We had to trash it because it kept skipping through my songs. The first was my Dad’s that I borrowed and literally wore out because I played it so many times.
This particular CD is the second of three(!) copies of this album that I have owned at one point or another. I did realize though, the same songs that I listened to on repeat all those years ago were the exact same ones I enjoyed listening to again on the drive in. Listening to it again today, almost assuredly for the first time since then, it’s mind boggling that this worked as a sleep aid for so many years. I think I listened to it each and every night from when I was 6 or so, until I was 9 or 10.
I think these tracks, to me, were the most engaging and easily accessible, and the repetition helped me sleep. The same was true of Garth Brook’s “Ain’t Going Down (Till the Sun Comes Up)” a few years earlier- but more on that in a later blog.
I couldn’t figure out how to include any songs after track 10 and besides, these were the most up-tempo, loudest, sing-along tunes that as it happens, eased me to sleep as a child. I pre-programmed my stereo system to only play tracks 1, 2, 5, 8, 9, 10. You see, I would put on this CD to fall asleep to every single night. Incredibly though, this is probably the CD I listened to the most as a child. Today’s commute was probably my first time circling back to the country-loving era of my life and the first time I put on this album in probably 20 years. I had just ripped the Top-40 Country New Year’s Eve countdown ( this was the top song of the year) to a cassette from the radio, but abandoned it in favor of The OC soundtrack and the alternative bands my friends were getting into. I stopped listening to radio-friendly country music in 2004, and I can vividly recall that being the year. Naturally, I grew up with it.Īs happens though, my music tastes evolved as I became more independent. My Texas-born-and-raised Dad listened to it and still does. It offered a clear picture of the world and easy-mantras on life, love, cars, and heartbreak. As a child and into my pre-teen years, I loved Alan Jackson and Garth Brooks and Reba McEntire and the whole down-home, country-fried lifestyle. This morning’s commute was half an exercise in nostalgia, and half a trip wondering what makes these songs “the greatest hits”.įor the record, I used to be super into country music.