My early childhood is nearly a complete blur and I can't remember listening to much children's music, aside from random songs on PBS shows like Sesame Street, The Electric Company, and Zoom (loved the theme song to that show). As the youngest in the household I was influenced by what the other family members listened to. My parents had both liked The Beatles and I was exposed early on to their music. I remember specifically watching the James Paul McCartney special on t.v. with my mother as a child and loving the songs and melodies. My first musical memory of all was playing the vinyl record of The Concert For Bangla Desh album on our console stereo (because I thought the album cover was interesting and exotic and sad) and hearing the strains of the Indian musicians’ playing coming out of the loudspeakers. Didn’t play it for long, but it made an impression on me. I was also exposed to my father’s jazz albums as he had been an amateur jazz drummer, but that was a bit later on. My mother was also a country and western fan, so I heard a lot of that around the house. My sisters listened to ‘70s pop hits of the time and we used to sing together along with those. My eldest sister liked T. Rex and The Sweet, and Black Sabbath and Alice Cooper (I was scared of them! my sister was generally really nice but occasionally she threatened to put on a Black Sabbath or Alice Cooper record if I was annoying her). My middle sister liked disco and soul music. So I was exposed to this conglomeration of music in the home and I think it accounts in large part for my musical tastes.
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