Remembering

From the time I could remember, music has played a major part in the landscape of my life. My parents would tell me stories of the times that at 15 months old I would bang on a piano, with one leg waving in the air, singing at the top of my lungs "Flash Light" by Parliament- Funkadelic. The first rock song that I recall with a funk influence was "Another One Bites the Dust" by Queen. Without having videos or MTV at home, it was until in recent years my mom realized that Queen song the song. The next song that I remember having a major effect on me was the 1983 song "Island's in the Stream" sung by Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton. My mom, who was completely engrossed (and me and my brother) in R&B and Soul music was totally enamored with this song. She would play it and sing it all of the time. I recall that this was the first song that I heard repeatedly that was nothing like the songs that I was surrounded with up until that point in my life. It made me turn the dial on the radio and realize there was more out there. And that moment changed my life.