Life is full of coincidences but it still strikes as a little funny the way things happen sometimes. I'm thinking specifically about a couple of musical revelations I've had, although revelation might be too strong a word. These weren't instances where I slammed my forehead and said, "wow!", but rather moments that set me on the path to more complete musical appreciation. Here's the odd thing though — both occurred in the same place, thirty years apart.
In the late 1950s I was a teenager who was a little adrift in my musical likes and dislikes, but one thing I know is that I was not all that captivated by rock and roll. I was hearing it on the radio or jukeboxes and starting to listen a 
little more closely, but I still didn't see what all the fuss was about.
It was about this time a friend of mine talked me into going to a live rock and roll show that was going to be passing through our small city. It was being staged by one of the many promoters operating at that time, combining would-be rock stars into touring groups that roamed the country, performing wherever they could.
In our case, the venue was a large local movie theater that had quite a history, going back to its original days as a vaudeville-type showplace in the early part of the century. It was a gorgeous building in Spanish baroque style, complete with decorative sculptures and faux opera boxes, and had recently made a big investment in a wide screen and big sound system. It was still showing movies regularly, but since it had a large stage and lots of seats it was a good place for live shows.
Since it's been almost fifty years, I have to admit that I can't remember the specific acts that performed that night (more later about that). But what I do remember is how it affected me, because I can still remember the way the theater rocked. Even though we were a bunch of conservative Midwestern kids and didn't dance in the aisles or leap on the stage, we were really into it — and from that time on I was way more interested in rock and roll.
Article comments
1 - alessandro nicolo
Classical music is not music. It's the manifestation of the human soul to its extreme heights. It must have been something to see Holly. I''m 34 and still see the value in his work. Buddy Holly and rock'n roll are one and the same.
2 - alessandro nicolo
Silly me. I neglected to add nice, nostalgic article by the way.
3 - Big Geez
RE: "It must have been something to see Holly."
I only wish I remembered the details of the show more clearly - specifically the Crickets - but I do remember how the show affected me, so I guess that's important too.
Thanks for the comments, Alessandro...