Listening to Music with my Son

I like music. I never learned to play a musical instrument, but I like to listen to it. My youngest children are playing instruments in school, and I like going to their concerts. It's fun seeing how they have progressed since they started back in elementary school.

I Like Music

Music is with me when I drive, cook, write, ride my bike. If I am doing something, chances are I'm listening to music while I'm doing it. The type of music I listen to depends on what I'm doing at the moment. If I'm reading or writing, I'm usually listening to classical music, although right now, it's Led Zeppelin IV that's gracing my ears as I construct this week's masterpiece.

My children are with me in the car a lot. My job description includes chauffeur, so there's normally a passenger with me when I'm on the road. Children have heard my CD's or the catalog I have on my phone. I don't listen to the radio much, but that's a story for another time.

On Monday nights, I drive The Boy to his parkour practice. It's a duty I look forward to because I get to spend time with him, even if it's just for a relatively short drive. During this time, I get to find out how school was, how he's doing, how his friends are doing. More often than not, I'm listening to the music stored on my phone when we make this weekly jaunt to practice. The music on my phone is primarily the roots of Rock and Roll. It's the stuff that laid the foundation for Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly, and Elvis Presley.

Music on my Phone

One night, The Boy and I were on the road when he noted that a lot of the music on my phone sounded old. I told him he was right. It was old. The music we were listening to is what gave birth to the music I discovered in my teens and still enjoy to this day.

"This is what Rock and Roll came from?" he asked.

"Right," I said. "When groups were getting together, they would practice playing older music. Some of these bands would give their own sound to these songs. They would continue to play them live. Sometimes, they would end up on an album."

Bull Moose Jackson was
just one of Aerosmith's covers.

I continued to explain to The Boy how people will take songs and rework them to have their own sound and interpretation. This called for some examples, so I pulled up "Big Ten Inch Record" by Bull Moose Jackson. This was followed by Aerosmith's version of the song.

This was followed by Jazz Gillum's "Reefer Head Woman". I played Aerosmith's version next.

"Dad," The Boy said. "This doesn't sound like the same song."

Jazz Gillum

He was right. I reminded him that people will play songs differently. It's their way of interpreting it. To illustrate this, I play "Milk Cow Blues" by Kokomo Arnold. When that finished, I played the version by Elvis Presley.

"Hear that?" I asked when Presley's version ended. "Now listen to this."

I reminded him that people will play songs differently. 
It's their way of interpreting it.

We then heard the version from Aerosmith, which sounds more like Elvis Presley's version than the original one by Kokomo Arnold. The Boy was starting to get it. For good measure, I played "When the Levee Breaks" by Memphis Minnie, then the same song performed by Led Zeppelin.

Memphis Minnie's "When the Levee Breaks"
appeared on Led Zeppelin's fourth album.

No One Invented this

"No one invented this..." - Joe Perry

"Bands hear a song, and they like it," I told my son. "Then, as time goes on, they will change it to a way that fits their own style more. If you listen to versions of a song, you'll notice the differences and see how the band adapted the song for their own style, but the basic idea of the song can still be heard."

"Last Kiss", performed by Wayne
Cochran, was covered by Pearl Jam in 1999.

I continued to give examples of this. "Let it Rock" was recorded by Chuck Berry, then by The Yardbirds. Rufus Thomas recorded "Walkin' the Dog". The song has since been covered by The Rolling Stones, Aerosmith, and Ratt, just to name a few. "Hair of the Dog", originally performed by Nazareth, was covered by Guns N' Roses. The Beatles covered The Marvelettes and Smokey Robinson. Pearl Jam covered Wayne Cochran. As Joe Perry once said, "No one invented this."

For me, it's great when I hear a band through the years, and I get to hear the gradual evolution in their sound. I also like it when I can catch a live performance, and they slip a cover into their setlist. It gives me a new appreciation for them and the song's original artist. I'm not musically inclined, but I do appreciate music. I also have an appreciation for history. Listening to artists covering songs and being covered gives me the best of both worlds. Listening to music is something I enjoy, and I also love spending time with my son.