Ahh, music. A timeless thing for all generations.
My Dad,, in his youth was a professional dancer. He even had a dance & charm school. Then WWII happened, and after the war,, he was too old to compete. And while he was gone to war,, of course his school went away as well.
So, he came to this little town of Lake Lure, and started building a building & business.
A 2-story building,, which was a restaurant downstairs, and a once a week nightclub upstairs.
He called it; "The El Tango!"
Then Dad got into being a talent booking agent, to go along with his love of music & dancing.
By the time I was born, it was a hot spot on Saturday nights here in Lake Lure to go to the El Tango for many, many people. While my mom ran the restaurant downstairs,, dad ran the club upstairs.
I was born, and on saturday nights, I'd be in a baby crib, behind the counter, while bands played, people danced & all to music of the era.
I enjoy a diverse array of music,, and recall so many bands, songs, & such. I remember stuff from the early 60's on. And yes,, I do feel old when I hear something from that era, and realize how long ago it was.
But as mentioned above,, it used to be you really had to have TALENT to make it in the business. Unless you had talent,, you were quickly forgotten. And my dad would have bands & singers from all over come to the El Tango to try & get him to be their agent. He had a solid business booking bands all up & down the eastern seaboard. Back them a simple recording was not the way he'd do business. If a band was serious,, they had to come here, set up, and play,, just for dad. (Not on a Saturday night.) He'd listen, he'd make requests, and go from there.
I find myself nowadays reflecting upon that time, the music & many performers. I too prefer mostly the older stuff. Beach, Shag, early R&R, Country, Motown, & in general, stuff from the late 50's until the early 80's. Give me the Righteous Brothers, Beach Boys, Drifters, Temptations, Conway, Jan & Dean, Tommy James & the Shondells, BB King, Ray Charles, Elvis, Neil Diamond, & so many others from that era, and I just relax & smile.
I still have a big stack of records,, and a fairly good selection of CD's.
Throw in a few of the older dance movies,, especially with Gene Kelly & it can erase away a bad mood quickly.
Sadly,, too few people are real artists nowadays. Well, at least what the music industry feeds us.
