I Heard It On The Radio

Most of my friends know this, but I LOVE the Beatles. They are hands down one of my favorite bands, but it hasn’t always been that way. When I was kid I absolutely HATED them. I mean, I hated them with a passion. My Dad loved them, so I of course thought they were the worst thing ever in the history of music. Who wanted to listen to someone sing about something called Rocky Raccoon? Or Piggies? I mean, seriously. So I always dreaded the long trips we would make once or twice a year from Ohio down to the South to visit our family. I knew that unless I was sneaky and got a jump on the music selection I was doomed for hour after hour of listening to my Dad’s favorite band.

So one year when we came down for Thanksgiving when I was 11 or 12 I was all prepared to be bored to death listening to my Dad’s favorite band. I had my Baby Sitters Club book ready (what girl from that time didn’t love BSC?) and I was determined to ignore the music if he put in the Beatles (this was clearly life before the Ipod). He had bought some new CDs for the drive down and he asked me to hand him the CD called Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. My tween self was ecstatic! A new band! Sgt. Peppers! A bit of an odd name for a band I thought, but heck- it wasn’t the Beatles. Yes, they were in the art on the cover, but so were all these other famous people. Then the music started… what great songs! Sgt. Peppers, With A Little Help from My Friends, A Day in the Life. The whole CD was great! I was loving this new band and I demanded that we listen to it a few more times. It wasn’t until a few days into the trip that my Dad commented on me liking the Beatles all of the sudden. Needless to say I was shocked by this statement… like the Beatles? Never. No! I liked Sgt. Peppers. It was then that my dear old Dad clued me into the fact that the name of the CD was Sgt. Peppers and the band singing was The Beatles. As one can imagine I was not happy. I was convinced for years that my Dad had tricked me into liking the Beatles. Then I grew up and realized that I was being silly. But still, the story stuck around as legend in the family for years… my Dad had tricked me into liking the Beatles. So, what the heck does this have to do with present day? Yep. I’m getting to that.

As mentioned in previous posts, my Dad and I both ended up moving to the South years ago. My Dad is an Operating Partner in a restaurant and they were rolling out a new menu a few weeks ago, so the marketing department had arranged for a popular local radio DJ to come in and try some of the new menu items to talk about them on her show. Oh, did I mention it is a classic rock station? And she has prime hours in the late afternoon while people are listening at work and driving home? Can you see where this is heading yet? So the DJ and my Dad are talking about their families, the restaurant, music today and music back in the day and how things have changed. At some point they get on the Beatles and my Dad tells her the infamous “You Tricked Me into Liking the Beatles” story.

So the next day, my Dad is working back in the kitchen at the restaurant and they have the radio tuned to her classic rock show and Sgt. Peppers comes on the air. Then the song ended and the DJ starts talking about how she got to meet Bruce out at the F.C. on Broad River the other night and how much he loved the Beatles and how much his daughter disliked them until she heard that song. She then goes onto tell the ENTIRE STORY. To every single one of her thousands of listeners in the midlands area. Now the whole city and surrounding area knows about what an idiot I was when I was 12. Seriously, I can’t make these things up.

I figure anyone listening to her show knows this story, so why not share it with my readers? It does provide a good chuckle. Besides, I have already had people ask me if that was my Dad and I they heard about on the radio. Yes, yes it was.

So, that is how I fell in love with the Beatles. The May after that fateful Thanksgiving trip Paul McCartney was playing a stadium arena tour and came to our hometown. My Dad bought us floor seat tickets… we were six rows from the stage. It is still one of my best memories, singing along with my parents and childhood best friend Sara Rae to “Drive My Car.” I have been to a ton of concerts over the years, but that one is still the best. Even if I did fall and break my arm on the walk back home and spent the summer in an arm cast. Nothing can top Paul McCartney (with Linda McCartney, she was still alive then) in concert. That evening is still in my top 15 list of best days ever. I can’t tell you how many times I have danced to Beatles songs at wedding receptions or dance recitals or even in my car. There is a song for nearly every mood I may be in and my all-time favorite song of any song in the history of music is still “In My Life.”

And it all started because my Dad “tricked me” into liking the Beatles on a drive to The South. Thanks, Dad.