1 Guys and Dolls
Before I get completely swept away and tunnel into more rock and roll music, I must mention two other kinds of music that I really did love: show music and classical.
My mother had albums from several shows: South Pacific, Guys and Dolls, and Three- penny Opera. There were others but I can’t remember them now. She played these albums over and over until I knew every word from South Pacific and Guys and Dolls. Threepenny Opera didn’t excite my interest, for some reason.
I would lay flat on our living room floor and play these albums just like my mother did, over and over, and read the liner notes on the album covers. You can actually learn a lot just by doing that.
I actually did learn a lot about life and living from listing to Guys and Dolls. Don’t forget how young I was–maybe about seven or eight. My mind was like a new sponge, especially when it came to music; I was just starting the piano then. So what did learn? There was a place called “Salvation Army” with people who walked around, preaching about God, and asking for money. This was in NYC. Then there were these sharp, cool, card-playing, heavy drinkers who hung out together and had fun.
The story is about what happens when these two groups clash.
What romantic music, about love and living! Also about sadness and the fear of being alone. On top of that there was plenty of humor. After listening to these songs an infinite number of times, I can still remember the characters, the words to all the songs, and who played who in the Broadway production.
The more I write, the more I love my mother. In those early childhood days it was a happy home on a short but busy street, like a beehive of people doing what they should. I just think it’s nice that my mother let me lay on the living room floor and listen to her records, over and over.
lgmwriting 