Footnotes for Introduction to Youth and College:

Steve Miller Band, Greatest Hits 1974-78 1978 & ELO's, Greatest Hits 1979. All of these songs remind me of my living room as a 10 year old. We had a stool for the couch that was on wheels. I would put in either 8-Track, sit on the stool and spin around listening to all of the hits. I would get dizzy and I guess it was my way of getting high without drugs. I looked like a dog chasing his tail. I never inhaled.

Pink Floyd, The Dark Side of the Moon 1973. The album was amazing. I saw them live during The Division Bell Tour of 1994. This is the only band that reminds me of my dad every time I hear any of their songs. My favorite Floyd albums are Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You Were Here and Animals. 

Beatles, Eleanor Rigby 1966. I'm not a big Beatles fan, see the "I Wish I Would Have Chosen The Beatles" story. However, this song does have a special place in my heart since I first heard it on my dad's record player.

Mr. Mister, Kyrie 1985. I literally heard this song a hundred times during the summers of '86 and '87 riding in my dad's truck. Broken Wings was a close second. I had recently become a Christian before this song became popular and kyrie eleison means "Lord, Have Mercy."

Lynyrd Skynyrd, Gold & Platinum 1979. We wore this cassette out playing pool in a room that was only slightly bigger than the pool table. We had to leave the room for the other person to walk around the table. Most of these hits reminds me of the I'm Not Ready friend that I lost my first girlfriend to.

Def Leppard, Pyromania 1983. My brother (in the alternate cover pic) played this album when I was 11 years old. Every song was the best and I sang along at the top of my voice pretending I am Joe Elliott. I played with a lot of Legos listening to this album.

Billy Joel, Say Goodbye to Hollywood 1976 & My Life 1978. I love all of his songs. My uncle introduced me to his early catalog with a real juke box in his basement. My mother's favorite song was Say Goodbye to Hollywood and I loved the TV show Bosom Buddies where My Life was made popular. 

George Thorogood, Mix Tape of Hits. I can't remember what all hits were on this cassette, but every time I hear Bad to the Bone or Who Do You Love, I remember cruising the avenue in a custom painted VW bug with three on the floor.

Foreigner, Records 1982. Cold as Ice and Jukebox Hero are the best cruising songs ever for two teenagers. We sure got the looks from the cruisers...windows down, mullet blowing in the wind.

Paul McCartney, Silly Love Songs 1976. My mom would take us to Long Lake, a local swimming hole. It seemed like every trip I would hear this song. I still sing along to this and other hits from him but without my mullet.

Prince, Purple Rain 1984. I would listen to this album in it's entirety after arguing with my girlfriend (that I later married). Every song has an emotional tie to it. Well, except Darling Nikki.....

Milli Vanilli, Girl You Know It's True 1989. Fake or not, these guys knew how to lip sync. This played the entire summer I was 16 and met my wife. It's one of my secret guilty pleasures to listen to.

Joe Walsh, Life's Been Good 1978 and Cameo, Word Up, 1986. We didn't have the luxury of internet search engines that could find the lyrics to every song imaginable. My friends and I would spend hours rewinding cassette tapes trying to write down lyrics to our favorite songs so we could lip sync. It usually involved listening to FM radio, waiting for the song to play, recording the song on a blank tape and then wearing out that tape listening to that song hundreds of times. Ah, the good 'ol days. Albums are making a come back these days too. My first actual vinyl album was Led Zeppelin's IV and I tried to learn the Stairway to Heaven lyrics but just ended up staring at the weird old man on the cliff in the gatefold.

Miami Vice, NBC 1984-1989, Macgyver ABC 1985-1992, Knight Rider NBC 1982-1986: These were the shows that my friends and I would draw the logo on a poster and hang it over our beds. One of my friends cut out every speed boat picture he could find and plastered his walls. I was more of a hot rod fast-car Pontiac Trans Am kind of guy (minus the Hasselhoff poster).

Arnold Schwarzenegger, Predator 1987. One of my best friends was the biggest Arnold fan. He even gave himself a middle name after one of Arnold's military character's in a movie. We would mimic scenes out of his 80's movies like hiding in the mud to conceal ourselves from "heat seeking" enemies. The time travel nude scene from Terminator was hard to pull off though.

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