Music has always been a big part of my life. I go to a good movie and the soundtrack of the movie stays in my mind for days as I relive the movie. I can hear an old song on the radio and it can take me back to another time and place in my life when the song was popular and I can remember where I was and what I was doing when I first heard it.
When I was younger, buying and playing music could be a frustrating experience. A 45 record only had one song on a side and you were limited where it could be could played. Record albums (Vinyl) typically have 5 or 6 songs on each side but they are all from the same artist and often you only like one or two of the songs. However, you have to listen to all of them to get the ones you like and again they are limited to where you can play them . Eight track tapes and cassettes helped on the mobility issue but not the fact you have to listen to 10 or more songs to hear the one or two you really like. They are also from the same artist. One of the reasons I like "Compilation CDs" is you get a real variety such as the Time/Life sets. For example: "Malt Shop Memories." However,someone else is picking out the songs.
MP3 players and ipods have solved a lot of these problems but I still like having my own albums to put on the shelf. I therefore, have been using the Windows Media Player on my computer to make my own compilation albums. I have been doing this for several years but up till now the albums were fairly "hit or miss" so I came up with the idea to make up a compilation set of CDs based upon the stages of my life. Each "album" would cover music I loved at various stages in my life starting out in the 1950's when I was young all the way to the present. I organised the albums as follows:
1950's
Junior High
High School (2 CD)
College (2 CD)
U.S. Army
Law School (3CD)
Medford, Or (2 CD)
I also did a separate CD titled "The KOOS Platter Party" based upon a radio show I listened to growing up as a teenager in Coos Bay/North Bend and another titled "Pop Hits of the 1960's" Both of these CDs overlap jr high and high school. A final CD called "Jim's Favorites" puts on one CD the best of the best from 1963 through 1981.
In total, 20 hours of music !
Not all the songs I put on a CD were popular in the time frame indicated on the CD but they were popular to me at that time. Not all the songs are top 40 hits because because I have varied tastes that include Rock,Pop,Folk,Western,Movie and Broadway. Most of the CDs have a little of all of those genre and I have tried to make sure no artist was listed back to back.
The very first song on the very first CD is "How Much is that Doggie in the Window" by Patti Page because that is the first song I remember listening to on the radio as a young child. The last song on the last CD is "The Way we Were by Barbra Streisand.
In between I have such favorites as "The Ballad of Davy Crockett" "Battle Hymn of the Republic", the music sung at our wedding (The Wedding song by Paul Stookie) and lots of Dylan, Simon & Garfunkel, Beatles, Elvis and The Beach Boys. The Music of my life.
Most of the music came from my Cd library that I have purchased through the years and downloaded to my computer. I also purchased some from Amazon.com and downloaded them. One of my first downloads was "Sugar Shack" by Jimmy Gilmer and the Fireballs from 1963. My wife doesn't understand it but I love that song! It was the # 1 song of 1963. The most repeated songs in various versions..... "Moon River" and "Scarborough Fair."
For each CD album cover I found a photo that reminds me of the era and typed up the song list & artists for the back of the cover.
Click on the title for a link to my CD library.
