Fall Into the Music

For me, autumn is the loveliest time of the year in Kentucky with the bold palette of green, gold, yellow, red and brown leaves on too-soon-to-be bare trees dominating the landscape before the cold winds sweep in from the North.

The fall season also brings to mind some music I've listened to through the years. Most of the songs are rather melancholy, perhaps because the season represents to many as a time to let go, as in the falling leaves. 

Here are some of my favorite songs for the season:

Justin Hayward, the lead singer of the legendary Moody Blues, recorded my fall favorite, "Forever Autumn." Some believe it's a Moodies' song, but actually it was from Jeff Wayne's musical, "War of the Worlds," from the late '70s. 

The first verse sets the tone for the song:

"The summer sun is fading as the year grows old

And darker days are drawing near

The winter winds will be much colder

Now that you're not here."

Frank Sinatra sang about autumn in Ervin Drake's unforgettable "It Was a Very Good Year," a No. 1 song on Billboard's Easy Listening charts for Ol' Blue Eyes  in 1965

"But now the days are short, I'm in the autumn of my years

And I think of my life as vintage wine

From fine old kegs

From the brim to the dregs

It poured sweet and clear

It was a very good year."

Another memorable tune is Bobby Goldsboro's "Blue Autumn," written by Andrea, Caroline, Sharon and James Corr, from the '60s.

Again, the opening verse sets the tone for this song of lost love:

"Blue autumn

Falling leaves of red and gold

Pretty colors, I am told

But I see only shades of blue

Because I'm losing you."

Goldsboro also recorded, "Autumn of My Life," another break-up song, a hit from 1968:

"But in the autumn of my years I noticed the tears

And I knew that our life was in the past

Though I tried to pretend, I knew it was the end

For the autumn of my life had come at last."

But not all autumn songs are sad. 

Singer-songwriter Neil Young sang about being in love with a special lady in his "Harvest Moon."

"Because I'm still in love with you

I want to see you dance again

Because I'm still in love with you

On this harvest moon."

And the great Van Morrison with his timeless, "fantabulous" song  "Moondance" that speaks of love and romance:

"Well, it's a marvelous night for a moondance

With the stars up above in your eyes

A fantabulous night to make romance

'Neath the cover of October skies

And the leaves on the trees are falling

To the sound of the breezes that blow

And I'm trying to please to the calling

Of your heart-strings that play soft and low."

Do you have any favorite songs of autumn?

Until the next time...

Radio Woes

I was listening to the radio tonight while preparing dinner. For those who read my blog, they know I love music. 

Something that has bothered me for a long time is the lack of information about music played on radio. What I mean  is that the disc jockeys, or whomever plays the music, very seldom mentions the artist, or at least, the name of the song.

I heard several songs that I thought were very good, perhaps prompting me to purchase the music. But it's kinda hard to do that when you don't know who recorded the song. 

I think those folks believe that listeners simply know by osmosis. Yes, there were a few artists I knew such as REM and Hootie and the Blowfish.

I heard something by Lady Gaga, and liked it, and fortunately the disc jockey mentioned her name, but not the title of the song. 

I wonder if record sales would increase if radios would let their listeners know who made the music? Somehow, I believe it would help. 

I grew up in an era when it was customary for the jocks to mention the artist and the title, and in such a way you wouldn't forget. Even songs by the Beatles. 

Until the next time...