We have a radio station in the Philippines, RJFM, that plays retro music from the 50's, 60's, 70's and 80's. The amazing thing about it is that it is making waves even with the young.

Music has always been a part of me, it has been the soundtrack of my life. When I was barely five years old, the first song that I seemed to always hear was "In Amorata" (I can't recall the exact title) and the songs of Mario Lanza, Nat King Cole, and Perry Como. My Dad loved to sing in the bathroom and I always hear him sing the Platters "My Prayer" ("is to linger with you...at the end of the day...in a dream that's divine")and Frank Sinatra's "All the Way" although when he sang it, the lyrics get lost "all the way".

When my eldest sister became a teenager, around late fifty's, our house was filled with the music of Elvis Presley, Paul Anka, Buddy Holly, Connie Francis, Patti Page, Steve
Lawrence, Pat Boone, and other solo artists that made music an enjoyment to hear, in records of 45's and 78's.
We had records of Ray Conniff's Orchestra and Henry Mancini's Orchestra, and these were really beautiful mellow sounds that soothes the listener endlessly after a hard day.

The first Elvis Presley song I heard was not "That's Alright Mama" but "What God Can Do". My favorites then were "Mama" by Connie Francis and "Oh My Papa" by an artist whose name I cannot recall now. The Cascades ("The Last Leaf") and later the Lettermen ("The Seventh Dawn") became the loves songs that made one fall in love at first
dance. Folk songs were also popular with groups like Peter, Paul and Mary (Five Hundred Miles), and Peter & Gordon, the British Duo. Sonny and Cher
("Sunny"), Chad and Jeremy, Simon and Garfunkel("American Pie"), and duos came after the Everly Brothers ("Lucille").

After Elvis came the deluge of the guitar bands the Ventures ("Hawaii 5'O")
and "Sleepwalk", and the Shadows ("Apache"), "Perfidia" and Cliff Richards("Constantly"). The movie then that was a big hit was "The Young Ones" and it gave way to the deluge of guitar music with the signature twangs and drums. Chubby Checker also made an impact with the "Twist", a dance good for losing inches in one's waistline.

After the guitar era came the Beatles'
"A Hard Day's Night" and the musical invasion of the mop head bands like
the Dave Clark 5, the Searchers, the Zombies ("She's Not There"), Gerry and the Pacemakers, Beau Brummel, the Rolling Stones ("Satisfaction") and the
groups America ("Horse with No Name")
Critters ("Mr. Dieingly Sad"), the Supremes ("Where Did Our Love Go")and the Temptations. The Stylistics ("You Make Me Feel Brand New") also ushered in the unique "black is beautiful" sound. The Motown sound was born and later, other artists like Lionel Richie ("All Night Long") and the Commodores came.

My favorite songs then were the soulful Zombies' "Summertime" , Carlos Santana's "Black Magic Woman", "Precious and Few", and "Sunrise, Sunset", and the Carpenters' "For All We Know", and Lionel Ritchie's "Hello"
(80's).

Solo artists who made their mark were
Matt Monro ("From Russia With Love")
Engelbert Humperdink ("Release Me"), Andy Williams ("A House is Not a Home") and Barbra Streisand ("The Way We Were"). Tom Jones("Delilah"), Kenny Rodgers("I Will Always Love You") Petula Clark ("Downtown"), and Jose Feliciano gave music the golden glitter of our times.

The coming of Stevie Wonder ("I Just Called To Say I Love You") clinched the
memory lane as a fitting gem for music.

Today, my children are surprised when I sing along with contestants at "American Idol" and they ask me how come I know the lyrics of such songs as "Come Together" (Beatles) and songs by the Doors, the Zombies, etc.

I tell them those were the golden years of music, when songs made sense and musicians were artists who made good music, not scandals.

When we were teenagers, my brother and I spent our leisure time singing and playing the guitar. We had a several song books with lyrics and guitar cords and we had most of the songs memorized by heart. My mother never had juvenile worries because we were engrossed with the music of our times, and those were enjoyable "precious and few" moments engraved forever in memory.

As we listen to and watch the music videos of today, with the repetitious nonsense and gyrating female anatomies, I am saddened that my children are fed with a famine of good and beautiful music that touches the heart and impacts one throughout his lifetime. I tuned in to that retro radio station, and they came to know the difference. I thank the artists of yesterday who contributed their music that made an impact in our lives, because music, like literature, is art.