shine On) (2020 Remix)” (1970)
14. Paul Williams – “An Old Fashioned Love Song” (1971)
15. Paul Simon – “Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard” (1972)
16. Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass – “This Guy’s in Love with You” (1968)
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| Paul McCartney attending the March for Our Lives in New York City in 2018 |
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