The Greatest Baby Boomer Dancer

They were sisters who used to perform under the name of "Mrs. Williams Grandchildren" when they first started out in Philadelphia. Then they went on to become Sister Sledge and burst onto the disco scene in the late 70s with their big hit: We are Family.

Bet you didn't know that We are Family hit the Billboard Charts three different times: it reached number 7 in 1979, number 33 in 1984 and number 5 in 1993.

But that wasn't my favorite song. This one was:

My Baby Boomer Boogie Shoes

Harry Wayne Casey ("KC") was a part-time record store employee and part-timer at TK Records in Miami. As a teenager he played and sang with several local bands and played piano at the Pentecostal church his family attended. He studied music at Miami-Dade Community College.

In an interview after the band became big, Casey said he noticed often that customers would come in to the record store not remembering the titles of the records they wanted, and the store would lose the sale. This is the reason so many of his songs repeat their titles over and over.


So here is my favorite Disco song by KC & The Sunshine Band:

It's Baby Boomer Disco Week

As a teenager growing up in the 70s, I was a big fan of disco music. The music was upbeat, alive and easy to dance to!

The one entertainer that I enjoyed listening to over and over again was Donna Summer. She was known as the Queen of Disco.

I remember the first time I heard "Love to Love You Baby" I couldn't believe they would play something like that on the radio. It wasn't one of my favorite songs by her. Maybe because I wasn't thinking about sex at that time.

I have two favorite songs by baby boomer Donna Summer. One was "Last Dance" and the other is this one. And I just discovered when I pulled this video from YouTube that the guy she's singing with is white. I always thought he was black.

One more thing: A friend of mine said she saw her not long ago performing in Boston and she was as good as she was back then:

Did You Ever Take a Magic Carpet Ride?

You know, it's interesting. If this song had been released today, I probably would've never heard it--much less list it as one of my favorites. But just like the song, Born to Be Wild, there was something about Steppenwolf's music that I could really get into.

"Magic Carpet Ride" appears in numerous movie soundtracks, including Star Trek: First Contact, Team America: World Police, Apollo 13, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back and Sahara.

Now that I'm older and have really listened to the lyrics, I wonder if this song was about sex or drugs or both. Do you know?

Born to be Baby Boomer Wild

OK...as you can see my taste in music VARIES. This is the song I sang during a karaoke night while my husband and I were on a cruise to the Bahamas. Actually, it was the second leg of our honeymoon. We spent the first part in St. Lucia.

I actually won a prize for this song---NOT BECAUSE I could sing--but I was very entertaining. I even got a couple of audience members up to dance with me.

I might also add there were members from the Couples Ministry from my church (including the pastor) on the cruise. I'm sure I was the subject of many conversations after that!

The Box Tops: What a Name for a Rock Group

The Box Tops began as The Devilles, who had started playing in Memphis in 1963. They recorded "The Letter" which became an international hit in late 1967. It reached Billboard's number-one position and remaining there for over a month. The record, produced by Dan Penn, sold over four million copies and received two Grammy awards nominations.

I was 10-years-old when this song became a hit.

Baby Boomer Rock-N-Roll Week Begins

They met in a Los Angeles coffee shot when he was 27 and she was just sweet 16. Well, maybe she wasn't so sweet.

When they first recorded this song, I was eight-years-old. This was my favorite song by them.

It's amazing to think that 40 years ago, you didn't see not one black teen dancing on any of these TV shows. Now, we're all over the place as dancing video hos!

Country Western Round -Up

I'm wrapping up County Western Week with another Patsy Cline. It was a choice btween this song and Walkin' After Midnight. I chose this one: Next week is Rock-n-Roll on the blog where baby boomers jam!!!

His Songs Gave Me A lot of Pride

He was born in a Mississippi town called Sledge and was one of eleven children of poor sharecroppers. Though he also loved music, one of his life-long dreams was to become a professional baseball player.

During his career, he has had thirty-six number-one hits on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts. He was one of my dad's all-time favorite singers:

Boomers Jam in Canada, Too!

I'm not she if she was classified as a country western singer but her music kind of had that cw sound--a little twang is what I call it.

One interesting tidbit I learned is her birthday is the day before mine. This Canadian Diva took this song all the way to #1 on the Hot 100 Billboard Charts in 1970.

I was 13 years-old then and just starting to get into the "lyrics" of a song versus the "beat." This is my next favorite country western baby boomer jam.

It's Country Western Week on Baby Boomer Jamz!

OK...so who says a black baby boomer can't appreciate all types of music? My parents LOVED music. My dad was a big Charley Pride fan. I fell in love with the sultry sound of this woman who was born Virginia Patterson Hensley September 8, 1932.

She died tragically at the age of 30 in a plane crash in 1963 but her music lives on forever. Can you guess who I'm talking about?

It's Not the Same Old Song

This song was released on July 9, 1965. Even though this group had other songs that seemed to be more popular, this one was my favorites.

Here's the story on how the song was made according to Wikipedia: Duke Fakir recalled: Lamont Dozier and I were both a little tipsy and he was changing the channels on the radio. He said, 'It sounds like the same old song.' And then he said, 'Wait a minute.' So he took 'I Can't Help Myself' and reversed it using the same chord changes. By 5 P.M., The Tops had recorded the song and mixing began.

Motown was a Big Hit for Baby Boomers

This song was recorded in 1964 when I was seven-years-old. Every time I hear it, it brings back memories of the times when my neighbors and I would put towels on our heads and pretend to be singing this tune. Do you know what song I'm talking about?

A Baby Boomer "Miss You" Song

Even though I was only 8 years old when I first heard this song, it became one of my favorite ballads by the Temptations. The lyrics were written by Smokey Robinson and Pete Moore and produced by Robinson. The record, which was released on June 1, 1965, was a top 20 pop single on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States.

* Lead vocals by David Ruffin
* Background vocals by Eddie Kendricks, Melvin Franklin, Paul Williams, and Otis Williams

How ironic that David Ruffin would die on the SAME DAY the song was released June 1 in 1991. He was 50-year-old at the time.

Luther Vandross went on the record the song in the 80s but as far as I'm concerned, not even Luther, could hold a candle to the original Temptations Sound. Can you guess which song it is before you hit the play button?

What was your favorite Temptations slow baby boomer jam?

Baby Boomers Grew Up on Motown

This blog is dedicated to baby boomers, like me, who grew up listening to music---all kinds of music! I'm a baby boomer whose parents were music lovers and always had the latest hit records in our home. The songs featured in this blog are the ones I would include on my all-time favorites list. Maybe we share some of the same interests. Take a listen to the best song I believe The Temptations ever sang.

What was YOUR favorite Temptations song?