Driving home Saturday after a long day of promoting Homes for Heroes at the Indiana State Fair, (I was exhausted!) and the opening strains to “Sweet Home Alabama” came on the radio…as tired as I felt, my mouth couldn’t help turn upward and I found myself smiling and singing along.  Yes, it’s a Southern Rock Anthem and reminds me of a younger, more carefree time in my life.

It got me thinking…what music makes you smile?  My MP3 player is full of a huge variety of music…Elvis, Conway Twitty, Adele, Vonda Shepherd, Robbie Williams, Van Halen, all the 80’s hair bands, Lover Boy, Styx, Boston, Norah Jones, old country, newer country, Skynard, Marshall Tucker, 60’s Motown, 80’s Pop, 70’s Album Cher, well, you get the picture.  I’m currently obsessed with Adele, her theme for James Bonds Skyfall was fantastic!  There has been a lot of GREAT music over the years, some not so great, but still gets airtime.  What music makes you smile?

There are some favs in there that surprise my friends, I mean, if you knew me, would you guess that my favorite CD is Guns N Roses “Appetite for Destruction”?  I grew up with a Mother who is a HUGE Elvis fan (yes, I’ve been to Graceland…3 times!), but also listened to Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn, George Jones and Tammy Wynette and all the other country greats.  When I hit Junior High (that’s now called Middle School for some of you), I discovered Boston, Styx, Bob Seger, Skynard and of course the Eagles…there was also the Bee Gees and all the great music from Saturday Night Fever and a shot of the 50’s with Grease.

College brought out Prince, Morris Day and the Time as well as a myriad of other 80’s pop and at the same time, the movie “The Big Chill” provided another genre to explore.  Etta James “At Last” is one of my all time favorites.  Who else remember’s “Headbanger’s Ball” on MTV?  The 90’s and 2000’s found me exploring Tony Bennett and Frank Sinatra…yes, my musical journey has been all over the place,  but isn’t how it should be?

Music is something that evokes memories in all of us, I try to introduce my nieces to as much of it as I can, all loved Elvis for a period of their lives thanks to Mom and I introduced them to “The Monkees”, who were originally a manufactured act turned real band that featured members with distinct (albeit fictional) personality types.   There was even a love affair with the Beatles that included a tribute band concert.  What music would you share with the next generation?  I remember going to a Rick Springfield concert at Ribfest one year and was amazed at the Tween girls singing the words to all the songs…I’m sure their Mom’s were in my age bracket!

So, time for you to share…what music makes you smile?

Vicki Reed