The Sport of Classics

admin · Post by **admin** » Wed Jul 12, 2006 4:22 am

We have had many discussions of just what makes a classic song on Clough's Classics.

A topic that we have not explored directly, however, is the mechanism by which a classic is passed down from one generation to the next. After all, it seems fair to argue that one measure of a successful composition is whether it bridges the gap from one generation to the next.

Radio play and commercial promotions certainly have a role to play in popularizing a particular song. A hit movie and recent life event of signficant proportion has rekindled many a song that was forgotten with the passage of time.

One of the most moving and interesting experiences for me has been observing how group singing has etched songs into the memory of younger populations. Singing of "war songs" is a good example of this for the baby boomers. To this day, I am still unsure of how I know so many songs from Wold War II, having missed this historic event altogether. Regardless of my claims that I did not like the music of my parents, I know the melodies and words almost as well as they do.

In my lifetime, I was taken by the emotions displayed in football matches captured on video at the Kop. Tens of thousands of football enthusiasts sang songs of the Beatles in unison while encouraging their tems. This was a moving experience that sent shivers up my spine. I cannot begin to imagine its impact on the players and fans.

So how is it that classics bridge the generation gap? While the media has a considerable role, it would also seem that the singing of songs, such as those at the Kop, have shared positive experiences with generations together. This experience, I would argue is less prevalent today that it was several decades ago.

Will classics of today be less enduring as a result? As always, I am most interested in your comments.

sowhat · Post by **sowhat** » Wed Jul 12, 2006 4:48 am

I'd suggest - or, more precisely, so it was for me and then Mousie almost 19 years later - it might be a kind of a "pass it around" game. Young kid listens to what his/her parents like, and remembers the songs "from childhood days" (there are 3 generations of Searchers' fans in our family, btw

). Or he/she remembers the songs his parents & their friends were singing at home "parties", lullabies or whatever Mom was singing to calm her baby, etc. He/she may "re-discover" them later, as a teenager or twentysomething.
Just one of many possible ways.

beatlefreak · Post by **beatlefreak** » Wed Jul 12, 2006 5:09 am

Our children obviously hear the songs that we play. Whether they "get into them" or not, at some level, the music gets into them. Memorable riffs, lyrics, melodies and hooks in songs get passed along that way - Just as our parents' music was to us

admin · Post by **admin** » Wed Jul 12, 2006 5:52 am

Agreed Sheena and Kris. I am wondering, however, if the public impact of 28,000 singing "You'll Never Walk Along" or "She Loves You" may have a different outcome than the one-to-one experience at home.

It is hard to imagine viewing this event without being moved.

beatlefreak · Post by **beatlefreak** » Wed Jul 12, 2006 7:11 am

I had a similar experience while in England in 1999. I was in Liverpool, and of course went down to Mathew Street to see the Cavern Club. I stopped into a bar across the street from the Cavern (I don't remember the name of the place). They had a DJ spinning records, which consisted of both old and newer rock, but heavy on sixties British Invasion. Every other song they played was a Beatles song - Not just the hits, but more obscure stuff too (Is there such a thing as an obscure Beatles song?)

What struck me was that most of the people there (and at 45, I was by far the oldest) were dancing to every Beatles song - and 99% of the people were SINGING every Beatles song!

It was chilling, but uplifting at the same time.

jingle_jangle · Post by **jingle_jangle** » Wed Jul 12, 2006 8:33 am

In my city in Brasil (Natal, RN), population about 1 1/2 million, they are Beatle-crazy. There is an FM radio station that plays an all-Beatles show every Sunday morning (I'm due to be interviewed re: Rickenbacker and the Beatles next time I go back), and one night a week a bar near my house features Beatles songs to dance to, and also spins some odd covers of Beatles songs.

A few years back I heard a Beatles revival band at a shopping mall. They were technically right on, although it was Fenders rather than Ricks.

They're not Anglophiles there, oddly. They're vintage Americanophiles. What we loved, they love...

sowhat · Post by **sowhat** » Wed Jul 12, 2006 10:03 am

Well, i'm speaking from the perspective of a "youngster", and mind that i live in the country where the main language is not English (moreover, it's much different from English), but here's a couple of cents.
Speaking of the Beatles - i would describe that phenomenon as "it's something in our blood". I don't remember if i told that story before, but here it goes: way back in the 80s (cannot remember the exact year), my friend & i found an old vinyl disc with 4 songs - performer's name not mentioned & all the titles in Russian, one of them was written as "Madonna" - there was a hit by a local artist titled "Madonna" at the same time, so we thought it was him but put a needle on it anyway, and - whoopee! what we heard wasn't a sappy love song, it was rock-n-roll! ("I don't care too! much for money - money can't buy me love!). I've said immediately, "Hey, that's the Beatles", albeit my Dad never was a big Beatles fan & i might have never heard them before that moment! The other songs were - "Lady Madonna" (of course), "Maxwell's silver hammer" (entitled "Silver hammers"), the fourth i cannot remember off the top of my head.
Now, that might have been a coincidence, i understand - it might have been another band if i wasn't so lucky, but still.

winston · Post by **winston** » Wed Jul 12, 2006 5:04 pm

You'll Never Walk Alone is an anthem now. It is no longer a song. A song transforms into an anthem when it is adopted as a rally point.

How does that happen? It has to resonate in the psyche. It has to become a part of who you are and it has to invoke strong almost passionate feelings.

admin · Post by **admin** » Thu Jul 13, 2006 3:15 am

A great observation Brian. I would further add that it is seeing the extent to which others are moved in the same context that sets the stage for a song to reach anthem status.

Very often the song becomes a coping mechanism for facing adversity or overcoming a challenge. "You'll Never Walk Alone" is a prime example of this. There are many other examples and "Imagine" is another composition that springs to mind.

The context can even take a mediocre composition and elevate its status and I consider that "We Gotta Get Out Of this Place" fits this example.

Liverpool's history of overcoming numerous obstacles has led to a reliance on the community at large perhaps moreso than other communities who were challenged to a lesser degree. It is no accident that so many innovative ideas sprung forth from this Port City, the Beatles being just one of them. A fascinating subject area for me.