Audio
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Grandma's record player could switch from the 45, 33, 78's, & 1/3, and she described it as having a hole in the center. She loved to listen to Elvis Presley on a 45, and he was one of her favorite artists, along with Charlie Pride and Willie Nelson. The records were cheap, less than a dollar. This cheap price came in handy when she would run into her neighbor who happened to give her a couple dollars for records.
Grandma's mother didn't listen to the record player all that often, so it primarily existed for Grandma and her sister. This explains why the record player stayed in their room and why their mother never restricted what they could listen to or what time of the day it was playing. Grandma's mother never complained about the music, but she never sung along to it either.
Whenever there was bad weather that prevented Grandma from playing outside, she listed to her record player. Sometimes they had both the record player and the radio on. Grandma used to listen to her records while she did homework, similar to how current students prefer to listen to music through their earbuds while they are studying.
Grandma mainly discovered the artists she listened to from the radio. Aside from Willie Nelson, Charlie Pride, and Elvis Presley, she listed to other rock and roll artists. It was the Woodstock era, so a majority of the songs that came from Woodstock were songs that Grandma liked as well.
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Wednesdays and Sundays, Grandma and her family went to church. Some of Grandma's best memories came from singing at church, even though there wasn't necessarily a church choir. Outside of church, Grandma went to rock and roll concerts where she could let loose. She saw the Beach Boys, Elvis Presley, Michael Jackson, Beatles, etc.
│Everybody listened to rock and roll...which was good...because I liked it a lot."
Grandma doesn't listen to music too much currently, but if she does, then she listens to rock and roll and country. Grandma doesn't like hip hop, pop, or soul music. She doesn't use an internet connection to listen to music, she only ever listens to music if it's on her car radio or on a commercial she has to watch during one of her favorite TV shows.
| No, no, no, I do not listen to that teeny-bopper music you kids listen to nowadays. You know better than to ask me that."
Making the shift from recording to radio, Grandma grew up with the radio constantly playing. She shares that her mother even had her personal radio that she clipped on to her outfit, even though she still controlled the radio in the kitchen. The radio was on more often than the TV, which was primarily how Grandma found out about breaking news. While Grandma controlled the record player and played rock and roll, her mother controlled the radio and played western/country music.
Grandma and her family would listen to the radio from the time they got home from school until it was time for their baths. Everyone in the house would listen to what was playing, which caused fights between Grandma and her sister.
Some of the commercials from the radio were similar to the TV. There weren't a lot of commercials that played on the radio, especially not like today, Grandma shared. Grandma and her family knew of educational radio programs but actively chose not to listen to them because they were more interested in the current music. Grandma remembers when FM radio became available, but it didn't affect her life all that much because she continued to listen to AM.
| No, no, no, I do not listen to that teeny-bopper music you kids listen to nowadays. You know better than to ask me that."
Making the shift from recording to radio, Grandma grew up with the radio constantly playing. She shares that her mother even had her personal radio that she clipped on to her outfit, even though she still controlled the radio in the kitchen. The radio was on more often than the TV, which was primarily how Grandma found out about breaking news. While Grandma controlled the record player and played rock and roll, her mother controlled the radio and played western/country music.
Grandma and her family would listen to the radio from the time they got home from school until it was time for their baths. Everyone in the house would listen to what was playing, which caused fights between Grandma and her sister.
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Some of the commercials from the radio were similar to the TV. There weren't a lot of commercials that played on the radio, especially not like today, Grandma shared. Grandma and her family knew of educational radio programs but actively chose not to listen to them because they were more interested in the current music. Grandma remembers when FM radio became available, but it didn't affect her life all that much because she continued to listen to AM.
Grandma listens to 94.9 The Fox in Kansas City now. It's a station for old rock and roll music; perfect for Grandma. She listens to it because it brings back memories; a culmination of the singers, their voices, her experiences with that song, and the lyrics. She only listens to radio in the car because that's all she has access to.
Something interesting that came from this interview is Grandma's discovery that she doesn't have a radio in her house. When she was recalling her experiences with older radio stations, she felt prompted to listen to them. Grandma wasn't able to because she only had a car radio.
Grandma doesn't use recording or radio currently, but it's apparent that those forms of audio were crucial in her life growing up. She truly believes that the music she listened to is reflective of the type of person she was, and that listening to those same genres brings her back.
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