Before I was a folkie

I liked folk music all my life, but I didn't know there was a genre called folk music until a few years after I got out of college. Before that, when someone asked me what kind of music I liked, I might try to explain that I like the songs in Rise Up Singing (or before Rise Up Singing, it was Winds of the People). I also grew up listening to and enjoying music of the 50's, 60's, and 70's. I'm not that old -- I listened to music my parents liked, and then, when I started listening to the radio on my own, the radio played songs that had been hits in the past in addition to the most current hits.

The first popular songs that I liked were "Take Me Home Country Roads" by John Denver and "Joy to the World" by Three Dog Night. Those songs were popular the year that I turned five and somehow made their way into my consciousness even though I didn't listen to the radio much when I was that age. Around that time, I also liked Spirit in Flesh, the band at my father's commune Brotherhood of the Spirit.

Growing up, thanks to my parents, I was surrounded by and came to like the music of Donovan, Joan Baez, Judy Collins, the Beatles, Simon and Garfunkel, Buddy Holly, Herman's Hermits, Roy Orbison, Gene Pitney, Elvis, Johnny Cash, Ray Stevens, Bobby Darin, Meat Loaf, and the Serendipity Singers. We also had a single of "Carolina in the Morning."

When I was in kindergarten or so, I drew a picture illustrating Donovan's song "There is a Mountain."

Before meals, my mother's parents would say a silent grace, but my parents thought us little kids would not get so much out of that, so at our house, before meals, we all held hands and sang the first few lines of the chorus of "Everything is Beautiful" by Ray Stevens.

My mother and I sang and/or played on the piano "This Land is Your Land," "Passing Through," "Last Night I Had the Strangest Dream," "Carry it On," "Both Sides Now," "Joy is Like the Rain," "The George Fox Song," "How Can I Keep From Singing," "Lord of the Dance," "The Magic Penny," "Colours," "Yellow Submarine," "Let it Be," "Hey Jude," "The 59th Street Bridge Song," "Cecilia," "The Sound of Silence," "Bridge Over Troubled Water," and "Riding in My Car." My family also sang songs with lyrics we had made up. "Yellow Cornfields" was to the tune of "Clementine" and "The Bald Bear Song" was to the tune of "On Top of Old Smoky."
When I was around 13, I started listening to the radio a lot. I liked Neil Diamond, Fleetwood Mac, Elton John, Barry Manilow, Abba, REO Speedwagon, Supertramp, Seals and Crofts, Kenny Rogers, Journey, Foreigner, and most of all, the Bee Gees. The Bee Gees new stuff (i.e. it was new when I was listening in the 80's) was completely different from their old stuff, and it was and still is considered un-cool to like their newer stuff, but I liked both. In addition to knowing their hits in their old and new styles, I enjoyed an album called Odessa which had songs I never heard on the radio, and which was in their older style (as my father put it, "before their voices changed.")

When I was a teenager, I also heard the music my brother listened to, including Dire Straits, Pink Floyd, Ozzy Osbourne, Weird Al, and AC/DC.

Below is a list of some songs I liked when I was listening to the radio as a teenager. These songs are considered un-cool, but my message to you is, I'm cool and I like these songs, so don't be ashamed if you like them too.

• "How Deep is Your Love" by the Bee Gees
• "Sweet Caroline" by Neil Diamond
• "Weekend in New England" and "Mandy" by Barry Manilow"
• "Funeral for a Friend" by Elton John
• "When I Need You" by Leo Sayer
• "Just When I Needed You Most" by Randy VanWarmer
• "If You Leave Me Now" by Chicago
• "Hooked on a Feeling" and "I Just Can't Help Believing" by B.J. Thomas
• "Summer Rain" by Johnny Rivers
• "Bridge Over Troubled Water" by Simon and Garfunkel
• "Can't Help Falling in Love" by Elvis
• "Baby I Love Your Way" by Peter Frampton
• "Torn Between Two Lovers" by Mary MacGregor
• "Kiss You All Over" by Exile
• "The Way I Want to Touch You" by Captain and Tenille
• "Go Your Own Way" by Fleetwood Mac