Favorite Songs

In another lifetime, I believe most dating couples and young married couples had a favorite song they considered to be “their song.” It had a special attachment that could be the words in the song, or when they first heard it together. When I was in high school, I loved the “pop” music played on the AM radio stations and played at the teen dances. During the 1950s-1960s period, songs were recorded and released as singles on 45rpm records, with the “hit” song on the “A” side and another song on the “B” side. Most radio stations had “DJs”, disc jockeys, who played songs during their shift each day.

Some of those radio DJs would be paid to work at teen dances and other dance halls that did not have a live band. There were no recording devices, no iPods, or cassette players, so if you wanted to listen to your favorite songs, you went to a record store and bought the 45 records. There were many recording artists, including groups, who had hit songs, but some of them would be known as a “one-hit wonder”. They might have had many records, but not many ever made the top 20 list, let alone the number one hit.

I liked a lot of different singers and groups, but slow songs were my favorite because I got to hold the girl closer and enjoy the moment. When the Beatles became popular, I said no thanks to that sound. I liked the Beach Boys and country music. There was a period when I listened to a lot of big bands and jazz music. I remember the period when LP albums and expensive stereo systems with big speakers were popular. I remember installing an 8-track player under the dash so we could listen to our favorite songs while on trips.

Today, I have about 100 songs I like to listen to on a USB drive that is plugged into my radio system in my car. I change it out at Christmas or any time I want to change the songs. It has been years since I listened to a radio station. Over the years, I have bought hundreds of CDs recorded by my favorite singers. My favorite Gospel/Christian song always seemed to be the last one Eva sang, and she was my all-time favorite singer.

I have no idea how many different girls I danced with to the song “Last Date” before Eva and I got married. I loved it from the first time I heard it. It was recorded by several people; Skeeter Davis and Conway Twitty both had their versions with lyrics that were totally different. To me, it will always be Floyd Cramer’s song.

After we got married, “Last Date” became our song. We said we would always share our last date together for the rest of our lives. The picture above was taken at the Taste of Texas on our anniversary in March 2016. She fell on July 4^th that year and fractured her neck. That was the last time just the two of us went to dinner as a date. When you are young and starting your family, it is the little things like “your song” that help define your new life together. As the years go by, they only remain in faded memories.

Floyd Cramer – Last Date