I notice that when we talk about past decades, we usually tend to talk about our own experiences, which makes perfect sense since we know ourselves best.  However, I thought we'd have a topic about what our relatives were like in previous decades during their teens and early 20s (the years arguably considered to be ones "pop culture" peak) and maybe even as kids, if you know that much.  Doesn't matter if they're your brother/sister or one of grandparents, just tell us what they like were in the past, what type of pop culture they were into, etc.

I'll start things off.  My grandparents on my dad's side (the ones I know the most about) spent their teens and early 20s during the 50s and early 60s.  My grandpa's favorite singer was (and still is) Elvis by a mile and he was a fan of pre-Beatles rock music in general.  He was also a huge John Wayne fan and had to make sure to see all his movies and he now has a gigantic John Wayne DVD collection.  As the 60s came into being, he started to shift musically.  He didn't care much for the British Invasion or the Beatles (remember, the Beatles were mainly a teen phenomenon at first and he was in his 20s) and started to get more into the Country music of singers like Johnny Cash.  

My grandma also strongly identifies with the 50s and early 60s.  Her favorite style of music was Country (I think she was part of why my grandpa started liking Country in the 60s), but she didn't mind Elvis or Rock music at all.  Like most women at the time, she didn't go to college when she graduated as a woman's place was "in the home" back in those days.  Despite the fact that she had less freedom and rights as a woman during the 50s and early 60s, she loved this time period and still feels more at home with it than any other.  By the time the stereotypical hippy 60s culture came around, she was married with kids, so she never identified with that.  When you say 60s to her, she doesn't think of hippies or Woodstock or Vietnam.  She thinks of JFK, the Beach Boys, and stuff that came out in the first half of the 60s.

My uncle on my mom's side was a huge Kiss fanatic in the 70s and was your stereotypical rocker, complete with the underachieving and the hatred of Disco.  My mom was more of an 80s person than a 70s person, due to being  several years younger.  She was really into the New Wave thing for awhile.  By the decade's end, she was married with a kid (me), but still kept up with modern rock music for years afterward and became a big Hair Metal fan, but still liked the 90s Alternative Rock revolution.

My dad was a mix of a Jock and a Punk/New Wave kind of guy back in high school.  He's split a little bit between the late 70s and the early 80s as being his youthful years.  Disco was a guilty pleasure for him.  He liked it, but he would never admit it in public.  As the years went on though, he grew out of touch with rock music (he HATED the hair bands and that turned him off of rock music) and later got into the Country music craze of the 90s.  It has only been over the past few years that he started to get back into Rock music as I've exposed him to the 90s (which he didn't mind at the time, but didn't give it much of a chance) and 00s Rock music.

So, what were your relatives and family members like the 90s, 80s, 70s, etc.?  

cool topic idea..I like it! :)


Let's see....

my dad in high school was the quarterback for his football team, but was pretty shy (especially with the girls).  He liked to hang out with a few of his neighborhood buddies at local hangouts. His dad passed away when he was only 16 years old...so he kind of lacked that father figure (as my grandma didn't remarry until several years later).

My mom was the type that was friendly with every social class in school. She was popular because she was nice to everyone, and she made runner up for the May Queen.  She was shy though, in her own way..and she tells me today that if she had a chance to do high school over...she would have been a lot more outgoing.

Both of my parents enjoyed the Beatles, The Beach Boys, Dave Clark 5, Leslie Gore...and all of the other music that we call "oldies" today.

My parents met in their early 20's while working at a department store. The ironic thing is that they shared some common friends during high school (they went to different schools)..but didn't really know each other..until meeting at work. They got married when they were 21 years old (in 1969).

My parents still enjoy listening to "their" music from the past...and they have passed down those traditions to myself (as I really enjoy music from the past).

I'll have to go into deeper detail later, but I'll just say there's alot of history as far as my grandparents on both sides go. Unfortunately they're all passed away now, but on my dad's side, my grandpa was born in 1900 in Russia and lived there until he was 14 or so. When WWI was going on, he actually travelled by himself with his younger brother to the east coast to stay with a relative (I think? I forget details and I'll have to ask my dad sometime). Anyway, he settled in Philadelphia and met my grandma (a 1907er, I forget about her early life, but she grew up in the US). Eventually he owned and operated a small deli/store in downtown Philly. They lived in the apartment above the store as my dad was growing up.

I went into more of a life story there, because their pop cultural and music tastes were pretty nonexistant from what I've heard. My grandpa died in 1984, so I only have maybe the teeniest memories of him, but my grandma lived to 1989 and according to my dad and uncle, she never was known to listen to practically any pop music, although she didn't dislike it per se.

I don't know as much about my other grandparents' early lives, but my mom's dad (a 1915er, he died of a stroke the year before I was born) was from Kansas and left home when he was about 17. I believe he did odd jobs and stuff like farmhanding to survive initially. Eventually he ended up working on ships (details are fuzzy, again I'll have to ask my mom). But my grandma was from Thailand and eevn though she had the accent until the day she died, was fairly Americanized. From the very sketchy details I know, her life as a kid over there weren't that great, and she eventually made it to the US, I think in her 20s (she was a 1928er) and met my grandpa.

Pop culturally, my grandpa liked big band music and stuff, but any rock and roll was alien to him. He kinda laughed at The Beatles and British Invasion stuff which my mom and uncle listened to, but he didn't hate it or anything. Surprisingly, my grandma liked a small bit of it and kinda knew some of the songs. I can even remember as a kid in the '80s, when we would listen to music in the car (like we often did) there were a few songs she very casually liked.



As for my own parents, my dad was born in 1938 (there's a pretty big generation gap on that side) and was pretty popular and outgoing growing up in Philadelphia, where he stayed until moving out to the Bay Area of California in the late 60s. Musically, he tends to like quite a bit...everything from classical and jazz, to folk and big band stuff on the older side. But in terms of rock, he seems to favor the British Invasion (i.e. The Rolling Stones, CCR, Doors and especially The Beatles), despite being around thirty at the time, he considers that his "era". I'd say like 1964-1975 is his favorite pop era.

After that, he's a casual fan of disco and even quite a bit of '80s music. Moreso either the softer stuff (i.e. Christopher Cross) classic rockish (i.e. "Walk of Life" by Dire Straits, "Centerfield" by John Fogerty) as well as some general pop (i.e. "Every Breath You Take", "Don't Worry Be Happy", "Drive" by the Cars). I can remember him being like a middle aged entertainer type when I was growing up, almost like Robin Williams. I'd say about 1988 is where his tastes kinda stop, like I've heard him making fun of rap and heavy metal or most '90s music (probably '00s too). Not in an I hate it way, but in a teasing/this isn't my thing kind of way.

From what I know on the other hand, my mom was always a pretty big music listener, which is largely how I got into it myself so early in life to the extent I did. I always had more of a closeness with her in a friendship way, almost like I was her little brother. SHe's a 1954er and even though wasn't as popular in school or as outgoing as my dad, was more the type to be people's friend and all. She was a major Beatles fan as a kid (being 10 when they came out, that's the perfect age), as well as alot of the psychedelic rock and pop, and I believe some disco too. Being only 27 when I was born, I can remember her being a huge fan of quite a bit of the pop music as I was growing up, like buying tapes and listening to the radio. My dad was more a casual fan, but she was almost as into it as teenagers probably were (i.e. watching MTV). At the time, I remember she especially was a fan of Prince, Huey Lewis, The Police, Lionel Richie, Janet Jackson, The Cars, Hall and Oates, Bon Jovi, Jackson Browne, "King of Wishful Thinking", among tons of others. This kept through until maybe 1993ish, when the '80s influence in pop was pretty much gone, but I know at least until the early '00s she was a casual fan of some radio music (i.e. Three Doors Down and some of the alternative pop/rock).


P.S. In writing up this megalong post, I realized something. BOTH my parents seem to favor the pop culture and music of when they were about 30 or 35! See to me, since I experienced that, it always seemed normal and I never gave it a second thought. Yet I've later seen that's not always the case, so that always surprised me and I didn't quite understand it. Being a parent and liking pop culture never seemed like exclusive territories, but I can see how when people have kids, they tend to grow out of things in hardcore way. For instance, they might like songs on the radio, but probably don't go to concerts and stuff too much. I've always wondered why this was, but then again Eighties music is so fun and catchy, I don't see how anyone could possibly dislike it. ;) Not everything necesarilly, but I really think there's something for every taste on the '80s pop charts.

P.S. In writing up this megalong post, I realized something. BOTH my parents seem to favor the pop culture and music of when they were about 30 or 35! See to me, since I experienced that, it always seemed normal and I never gave it a second thought. Yet I've later seen that's not always the case, so that always surprised me and I didn't quite understand it. Being a parent and liking pop culture never seemed like exclusive territories, but I can see how when people have kids, they tend to grow out of things in hardcore way. For instance, they might like songs on the radio, but probably don't go to concerts and stuff too much. I've always wondered why this was, but then again Eighties music is so fun and catchy, I don't see how anyone could possibly dislike it. ;) Not everything necesarilly, but I really think there's something for every taste on the '80s pop charts.


Yeah, now that you mention it, there always seems to be patterns that certain family members follow.  I just now noticed that both my dad and my grandpa spent their youth listening to rebellious music (my granpda listening to Elvis and early rock music, my dad listening to Punk and early New Wave), but started listening to more mellow music as they became older and both chose Country music as their new main style of music after they got married and had kids.  My dad has started to move away from Country lately, but he was a solid fan of it for nearly the entire 90s and the early 00s.  

By way of comparison, and I can't believe I didn't mention this, but my grandma on my mom's side (not the grandma I mentioned in my first post) and my mom managed to stay on top of the music scene and remain big fans of the current trends for years after "their time" had passed.  My grandma on my mom's side loves a lot of 60s and 70s music and still likes some modern music, although it tends to be very light and mellow music.  As for my mom, she fell out of touch with most music in the 90s (not a big fan of R&B or Adult Contemporary), but is still really into modern rock music, mostly Hard Rock and Heavy Metal.  She listens to heavier stuff than me at times, and it occasionally clashes with my Alternative and Indie Rock taste (and my newly emerging Classic Rock taste).

It seems like the two main favorite forms of music in my family and among my relatives are Country (grandma, grandpa, dad for a long period of time, a few uncles that I don't know much about) and Hard Rock (mom, mom's brother, one of my other uncles, and a couple cousins).  I think I'm the first one who has leaned more toward the Alternative Rock side of things...although I suppose the Punk Rock my dad listened to could be considered "proto-Alternative" due to the influence it had on the Grunge bands of the 90s like Nirvana.

I like seeing little patterns like that.  It seems you see several of them in every family (including yours as well) and it makes you wonder if you'll follow the same path when you get older.  

My Dad who is now 74 years old spent most of his life listening to Big Band, Polka and Americana music.  However he does like Jim Croce.

My Mom likes 50's and 60's music, everything from Bobby Vee to the Monkees.  I can remember being 10 and dancing with her to Herman's Hermits Henry 8th.

My brother's were into everything from Black Sabbath to Bob Dylan.

In my old age of 35 I've come to appreciate it all.

  Grandmother (1920-1980) - Big Band stuff and Gospel stuff.  Her favorite song was "Amazing Grace".  Devout Southern Baptist.  Hated KISS (which I loved) and expressed concern for my eternal soul...

  Grandfather (1915-1995) - Big Band stuff, classic Country, Zydeco and Polka stuff.  Converted from Catholicism to So. Baptist.  He didn't care too much for KISS either but stayed out of the fray...

  Mom (b. 1942) - Dunno...

  Dad (1944-1992) - The KING was his early influence.  From what I could tell: The Doobie Bros., Eagles, Tower of Power, Chicago, ELO, James Taylor, Roy Orbison, Johnny Cash, George Harrison, and garden variety 70s rock.  All of it good...

  All of the above: I don't recall being at all concerned with, or discussing at length, their pop culture likes and dislikes.  They had their stuff, I had my stuff...

  http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2006-6/1193336/HateGospel.jpg

My mother has always preferred opera and classical music for as long as I can remember. She told me this was her favorite kind of music growing up, too. She also loves old black and white movies and television shows.

My father preferred old fashioned country and western music, like Hank Williams, Patsy Cline, and Johnny Cash. However, he was much more tolerant of my love for pop and rock music than my mother was.  ;D

My Great-grandfather was born in 1889, and even though there wasn't much "pop music" in his younger days, he did have a fairly large collection of early jazz and some swing/big band type stuff. I never really got to know him though since he died a little after I was born.

My Grandparents were born in the '30s, and they both prefer music from the '40s and '50s. Anything after the British Invasion is kinda shaky with them, but they do like some newer songs up to the '80s and '90s.

My Parents were born in the '60s, and they love music from the '70s and '80s. My dad was more into rock, and he liked alot of the "arena rock" stuff from the '70s/early '80s. He also liked some early hair metal. My mom liked pop mostly. She was alot more open to '90s music than my dad though. She even liked a few grunge songs, but my dad doesn't really like anything that has come out since 1991.

My grandmother just passed away  :\'( :\'( :\'( and I'm not too sure what kind of music she liked-probably classical. I will have to ask my sister who knew her better than I did.

My dad likes classical and the Beatles. I remember him having the Beach Boys "Endless Summer" album when I was a kid along with the "Abby Road" album from the Beatles. He identifies himself with the Baby Boomers even though he is not. BTW, he LOVES the movie "Across the Universe".

My mother likes musicals & Big Band. She is also into the "lounge lizard" music from the 60s/70s like Ed Ames, Englebert Humperdink, Perry Como, etc.



Cat 

I'm 25, and my parents are in their 60s now-- my mom's old enough to be my grandmother --so needless to say, they're quite a bit older than most parents who have kids my age. 

My mom seemed to like 50s music, but I also remember her liking Diana Ross, and the Carpenters, and some female country artists like Loretta Lynn and Tammy Wynette. 

My dad is a blues kinda guy.  He loves the blues, and also some early rock n' roll.  He also seems to like Shania Twain. XD  I've also heard him listening to classical stuff a lot.

Interestingly enough, he likes a lot of the same movies as me, and would always watch cartoons with me, especially Looney Tunes.  However, he seems to have a penchant for B-grade sci-fi movies, whereas I don't, lol.  He also thinks Austin Powers is hilarious.

As for my grandparents...well, my dad's parents have been dead for a long time.  I never knew either of them. 

As for my mother's parents, I remember they liked to watch stuff like Lawrence Welk on TV.  So probably 30s/40s music.  That's just a guess though; I was never really close to my grandmother and she's been gone for about ten years now.  My grandfather is still around but well into his 80s.  I know he likes hymns and spiritual songs, since he's always been very involved in the church.  He leaves his TV on Fox News pretty much all the time, and likes Westerns a lot.  He's also really into Oklahoma/Native American history and studying our genealogy.

My older sister (15 years older to be exact) was very much an 80s girl.  She loved stuff like The Police, Duran Duran, and Guns N' Roses.  I think she was just really into hair bands in general.  For a while, she had big hair and wore really dramatic makeup, and had a black leather jacket.  She also really likes horror movies.  Thanks to her, I saw a few of them when I was little and had lots of nightmares. XD

Well, this is interesting.

My father came of age in the 30s and 40s, so he talks about how hard times were during the Depression and he actually served in World War 2 in Germany. Also, my father is a Black man from the South, so unfourtunately, a lot of his stories recall the realness of segregation and the Jim Crow laws and that sort of thing and how it directly affected him and the people he knew.

My mother is 24 years younger than my father and came of age in the 50s and 60s. And even though she was in the middle of the Civil Rights Movement, she mostly tells me about the concerts she went to and the musicians she met with my father, like BB King and Ike and Tina Turner, Muddy Waters (?)

There's not much to me. I came up in the 90s and 00's lol. And I have yet to meet, Michael Jackson, Prince, or Paula Abdul like I want to! LOL!  ;)