Turning on the Memories with Music
“As a girl, of course, she liked Chuck Berry and Little Richard. And Elvis Presley, the King himself…But the music Erik used to blast from the boom box in his bedroom? That was noise, pure and simple (Tova from Remarkably Bright Creatures p. 266).” Truthfully, there is nothing like the music from your youth, invoking the emotions and recollections of times past. We generally are convinced that our generation has the “best” songs. The time period between our pre-teens to our early 20s is when we are forming our identity, and the music we listen to during this impressionable time connects with us in a special way as we develop into the adults we will become.
I had the fun opportunity to attend two performances this year that brought back those special feelings and helped me connect my past with music.
It all started in 1966 when I was 11. That summer, my family moved to Bartlesville, Oklahoma from Beaumont, California. For Christmas that year, I got my first ever record player. To make this Christmas even more special, my grandparents gave me a brick red box filled with records that had belonged to my uncles (my dad’s younger stepbrothers) in the 1950s and early 1960s. This became the music I listened to in my formative years.
This is the only picture I have of my father’s immediate family with his dad, Donald, his older brother, Donald Claud, his stepmother Alta Mae, and his stepbrothers, Kenneth Gerald and George Edward. My dad (Billy Dean Watkins) was born in 1930 and was 15 years old when Kenneth Gerald “Jerry” was born on May 24, 1945. George Edward “Eddie” was born on September 13, 1946. My dad left home and joined the Air Force in 1948, moving to California when he got out of the Air Force. Unfortunately, my uncle Jerry was in a horrible car accident and died on May 1, 1964.
Eddie went on to college at Oklahoma State University, married Ann Durand, and served in the army during the Vietnam War. He and Ann went on to own a sports and screenprinting store and had two sons. His sons now own the store and Eddie enjoys his many grandchildren.
My nostalgic journey in 2025 began with the Everly Brothers Experience. Jerry and Eddie must have had every record that the Everly Brothers ever recorded. I loved their music and listened to those songs over and over. Gary and I went to Myron’s at the Smith Center on May 16 (as part of our birthday celebrations) and saw the Everly Brothers Experience with the Zmed Brothers. The music brought back all those special memories of hours of listening to the Everly Brothers. Not only are the Zmed brothers great performers, they truly have the authentic sound. In addition to their performance, they shared the stories of the Everly Brothers.
My next nostalgic evening was the 56th anniversary of Elvis Presley’s first Las Vegas performance in 1969. The Westgate (in 1969 it was known as the International Hotel) decided to re-create this performance as part of Elvis Presley’s 90th birthday celebration. They charged 1969 prices, and we were thrilled to get tickets. The Elvis tribute artist, Travis Powell, did a wonderful job and we felt like we were experiencing the actual performance. Okay, some of the audience members took this to the extreme and many women ran up to the stage, swooned, and waited for a kiss the cheek. I turned to my friend and asked if these women thought he was the real Elvis.
Las Vegas had dubbed this to be “The Year of Elvis” and we had another opportunity to enjoy a connection with Elvis. In June we went to the steakhouse at Westgate for restaurant week and since we were locals, our waiter asked if we wanted to see the dining room where Elvis ate before his performances. Of course we jumped at the chance and got a couple of pictures.
Continue to enjoy the music that speaks to your soul, understand those that like music that seems totally unpleasant, and continue to find new music that you appreciate.