Beatlesque Beginnings
Two Popular asides.
The Beatles, “Hey Jude”, 14 September 1968
I’m not planning to make a habit of dipping into the archives of Popular to leave comments (not yet, anyway), but this one has been nagging at me a while. Through my Popular-inspired researches I’ve realised that “Hey Jude” must be my earliest musical memory other than nursery rhymes. It was number one in Australia for thirteen weeks, when I was nine to twelve months old, and I remember it being around—on radio, presumably. When I next encountered it in any kind of sustained way (on a Beatles singles compilation at age 15) it gave the strongest sense of deja vu of any of their songs, possibly because it wasn’t a radio staple through most of my childhood (too long, presumably, or our DJs had been burnt out on it), so I couldn’t pinpoint where I’d heard it before.
So for me this is like “Baa, Baa, Black Sheep”: it’s not just music, it is music. I don’t listen to it much nowadays, and there are many Beatles songs I prefer, but McCartney tapped into something deep here, that his music could make such an impression on someone who couldn’t even talk. (I can’t give it a rating. How do you rate Music?)
Lena’s comment (“To me, this song is an example of the Silent Generation ... talking directly to what would become Generation X”) feels spot on to me, and for similar reasons: my parents are the same age as the fabs, and I’m the same age she was. I can think of far worse songs with far worse messages to have at the heart of your musical memories.
I look at my little guy sometimes, age two and half, and wonder what his “Hey Jude” will be.
The Beatles, “Hello Goodbye”, 9 December 1967
My stork track. What a suitable beginning! In Australia it didn’t hit number one until shortly after I was born, but near enough. Although I’m fine with the Royal Guardsmen’s “Snoopy’s Christmas” too.
19 September 2009