Growing up, music wasn’t a part of my life. While many kids turned on the radio or played their favorite records, I only listened to KMOX on the radio in St. Louis and listened to St. Louis Cardinals baseball. That was it. I cannot remember my parents playing music in our home, and I suppose it just wasn’t a priority for them.

In high school, music began to creep into my life through exposure to live performances. In the late 1970s, rock bands were at the pinnacle of their success, and we loved going to see bands like Styx, REO Speedwagon, AC/DC, and Kansas. One of their songs would get stuck in my head, and I would play it over and over again.

In my late 30s, my wife and I got hooked on the Dave Matthews Band. Middle age was upon us, and we started asking ourselves, “What’s next?” or “Is this it?” One particular song called “Tripping Billies” touched a chord deep inside me as I was about to turn 40. It spoke about living in the moment, enjoying life with family and friends, and not sweating the little stuff. I remember hearing the chorus of that song for the first time in person, and it became my favorite part of any of his work. It went like this: “Eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow you may die.” I listened to that song over and over again until every word was ingrained into my head. It was the repetitions in my mind that I couldn’t get enough.

The only other time a song was so memorable in my life began in a friend’s car. I have a friend in Colorado who knows more about music than anyone I have ever met. Besides being a walking encyclopedia of music, he also plays in a band. We would listen to CDs in his car on our way to go fishing. He would always play a variety of music, from the Grateful Dead to Warren Zevon. He always kind of “dumbed down” the explanations of the songs in a way that allowed me to visualize why a particular song was so special to him. About ten years ago, on the way to fishing, he slipped in a CD and asked if I had ever heard of a Neil Young album called “Neil Young Live at Massey Hall”. While he knew that I liked Neil Young, he was shocked to hear that I had never heard of it. Neil cut this album when he was 24 years old, and it is filled with pieces of some of his greatest songs played for the first time in front of a live audience. The album is a true masterpiece. I don’t think any other Neil Young album has such a wide range of raw, young, innovative music all in one place. It’s sheer genius.

One of the songs on the album was a combination of two of his greatest hits, titled “A Man Needs a Maid/Heart of Gold Suite”. The song tells a story of a man searching for love, maybe finding it, but not knowing exactly how to give it back in return. To this day, I don’t know why I love that song so much. Maybe it’s the title? Certainly there have been times in the past that I have felt chauvinistic. I have tried to rectify that personality flaw which has been a pretty successful work in progress, especially as I have gotten older. After hearing this song for the first time I got home and immediately downloaded it on my phone. Then I would set it on repeat and play it again and again and again.

As I finish writing this post, I realize that throughout my life, certain songs have been signposts. There weren’t many, but wow, were they important. They signaled a new direction in my life, one that was uncharted territory. Who knew that listening to a song in your head repeatedly would be so powerful?

I hope this helps!