Tonight, while listening to my current radio station of choice, I heard “With a Little Help From My Friends” by the Beatles. This is one of the songs that makes me remember the time I “discovered” the band.
I guess I was in 4th or 5th grade. We kept a record player in the living room, and we had a pile of old records in the front closet, as well as a bigger pile of records in the attic. When we were little kids, we used to listen, run around, and dance to our records (Sabre Dance by Khachaturian was the favorite). Anyway, by the time I was in late elementary school, I had, of course, heard of the Beatles. I had never really paid any attention to them, though. All I knew was that my parents listened to them when they were young. One day, in an attempt to poke fun at Mom and Dad, I pulled the following album out of the closet and got her going on the record player. I began my usual habit of dancing to the music.
Mom walked in. “Hey Mom,” I said, “it’s the Beatles.” I thought she’d hear that music she liked back in the old days and feel a little embarrassed. Because everything from the ’60s and ’70s is kind of cheesy and lame, right?
“Yeah,” she replied, but without the sheepishness I was expecting.
I was a little surprised, but continued to dance around the living room to “Strawberry Fields Forever” and “Penny Lane.” Dad came through the living room and began singing along in full voice. He didn’t seem too shy about admitting he was a Beatles fan, either. Hmm.
I decided to give the Beatles a little more of a chance, and listened to the entire 2-record album. That was the day I became a fan. In the next days, weeks, and months, I listened to that album the most, but I also pulled out Abbey Road, Let It Be, and I think we also had With The Beatles.
Back to the beginning of this post. I heard “With a Little Help From My Friends” tonight, and it brought back memories of my record-listening days. Why? Because that song had a very recognizable skip in it. I still sing the skip when I’m humming along.
“Oh, I get by with a little help from my– by with a little help from my– by with a little help from my– by with a little help from my…”
Correcting that skip led to the next one: “Friends. –Friends. –Friends. –Friends…”
