Soundtrack

As much as I love books, if I had to give up either books or music, I’d never again turn a page. I wouldn’t need to hem and haw; the decision would be instant and with little to no chance of regret. No need for Rock, Paper, Scissors or a flip of a coin. I’d choose music every single time.

Deciding what I’d write in response to this week’s GBE prompt, “What is the music backdrop to your life?” was just as easy as the books or music question. While my taste in music is wide ranging and my Amazon music library and playlists cover most every genre and a century of recordings, one artist’s work has been front and center in my life and in my marriage.

We were in our early days, broke and happy, wildly in love. An artist I loved was going to be playing near us, and though my CCR, Zeppelin, and the Stones loving sweetheart had never heard of him, we gathered up our pennies and went to see Don Williams play. By the end of the evening, my darlin’ was a fan, too.

Over the decades, the two of us went to Don Williams concerts every chance we got. We went when we could afford it and we went when buying tickets meant we’d have to eat macaroni for a week. It was always, always, always worth it.

When Williams announced his retirement, we booked tickets to see his last two shows, in two different states—both, lucky for us, were in the Midwest, so we drove to the first one and instead of heading home, drove to where he was scheduled the next night. When he came out of retirement a few years later, I bought a couple of right up front and on the aisle seats the minute they became available.

Sadly, we didn’t get to see him play what was intended to be his last (for real, this time) concert. A few days after I bought those tickets, the venue emailed to notify us that all tickets were being refunded. Williams had a hip replacement and was hanging up his cowboy hat. For a number of years, he’d walked on stage, sat on a wooden stool and chatted with the audience before he sang his first note. At some point during the concert, he’d look out over the crowd, fill with emotion, and say, “Mercy.” Inevitably, in his later years, he’d apologize in advance in case his voice was bad, saying he had “a case of the crud.” He always sounded great. But that crud finally became too much and he announced the end of his touring days. He was going to stick close to home, hang out with his wife, kids, and grandkids, and maybe do a little fishing.  

Though I’m not typically one to get all googly-eyed over celebrities, I cried when I heard of his passing. That happened only one other time, when Fred Rogers died.

Don Williams concerts were lovely, heart-centered, mellow affairs. My husband and I were two full decades (maybe a bit more) younger than most of his fans. A couple of brown-haired noggins in a sea of grey ones. He always invited his audience to sing along, and most everyone sang. I don’t know if you’ve ever spent hours singing with a big group of people, but it’s kind of magical. You feel fantastic, physically and emotionally, both during and for quite some time after. Happy, connected, in love with life. It’s the ultimate hangover-free buzz and I highly recommend it.

I’m including a small ridiculously large sampling of some of our favorite Don Williams songs (I did have an even longer list–this is the chopped down version). These would surely be included in the soundtrack of my life’s story. There’d be other artists represented too, but none dearer to me than Don Williams.

Totally worth a listen, each and every one.

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(GBE Topic #17: “What is the music backdrop to your life?”)

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