LUCY BURDETTE: A couple of weeks ago, we celebrated music Sunday at our church. Our music director is incredible, and he’s infused amazing life into the choirs. Plus he’s a fantastic organist, and tons of fun besides. He often brings in guest musicians for special occasions. I read in the Sunday bulletin that the drummer he’d engaged to play for us tours with Mickey Dolenz and the Monkees.
This was such a blast from the past! Mickey Dolenz was my very first crush. Somehow, I persuaded my parents to let me attend a Monkees concert when I turned 13. My first (terrible) short story was about a jilted teenager who runs up the steps of the Hatteras lighthouse and finds Mickey Dolenz at the top! Trust me, if that had really happened, onlookers would have witnessed a major freak out. Apparently, Mickey and the Monkees band are still touring and this visiting drummer was going out on the road with them in several weeks. I introduced myself and asked him to say hello from Roberta.😂
So Reds, there is the question for the day. What do you remember about your first musical crush? How old were you and what drew you to him or her? Are they still alive and kicking? If you didn’t have a crush (really?), what was your first concert?
DEBORAH CROMBIE: That’s an easy one, Lucy! I was eleven when the Beatles hit the US airwaves. I fell madly in love with Paul McCartney and I have to say I never recovered. Paul just turned 84 on June 18th (of course I know his birthday) and he’s still adorable and is still performing and still writing great music. His new album, The Boys of Dungeon Lane, is terrific. I did the Beatles tour in Liverpool a couple of years ago with my pal Kate Charles and now I know the places he’s singing about.
And the first concert was The Beatles, in Dallas. We had seats on the 12th row, can you believe it? Of course you couldn’t hear them for the screaming, but it was still a life-marking experience. I’ve seen McCartney live twice over the years since, and they were the most joyous concerts vvvI’ve ever attended. We love you, Paul!!
LUCY: So jealous of that concert Debs–Paul was my guy as well:)
RHYS BOWEN: In school my friends were all into Elvis in a big way. We’d listen to Heartbreak Hotel and they’d all swoon. Not me. There was something about his looks I didn’t like. I think my first crush was Gordon McCrea in Oklahoma and Carousel. I had the records of both and played them non stop. But when the Beatles came along— well, who wouldn’t love them?
JENN McKINLAY: First crush was Shawn Cassidy! He had a singing career, I guess, but I crushed on him because he played Joe Hardy on The Hardy Boys Mysteries every Sunday night! This is likely where my love of amateur sleuths began. My first concert was RUSH in the New Haven Coliseum! We all packed into a friend’s ancient Datsun B210 and drove 45 minutes to get there. No cell phones, GPS, or AAA. Can’t believe we survived – LOL.
HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: My first musical crush..well, definitely not Elvis, I agree, Rhys, there was just no spark for me. But oh, absolutely, the Beatles. I sobbed, watching them on Ed Sullivan, and I was the vice-president of the Midwest Chapter of the National Beatles Fan Cluub. It was an actual thing! Paul, and John, oh, they were so cute, and so talented! I saw them at the Coliseum at the Indiana State Fairgrounds, and fairly levitated. Was that my first concert? No, I’m sure I went to many with my music critic (for the Chicago Daily News) father –I do remember having a huge crush on Roddy McDowell who I saw playing Mordred in the musical Camelot, gosh, that was in 196-something?(The bad-boy thing, I guess. I never liked Lancelot.) But the Beatles was the first concert on my own, and soon after that I was all about Paul Simon. Still am.
HALLIE EPHRON: My first concert was at the Hollywood Bowl: Joan Baez with an unknown rumpled male singer. She was terrific. He mumbled his way through a set and I, with my great prescience about musical talent, wrote Bob Dylan off as a never-gonna-be.
I’m a big baby when it comes to crowds, so concerts have never been my thing. If that weren’t the case I’d have haunted Paul Simon. Also Buddy Holly. Also LIttle Richard. Hmmm, also Pete Seeger and Johnny Cash.
JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: Jenn, my sister and I were absolute devotees of THE HARDY BOYS, and agreed she would get Shaun Cassidy and I could have Parker Stevenson. I understand he’s Episcopalian, so maybe I’ll run into him in a church one day…? Both those men have aged VERY nicely.
My first strictly musical crush was - don’t laugh - Barry Manilow. No, the fact he played with Bette Midler in the Baths did not tip me off. He came to Syracuse for a concert and my BFF and I got tickets. My first show, and WOW it was so good. I’m happy he’s out and proud and living his best life, and I’m happy to have listened to “Barry Manilow II” and “Tryin’ to Get the Feeling” so many times I had to replace my record player’s needle.
PS, Lucy, my Monkee was Peter Tork. Somewhere out there, there’s got to be a personality quiz that reveals who you are based on which of the Monkees or Beatles you crushed on!
LUCY: I’d be surprised if that quiz doesn’t exist Julia! Red readers, tell us about your first musical crush…
Gene Kelly . . . does it get any better than "Singing in the Rain"?
ReplyDeleteI was [and still am] a country music fan and Johnny Cash was always my favorite . . . .
Gene Kelly was special Joan! I love country music too, my favorite was Emmilou Harris.
DeleteJoan, I loved Gene Kelly in brigadoon. He was a wonderful dancer.
DeleteDiana
Joan, one of my first movies was An American in Paris. We saw it at a drive-in in Tucson when we lived there for a short time when I was around 4 yrs old. I absolutely fell in love with him.
DeleteThe Brady Bunch episode where Marcia is positive she can get Davy Jones to perform at the prom comes to mind.
ReplyDeletehttps://youtu.be/55irsORLsZQ?si=l1AarxFXFgW4goSO
My sister had a life size poster of Shawn Cassidy on her bedroom wall and got my older sister to take her to a concert. We did love the Hardy Boys on TV.
I saw Mickey Dolenz in concert as part of the Down By the Riverside summer series in Rochester, MN a few years ago. Sorry to tell you, Lucy, it was awful. He needs to retire.
I do remember that episode Brenda! Sad about Mickey Dolenz:(. We saw Paul Simon last weekend and came to the same conclusion. It must be a difficult decision when you're so famous and talented!
DeleteMy very first musical crush in the 1960's was George Harrison. While everyone was swooning over Paul MCartney and John Lennon I was busy observing the "quiet" Beatle. And that crush never wavered especially when he went out on his own and proved to the world how talented and creative he was musically. I also loved that on a personal level he was a "tree hugger", meditator and gardener. Everything about his quiet demeanor appealed to me. When the 70's rolled around I was also drawn to the more quiet sound of pop folk and my new musical crushes James Taylor and John Denver. Although Taylor returned to his Massachusetts roots as a young person I never saw any of his concerts. In the end I think his "sound" conformed with my life style at the time ~ Friday nights in Rockport and a dynamic as well as confusing and ever-changing time for a young person especially a woman to experience. Denver on the other hand was another story. I went to several of his concerts. Eventually I stopped listening to James Taylor but not so with John Denver. I attended one of his last concerts just before he was killed and I will always be a fan forever. On a personal level both Taylor and Denver had their own demons including struggles with alcoholism and depression. But on a professional level I will always remember John Denver as being attentive, polite, engaged and personable when I met him. And his commitment as both an environmentalist and humanitarian were so impressive. Sometimes I think being so personally involved with the world's issues often coincides with the highs and the lows of emotional and mental well being.
ReplyDeleteLucy ~ Thank you so much for bringing up so many wonderful memories of when The Monkees were so popular. I remember always being late getting to CCD classes because I never missed watching their weekly TV show in its entirety. Years later..in the 1990's... they were part of a couple of free concerts in Boston which was so much fun to attend. "Hey, Hey we're the Monkees and people say we monkey around..." :-)
Evelyn, you were so much deeper than I was::. I was choosing basically on which one I thought was the cutest!
DeleteLOL, Lucy...Maybe I was an old soul in a young body without knowing it. :-) But also looking at the hen scratching I wrote on the back of my Meet the Beatles album there was still no denying that one dimensional thinking I had as a teenager of 14. Scribbled all around the photo of George Harrison were the words "the cutest". My cousin wrote all over the back of her album "Mrs. George Harrison". (Years later she would marry someone with the surname Harrison...no relation to George...haha) I think we both greatly downgraded the worth of those albums by the doodling we did on the back of them. I had less of a physical crush on John Denver but was very pleasantly surprised when I eventually met him to see how tall he was as well as very handsome without his signature "granny" glasses. You're right...I guess I wanted it ALL...the looks and the personality. :-)
DeleteOh gosh. I'm not sure this counts but I played my Ballad of Davy Crockett record until it disappeared. I crushed on Fess Parker though he wasn't the singer. First big time crush was Mickey Dolenz. Maybe because I remembered him as Circus Boy? My middle sister claimed Davy Jones. I remember attending concerts in New Orleans and Austin, but not Houston. I did see some theater in the round musicals. I think my first concert was in Austin: the Association.
ReplyDeleteAnything counts Pat! I was talking about the Monkees this past weekend. Jealous of my good friend who instead saw Bruce Springsteen 4 times!
DeleteI listened to the Monkees a lot in early high school, but never had a crush on one of them. My first crush was George Harrison (my older sisters had already claimed John and Paul), and my first concert was the Beatles playing in Dodger stadium in 1966, tickets an astronomical six dollars. My sisters and I each brought a friend, and my dad drove us - then sat in the car reading until the concert was over.
ReplyDeleteA different kind of crush was what adolescent me felt when I watched Tom Jones on TV. It was his sexiness, but I didn't realize it at the time!
I also saw Joan Baez at the Hollywood Bowl, Hallie, probably in the early seventies. Don't think Dylan was there! Fun memories.
I still love Tom Jones! I saw him in concert in a theater in Cleveland in the 90s. That man can sing!
DeleteMy first musical crush was Michael Jackson. My first concert was Prince.
ReplyDeleteThe Beatles, of course. In high school, Richie Havens. I got to see him at the local college. A bunch of us saw Peter, Paul, and Mary. We were into folk music, and my parents liked them, too. Simon and Garfunkel, of course. Even my dad had a tape he played in the car. And then there were the mams and Papas.
ReplyDeleteI'll answer the second question first: My first concert was The Statler Brothers with opener Helen Cornelius. Loved the show. Harold Reid even stopped the show when I was trying to take a photo of the singing group with my Kodak Instamatic so I could get a good shot. And Helen Cornelius was great and good looking too. But I was ten and while I could see pretty, it didn't really mean that much to me. But I did get to meet her after her set and still have the signed photo of her.
ReplyDeleteBut I wasn't really into music that much until about three years later. Once I got into listening to (pre-heavy metal days) American Top 40 (Sundas from 9am - 1pm with host Casey Kasem) music regularly, I don't think I had anything that would qualify as a "crush". I'd see various women in music videos and I might think they were pretty but never had a "crush".
That changed once metal began to rule the world. You had the videos from tons of band with hot women and little clothing. I mean, music videos gave model Tawny Kitaen a whole second career with her making out with both Whitesnake singer David Coverdale and various hoods of fancy sports cars.
But the one singer that I'd say I had a musical crush on is German metal singer Doro Pesch. I first discovered her in the mid-80s when she was still fronting the band Warlock. They had their album 'Triumph and Agony' and their mega-metal anthem "All We Are".
Blonde, beautiful, could sing like a demon and just all around crush-worthy. And get this, didn't actually use her beauty as a marketing tool to advance her music career. It was all about the music and performance. It's been that way for more than four decades.
And unlike most people, I've actually gotten to meet my "crush" (who I joke is the only woman I ever wanted to have kids with...until I met the dynamic Jessi of course, who I recently wrote about on my Facebook page for those who saw my Trivia Night update post from this past week).
It took many years, but I finally saw her live and had a very brief interaction with her as she signed the cover of my copy of 'Triumph and Agony' from the stage after the first time I saw her live.
Then some time later, she played a show 20 minutes from my doorstep. After the show, I got to meet her for real as she stopped to chat and take photos with fans on the way to her tour bus. The photo is my Facebook profile picture.
Along the way from Warlock and her incredible solo career, I've worshipped her from near and afar. I've bought everything she's released and was at one time part of her fan club. I had my original T-shirt that became so full of holes from wearing it so much that my mother finally had to sneak it out of the laundry in order to toss it away (I've got a new one now). And there's still a signed poster of her 'Angels Never Die' album cover hanging on the back of my door. That's been there for about thirty years or so, I think.
All Hail Doro Pesch, the real Metal Queen!
Why did I think Elvis was a movie villain when I saw his photos in movie magazines a few years before he died? I remember when he died because it was on the news. Our teacher explained the importance of watching the news and reading the newspapers. I grew up reading the comics in the newspapers.
ReplyDeleteJulia, did you see the Murphy Brown episode where Murphy was Not a fan of Barry manilow then discovered that her baby Avery loves Barry Manilow’s music?
Lucy, though I didn’t have musical crushes, I recognized names like Shaun Cassidy because of the Hardy Boys tv series.
Here’s a bit of movie trivia for fans of Shaun Cassidy. His mother is Shirley Jones, the actress from the partridge family and from musicals like Oklahoma.
Diana
My Deaf classmates LOVED the KISS musical group because of the makeup and costumes. I think they must also have been loud enough for my classmates to hear it he music with their residual hearing?
ReplyDeleteDiana
Once again the Reds have exposed me as “odd person out.” I have never had a musical crush. Sigh…pondering the loss. ;-) Happy Monday, all. Elisabeth
ReplyDeleteAt the beginning of the sixties, my first crush was French Canadian Pierre Lalonde. He had a popular musical TV show that I wouldn’t miss. He was a kind of crooner, very charming that I could compare to the actual Michael Bubbly.
ReplyDeleteAt eleven , I had reached my actual size and my parents brought me to see and hear him sing in a kind of big bar (no sure how to call the place) available for adults only but my father knew the manager and my mother lent me clothes and did my hair and makeup. I’ll never forget it but he’s been replaced by many others over the years.
My favourite English group have always been The Beatles, especially Paul and John.
I had booked a room for visiting Liverpool without knowing it was in the same block that the Beatles Museum. While taking the tour, I was most impressed when I entered the white room with the white piano and the simili white clothed John Lennon singing IMAGINE with the words written on the wall.
I could have stayed there hours.
Lucy, what a great post,cquestion, and answers! I think my first musical crush was Herman of Herman’s Hermits. (Peter Blair Dennis Bernard Noone) My first concert was Herman’s Hermits, opened by The Animals, at the Canton War Memorial Auditorium in Canton, Ohio. Maybe the summer going into 7th grade? Then, summer of ‘67 I saw the Monkees in Boston Garden. The friend I saw Herman’s Hermits with flew out from Ohio to see The Monkees with me. Peter Tork was favourite.. My Mom and brother saw both concerts with us. My friend & I bought the more expensive tickets, and my Mom & brother the cheapest. We just saw James Taylor Friday night at Tanglewood, in Lenox, MA and James was great. Lots f clapping and laughter, no screaming like the Monkee days…
ReplyDeleteI honestly don't know who my first musical crush was. I did listen to the Monkees and I loved Davey Jones - the British accent. I listen to the Beatles. Also the Beach Boys. I don't think I listed to "current" music until I was in junior high and my first cassettes were Cyndi Lauper and Bruce Springsteen's "Born in the USA." I loved Billy Joel, but I didn't crush on him.
ReplyDeleteI also don't remember attending any concerts in my teens. I couldn't afford them. It was something I didn't do until I was an adult. Most memorable is definitely Tony Bennett when he came to Pittsburgh. It was his birthday. He made them turn off all the electronics to demonstrate the acoustics of Heinz Hall and he was amazing.
Liz...I remember when Tony Bennett's career as a singer was "jump started" for the second time in his sixties by his very capable manager, his son Danny. I went to see him twice at the South Shore Music Circus in Cohasset, MA. He also sang a song without a microphone as proof of his vocal abilities and it was very impressive. A truly remarkable talent and I agree with you...Tony Bennett was indeed amazing.
DeleteNever was a big concert goer – probably because they were not an accessible thing. At summer camp (church camp), there was a comment from the leaders on the pop poster on the wall – really verboten ‘of the lovely looking girl’ (yup a Monkees poster!). It stayed up all through camp. Noone told them who it really was. The Fifth Dimension played a test afternoon at university in a small ‘theatre’ underneath the chapel. The room was slightly bigger than our current living room, high ceiling, good acoustics, and I happened upon it as I was taking the shortcut from the dining hall back to our room after lunch. Great concert! I wanted Barry Manilow to sing his advertisement collation while we signed the documents at our wedding (does anyone have any idea what papers we actually signed? Oh, and I was vetoed for some mushy pap.) Living in Cape Breton, I have been to many Rita MacNeil and Men of the Deeps concerts and the Rankins, both in larger venues (800 people) and small (120 with great acoustics) at our town Playhouse. Both will make you weep with pride and emotion.
ReplyDeletePerhaps the best was Canada Day 1992 when we took the kids to Parliament Hill in Ottawa. It was a day of many memories. First the kids agitated to go (The Arrogant Worms were playing and they loved them. Michael was 12). Second, Queen Elizabeth was to be there – we were late (as usual) and too far behind in the crowd to even wave. The day was hot and sunny and the Uber Driver was as usual unable to make up his mind, stubborn and determined not to have a good time and CHEAP! There was food on the grounds (chicken), so we walked around and around looking for something less expensive. Last child was 2 and in a push chair. The ground was perhaps lawn. Guess who was not pushing the kid. Other than the food, everything was free. We were walking around the back streets around Parliament Hill hungry and cranky, when a motorcade comes by, and suggests we move back, so we did a step or two, and waved to The Queen as she passed us by. She waved back – a private audience of 5. Went back and bought the chicken… Later in the afternoon, while lazing about on the lawns, the first chords of the The Last Saskatchewan Pirate rippled across the grounds and the crowd went wild! The day ended with fireworks under the trees in the area behind the buildings with very robust whiffs of strong ‘cigarettes’, a sprinkling of rain, and what didn’t even seem like a long drive home.
Margo ~ I became a huge fan of Natalie MacMaster who plays Cape Breton Fiddle music and the group Leahy back in the 1990's...both with Canadian roots. And I love K.d Lang!
DeleteNot sure I had a crush when I was young - although maybe Ricky Nelson. But later, already in my early to mid-twenties it was Gordon Lightfoot, and I mean big time! What a voice! I even wrote a story (very bad) about . . . Well never mind, it was a wonderful fantasy, something I really needed at the time.
ReplyDeleteLike Joan, I grew up in a country music household so my very first musical crush was Johnny Cash. Then by around middle school age, when one begins to assert one's own musical tastes, I had the Simon and Garfunkel Greatest Hits album and it was virtually the soundtrack of my life for a few years. I still have a great soft spot for Paul Simon and am sad to hear that he failed to recognize when it was time to retire.
ReplyDeleteI liked Barry Manilow well enough when he was popular, but I have a great much more recent story. He toured through Columbus about 10 years ago and a group of us went just for a laugh. Kind of a laugh at ourselves, really, at our own age and revisiting our youth. But oh my goodness, that man put on a great show! He was already in his 70's by then, and long since out and proud, but he had that arena full of women mesmerized. It was truly one of my all time favorite concerts.
I also loved the Beatles and Paul was my favorite. But my first musical crush was Dean Martin. When I was little, I went to all of his movies and absolutely swooned when he sang. I loved his TV variety show which was full of humorous skits and a lot of music..
ReplyDeleteI had a thing for crooners and I kinda still do. (I never loved Elvis, but I love his voice, rich, powerful and expressive, and I still listen to his greatest hits album from time to time.)
My first concerts were all classical. I didn't see any rock concerts until I was in college.
This is a fun topic, Lucy! Just a few years difference in age seems to create a dividing line. If everyone here included their age at the time of their crush, it would be interesting to track. The Monkeys were fun to listen to, but I was too old to crush on their antics.
Our (my twin and my) first musical crush was John Denver. I don't remember this, but my little sister tells us that we went to her and basically told her she HAD to ask mom and dad for John Denver concert tickets for her upcoming birthday. She did, and the three of us went to the concert with friends. We waited at the backstage door and got to meet him and have him sign our Rocky Mountain High album. After that we were fanatics.
ReplyDeleteYay, Gillian!!! I am delighted to "meet" another fanatic John Denver fan! I followed his entire career, was fortunate to have a quick private audience with him and attended a slew of his concerts. I absolutely adored him!
DeleteOh this is so funny, you all! I love how we all had friends who dipped a certain musician So he was there alone – – my friend Debbie picked Paul, So I went with John. When Debbie and I had a big fight over something, I could have Paul again. (Can I just say… Can you believe he sang at Taylor Swift‘s wedding?? She’s so fabulous, and a Beatle sang at her wedding! That’s so hilarious!)( I always thought I would marry one of them, come to think of it. )
ReplyDeleteAnd my final digression: did you see the article about training AI Large language models, and one of the questions they asked was: who is the best Beatle? To see if they could convince the AI that the best one was Ringo. Since, it went unsaid, that obviously that was the wrong answer.