Music from your formative years?

[Dr. Dread]

My parents had some albums but didn't listen to them often so I was pretty much on my own. My major listening then were the Beatles and late 70s/early 80s pop/rock which mainly meant "new wave" at the time (the good kind (Talking Heads, Devo, Elvis Costello), not the cheesy 80s kind (Flock of Seagulls, Depeche Mode, Go-Gos)).

Which is probably why I'm such a melody hound but don't mind a bit of quirkiness.

Oh, and the Clockwork Orange soundtrack. 

Howzabout you?

[Scarpia]

I remember my dad had three classical albums.  A Beethoven 5th, an 1812 Overture (Dorati), the van Cliburn album they released after he won the prize on Moscow.  It was only years later that I realized that the Beethoven 5 was Furtwangler.

[Bulldog]

For me, it was Beach Boys, Four Seasons and Lou Christie (all pre-Beatles).

[Wendell_E]

My parents were old enough (born in 1895 and 1912) to witness the birth of radio broadcasting and its golden age, but by the time I came along in 1955, they were fully in the thrall of the Demon Television.  There wasn't a radio or record player, much less a record, in the house until they gave me one in my early teens (maybe it was late pre-teens).  I'm depraved on account of I was deprived.

[DFO]

I was borne in 1942, and in my early years luckily I heard on the radio the fantastic music from the 40s. The marvelous songs of Porter,Gershwin, Mercer, Rodgers, and all that extraordinary group of genius who left some of the most beautiful popular music ever made.

[Haffner]

Beethoven's 5th Furtwangler
Deep Purple Burn and Stormbringer
Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow and Long Live Rock 'N Roll
Judas Priest Sad Wings of Destiny and Sin After Sin
The Omen Soundtrack
Elton John Captain Fantastic, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
Alice Cooper's Greatest Hits
UFO Strangers in the Night
Apocalypse Now Soundtrack
Boys From Brazil Soundtrack
Scorpions Virgin Killer, Tokyo Tapes
Kiss Alive!

From my father's collection, I received via osmosis:
Boston Don't Look Back
Heart Magazine
Fleetwood Mac Rumors
Frampton Comes Alive!

[Haffner]

For me, it was Beach Boys, Four Seasons and Lou Christie (all pre-Beatles).

Translated: you were JAMMIN'!

[secondwind]

Soundtrack of my childhood:

Sunday mornings in my nonreligious household--Beethoven's Pastorale Symphony (maybe music is a religion). 0:)

Most days--Mom singing around the house. . . maybe that "L'Amour" song, maybe "every valley shall be exalted", maybe something about "a tavern in the town". . .

Background--Motown, the Beatles, Motown

On television--Leonard Bernstein's Young People's Concerts, and the music for the Loony Tunes cartoons.

On Saturdays, when my brother and I were slow getting up, Sousa marches played at the top volume available on Dad's stereo (very effective!)

Music from Camelot, My Fair Lady, The Sound of Music, The King and I, Carousel, South Pacific. . .

When I learned I could check records out from the library, Pablo Casals playing Dvorak's cello concerto (wore it out) and symphonies by Sibelius.

When I learned I could buy records, a record of quirky little pieces by some guy named Eric Satie performed on a Moog Synthesizer (purchased as a Christmas gift for a boyfriend--ditched the boyfriend, kept the record).

When I got a driver's license, concerts by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra (and once a lunatic named Peter Schickele) and occasional illicit trips to clubs to hear Motown live.

[Dana]

      The first disc I ever remember buying was Sheryl Crow's The Globe Sessions, and that was about as far as I would go for the next ten years so far as that was concerned. My youth orchestra conductor wanted us to get recordings of all of our concert rep to listen to before the performance, and I happily obliged - especially when I found the classical fare was generally 50%-75% cheaper than most pop/rock stuff.
      Aside from that, though, my Dad was a jazz saxophonist, and I would turn up at his gigs every now and then. My parents also listened to a fair amount of Bonnie Rait, and Hootie & the Blowfish.

[Hollywood]

When I was growing up in the 1950s and 1960s my parents didn't have any classical music albums in the house.   My dad's album collection consisted of Trini Lopez, Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, Herb Albert and the Tijuana Brass. My mom had her Glenn Campbell, Kenny Rogers and Charlie Rich. Thank god my mom also liked to watch American Bandstand every week where I was able to hear other bands that were more to my liking.

I grew up in Los Angeles and we spent every Sat. or Sun. (and 2 weeks in the summer) at the beach. The Beach Boys, Jan and Dean and other surfing music was my favorite and pretty much was always on the radio back then. Other favorites were the Beatles, the Monkees, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Paul Revere and the Raiders, and The Doors just to name a few. Then when I was in about the 4th grade, our next door neighbor, who worked at Capitol Records in Hollywood, gave me loads of albums which also included some of my first classical works. God bless that neighbor!   0:)   

[vandermolen]

My parents were old enough (born in 1895 and 1912) to witness the birth of radio broadcasting and its golden age, but by the time I came along in 1955, they were fully in the thrall of the Demon Television.  There wasn't a radio or record player, much less a record, in the house until they gave me one in my early teens (maybe it was late pre-teens).  I'm depraved on account of I was deprived.

Interesting, I also came along in 1955. My father listened exclusively to Frank Sinatra ("I've got you under my skin" was and is my favourite) and occasional Errol Garner, Tony Bennett etc. I have a brother 7 years older than me who was the one interested in Classical Music (Bruckner/Brahms) - when he stopped trying to concert me I became interested - when I was c 15. My mother liked some classical, such as Rimsky.

[knight66]

There were three separate soundtracks to my youth. The one my parents played, Sinatra, Adam Faith, the great musicals, Aznavour, Piaf.

Then there was mine, initially The Beatles, I preferred them to The Stones and I also reghard myself, like Dave, to be a melody hound. Add to them a number of the groups from the mid sixties, but the only LPs I had of 'Pop' were Beatles ones.

I was given The Planets...off I charged into an exploration. I discovered BBC radio Three, Gramophone Mag and collected LPs of most of the standard classics, branching out especially into vocal music.

I then joined choirs and travelled abroad a lot to perform.

My parents were forever coming into my room to tell me to turn down the funeral music. This included Haydn's Creation. They came to a performance of it and my father said that would be the last of it, they hated it.

Mike

[vandermolen]

There were three separate soundtracks to my youth. The one my parents played, Sinatra, Adam Faith, the great musicals, Aznavour, Piaf.

Then there was mine, initially The Beatles, I preferred them to The Stones and I also reghard myself, like Dave, to be a melody hound. Add to them a number of the groups from the mid sixties, but the only LPs I had of 'Pop' were Beatles ones.

I was given The Planets...off I charged into an exploration. I discovered BBC radio Three, Gramophone Mag and collected LPs of most of the standard classics, branching out especially into vocal music.

I then joined choirs and travelled abroad a lot to perform.

My parents were forever coming into my room to tell me to turn down the funeral music. This included Haydn's Creation. They came to a performance of it and my father said that would be the last of it, they hated it.

Mike

Very interesting Mike. My last message was unfinished as I was supposed to be emailing my brother and his wife about visiting my 83 year old aunt in hospital yesterday instead of communicating with the 'CD nutters' when my wife came into the room - so I had to post the message in a mad panic.

Anyway, to continue now that she is out the room. My mother liked Rimsky-Korsakov (I was interrupted before being able to type the second part of his name ) I loved The Beatles too - more than the Stones (Magical Mystery Tour, White Album, Sgnt Pepper (+ 60s and early 70s Jazz-Rock (Chicago, BST, Dreams) + Jimi Hendrix (I was devastated coming home from school when I heard he had died).

My first classical CD was Scheherazade but I then discovered Vaughan Williams Symphony No 6 (Boult, Decca Eclipse) in c 1972 and never looked back.

Like Mike's experience I remember my father (the Frank Sinatra fan) complaining that he felt that he was waking up in a crypt when I had Durufle's Requiem playing at top blast from my bedroom next door. I also had a Saturday and holiday job at Whiteley's shop in Bayswater - I was in the record department but could only play my music when I was alone on the counter - the 'Boutique' section was next to the record dept and they wanted me to be playing 'Saturday Night Fever' etc. I remember the manager storing over to say that he had a complaint from the Boutique that I was playing 'inappropriate music' and driving customers out the shop (Durufle's Requiem again). Amazingly I was not sacked from that job but the store did go bust shortly afterwards  

[knight66]

So you were the downfall of that store! That is quite some power you displayed. I never got into Hendrix, so his death was of no more than of mild interest. Durufle's Requiem: That is crypt music, very somemn, not one laugh in the whole score. I think when my parents realised I was into Bruckner and that each symphony lasted an hour, that was when they bought me some good headphones.

Mike

[vandermolen]

So you were the downfall of that store! That is quite some power you displayed. I never got into Hendrix, so his death was of no more than of mild interest. Durufle's Requiem: That is crypt music, very somemn, not one laugh in the whole score. I think when my parents realised I was into Bruckner and that each symphony lasted an hour, that was when they bought me some good headphones.

Mike

Yes, it was probably due to me that Whitely's went under. Harrods though survived my holiday work experience in the silk dept (I asked for books or records ). Not many laughs in the Durufle - it is true.

Jeffrey

[springrite]

Before I went to the US in 1980, all the classical music I know are:

Strauss Jr.
Swan Lake
Select arias from Carmen and the drinking song from La Traviata
Other dance (waltzes, etc., such as Merry Widow, Skaters Waltz, Danube Waves) used for our underground dance party at Peking Univerisity

That is all until in 1982 I went to a concert and heard Das Lied von der Erde, and a few days later the Berg Violin Concerto.

[Sean]

After some Abba, Queen and other bits I discovered an LP of Beethoven 6 (Steinberg) by chance, while looking for something to listen to while playing snooker. I was amazed and transformed by the experience as I played it again and again and its inner logic increasingly materialized in my mind. I also had a Swan Lake highlights LP; this was followed by Schumann 3&4 (Solti) and Dvorak 6/ My home (Kertesz).

[The new erato]

I loved The Beatles too - more than the Stones (Magical Mystery Tour, White Album, Sgnt Pepper (+ 60s and early 70s Jazz-Rock (Chicago, BST, Dreams) + Jimi Hendrix (I was devastated coming home from school when I heard he had died).

Sounds like me. Very into late 60-ies British prog, and blues, as well.

I then discovered Vaughan Williams Symphony No 6 (Boult, Decca Eclipse) in c 1972 and never looked back.

One of my formative classical discs as well (prompted by part of it being used as theme music in the TV series "Family at war"

[Valentino]

The first musical experience I can remember was some strong thrusting orchestral stuff.

- What's that, dad?
- Beethoven.

Maybe I was six, it was the 3rd movement of the 7th symphony. I have no idea if it was radio or open reel tape or turntable, I just remember being transfixed (like my same aged boy was the other day when he saw an animation of the Wälkure Vorspiel on the net).
Later I played the alto saxophone and listened to all recordings I could find with Johnny Hodges on them. There was ABBA of course. I didn't "get" the Sex Pistols, but I liked The Clash later. My interest for classical music came back later, together with R.E.M. on IRS, and the Stones. My LP with Gulda playing KV466 is totally worn out.

I'm born in '65.

[RJR]

The first musical experience I can remember was some strong thrusting orchestral stuff.

- What's that, dad?
- Beethoven.

Maybe I was six, it was the 3rd movement of the 7th symphony. I have no idea if it was radio or open reel tape or turntable, I just remember being transfixed (like my same aged boy was the other day when he saw an animation of the Wälkure Vorspiel on the net).
Later I played the alto saxophone and listened to all recordings I could find with Johnny Hodges on them. There was ABBA of course. I didn't "get" the Sex Pistols, but I liked The Clash later. My interest for classical music came back later, together with R.E.M. on IRS, and the Stones. My LP with Gulda playing KV466 is totally worn out.

I'm born in '65.

Are you familar with the Johnny Hodges double LP/Cassette 'The Smooth One'? Great stuff:
MGV 8350  Johnny Hodges - A Smooth One (not released)
Harold Baker (tp) Quentin Jackson, John Sanders (tb) Jimmy Hamilton (cl, ts) Johnny Hodges (as) Ben Webster (ts) Jimmy Jones (p) Les Spann (g, fl) Ray Brown (b) Jo Jones (d)
NYC, April 7, 1959
26324A-3   First Klass
26325-5   Second Klass
26326-4   Straight Back
26328-4   Steerage
26329-5   Third Klass
same personnel
NYC, April 8, 1959
26330-5   Meet The Frog
26331-1   Nite Life
26332-2   My Melancholy Baby
26333-10   Lotus Blossom
26334-6   Free For All
** part of Verve VE2 2532.