The Summer of 1975

We received our sibling assignment from Inland Empire Girl this week. Here is the assignment:

What songs take you back to a summer growing up?

Share the song and the memories that are attached to it.

My mom made a purchase in the Summer of 1975 that had a great impact on my life.

She purchased a radio that gave me the ability to tune into an FM station from Spokane.

The station was KHQ-FM.

Before FM, residence in the Silver Valley were limited on their radio station choices because of the fact we lived in the valley, and the signals could not reach us from Spokane. The local station, KWAL, was okay, but I was longing for a little more variety.

The summer of 1975 was big year. I had just finished sixth grade at Sunnyside Elementary, and I was preparing to enter 7th grade at Kellogg Junior High. I'm sure I was filled with excitement and a bit of apprehension as I prepared to enter that huge building and go to all those different classes.

The one song I remember the most from that summer was Captain And Tennille's "Love Will Keep Us Together". And I seem to remember them playing that song a lot that summer, because it was the number one hit for a while.

I have a particulary vivid memory of me sitting on the front porch at my parents house, with the radio on the front porch, and the sky was getting cloudy, but I sitting outside listening to the radio. Possibly I received better reception outside.

There were others that summer that have stayed with me for over 30 years, such as "The Hustle", Elton John's "Philadelphia Freedom", "Listen to What The Man Said", by Wings, "My Eyes Adored You", by The Four Seasons, "Evil Woman", by The Electric Light Orchestra and Billy Joel's "The Entertainer".

If any of these songs come on the the radio today, I can pretty much sing them word for word, because they have a permanent place in my memory from the summer of 1975.

Writing about this post reminded me of the Steely Dan hit "FM". I invite you to enjoy a little Steely Dan.