1st song you remember???

Richie Valens's "Donna" is the one that comes to mind, though I'm sure I heard any number of Gene Autry songs before that. Of course, it might have been "Las Mañanitas," but not as a recording.

Judit, "Jesus Loves Me" has got to be the answer for a lot of people.

Paul

I recall being infatuated with Chim-Chimeny-Cheroo (or whatever it's called) from Mary Poppins in pre-school.

I also recall being very excited as a child when "Margaritaville" came on the radio in my parents' car.

First memory at home:
The sound track to How the West was Won with Debbie Renyolds. My dad would play it every Sunday after church. I especially liked "When Johnny Comes Marching Home"

First memory from radio/school:
Beatles-I Wanna Hold Your Hand, or was it She Loves You?

First 45 I bought with my own money:
Indian Reservation-Paul Revere and the Raiders

Paul

I'll also tell the story about the first concert I remember. I grew up (and still live) in the DC area, so we are graced every summer by the Smithsonian Institution's Folklife Festival held on the Mall, in between the Capitol building and the Washington Monument. At just a little older than I was in the Beatles'n'headphones story above, around 4 years old, my folks took me to it for the first time.

Now the crowds can get pretty large down there for some of the musical performances, and there were no seating pavilions installed back then, so everybody stood, and a little guy had a hard time seeing much beyond a forest of legs. The performer we heard that day at my first live show turned out to be none other than the great Pete Seeger with his banjo. I don't think I really knew any of his songs, but I knew his name, maybe from Sesame Street or something, and knew he was some kind of a big deal and that everybody liked him (or so I thought).

Even more than the music, I'll never forget the musical element my eyes were opened to during the show. Not being able to see the stage except for the occasional glimpse, I looked at what I could see: people's feet. And I noticed something weird about what they were doing, but I couldn't figure it out. So I tugged on my father's trouser leg, and when he bent over to hear me, I asked:

"Daddy, why is everbody moving their feet?"

"They're tapping their toes" was his reply.

Of course, that only prompted me to return with, "Why are they tapping their toes?" I hadn't even known what the word 'tapping' was.

"Because they're keeping the beat" he explained.

You know what came next: "What's the beat, Daddy?"

So he told me that if I listened very carefully to the music, and watched the peoples' feet, I would find the beat, and then I could tap my toes to it too. He showed me by clapping his hands in time with the music and tapping his toes. I concentrated real hard on the music, and watched the people, and the next thing you know, I was tapping my toes to the rhythm!

And that's how a legendary folk performer and a bad view taught me about the beat for the first time.

My First Concert:

1st Rock Concert:Cream at Madison Square Garden.
First rock concert at the Garden after it was built. 1969. Cream played on a revolving stage in the middle of the floor. The PA was also on the stage. Everytime the stage revolved around to the opposite side of the Garden, you couldn't hear the band. I had to leave at 10:30 to make the LIRR train home for curfew so missed the last part of the show!. Had a fabulous dinner at Tad's Steaks with my friends ($1.99 for a nice peice of horse meat).