Sharing My Music Journey

During April, I’m participating in the writing prompts challenge from WordPress.com. Want to participate? Find the prompts here. It’s fun to stop and think back of my music journey as part of the prompt for today.

The Childhood Years

Growing up in St. Lucia in the 80s, the most popular music was reggae, soca, calypso, cadasse, zouk and old school country and western. We also listened to R&B and Pop. There was a party at the local community centre/rumshop every weekend and the music was loud. We lived less than 500m from the centre so learning to fall asleep and stay asleep despite noise thrumming all night long was necessary for self-preservation. Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers were very popular on the island.

The song that stands out to me from that time is Dollar Wine. At one of the last parties I went to before moving to Canada, all the children danced in a circle. Looking back now, that song is straight soca. (I needed a reminder of the difference between soca and calypso to establish this.)

The Teenage Years

I moved to Canada at the age of twelve and discovered albums. For years, Saturday morning was cleaning time, and my cousin and I would make it fun by blasting music throughout the house. Our favourites were The Drifters (Up on the Roof), Billy Ocean (Loverboy), and Tina Turner. Years later, I would get down on my knees and plead with my sisters not to go but to stay in my arms at random moments. We would both get a kick out of it …

My favorite songs during high school were Piece of Clay by Marvin Gaye and I Can’t Stand The Rain by Tina Turner.

During my brief clubbing phase, I enjoyed dancing to zouk, dancehall, soca, RnB, pop, reggae, Hip Hop, etc.

The Adult Years

You can find several of my favourite songs over the years here. I’ve left out Living My Life Like It’s Golden as I’ve shared previously.

Now, most of my dancing is during Zumba classes or if I’m messing around with my sisters. My friends joke that if I’ve heard of a singer, they’re probably dead. That’s an exaggeration but it is true that I am old school. Nowadays, the words of a song are as important to me as their rhythm. I listen to the music playlists of my little sisters in Spotify to catch up on what’s new, That usually means a fair amount of skipping.

To end, I’ve had a lot of fun listening to this song with various friends. I remember a lot of laughing.

It may not seem that way but I do know some recent music. I just haven’t created strong enough connections with any of them so they are not top of mind. Feel free to recommend a song you think I might like to add to my music journey. 😀

Featured Image Credit: Mink Mingle