Which records have had an impact on your life

There are thousands of them, @Lullabelle - almost everything I've listened to since the late 1950s has impacted my life in one way or another. If I tried to list everything I'd crash the website.

One guy I listen to a lot is Aaron Burdett from Saluda, NC. Probably unknown outside NC (and probably largely unknown inside NC too), Aaron has put together a handful of CDs over the last 10 years that all stand up to repeated listening. His music is often described as Americana (a term I dislike) - a mélange of musical styles which have their 'origins' in the US : country, bluegrass, rock etc. He writes thoughtful and sometimes whimsical songs, largely reflective of the daily grind. He deserves to be much better known.

Another CD that I've been listening to a lot in October is Bobby Watson's 'Appointment In Milano'. Fairly straightahead post-bop, Bobby's backed by three Italian jazz musicians - Piero Bassini on piano, Attilio Zanchi on bass and Giampiero Prima on drums. Recorded in Milan in 1985 and still sounding fresh 30-odd years later.

I'm not much of a fan of jazz fusion but I've enjoyed listening to Per Mathison's 'Sound Of 3' recording from 2016 this week. I didn't think I'd ever get excited about Norwegian jazz fusion, but this is good stuff.

As these three CDs (alongside dozens of others this month) have influenced the way I feel, then they could be said to have impacted my life. And anyway I wanted to be the first (and undoubtedly the only) person to mention Aaron Burdett on the forum.
 
I actually never heard the recorded version til much later but...
Puff the Magic Dragon...my favorite song we always sang when we were kids. the messages i got from it was don't grow up and leave your imagination behind and don't forget the magic of childhood.
 
Music is a beautiful language that isn't spoken enough, so every time I've enjoyed the musical conversation, it has impacted my life.
 
My sister is 7 years older than I so her musical tastes were an influence upon me in the late 50s. Elvis Presley in particular. In 1966 I was introduced to Bob Dylan's music by an older work mate (boss actually) and except for a few of his 80s albums, he's been with me ever since. Deep south blues came into my life in 1968 when I attended a Howlin' Wolf/Freddie King concert in Manchester. A year later I was into psychedelia after Woodstock. Since then, any genre of music which would fit those artist or anywhere in between gives me listening pleasure.
 
Music is something I listen to depending on mood. I used to drive my, then pop culture, daughter nuts when taking her to school, by playing Black Sabbath with Ozzie. As far as impacting my life, don't think music has had any real impact, other than my guitar playing, banjo (5 string) playing and desire to learn the Cajun accordion. Don't have time for those these days.
 
Too many to name. All the music from the late 60s to early 70s. I saw many of the bands/artists live in concerts and at the now gone Fillmore East in New York like Hendrix, Joplin and big brother and the holding company, Joe Cocker, Richie Havens, Jefferson Airplane. I've never seen anyone play the guitar with their teeth, over their head, behind their back, between their legs LOL. I could go on and on. The one song that stands out that describes the era was Country Joe and the Fish's Vietnam protest song.
 
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Karen W said:
The one song that stands out that describes the era was Country Joe and the Fish's Vietnam protest song.
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"What are we fighting for"?

I have yet to find out the answer to that. America lost that war but how did we all suffer because of that lost war?
 
More music that transports me to another time...

Cream, Canned Heat, Procul Harum, ELO, The Moody Blues. Songs like Nights in White Satin in the wee hours of the morning when all is quiet. Leon Russell, Led Zeppelin. Bob Dylan. So many great songs and artists.
 
Karen W said:
More music that transports me to another time...

Cream, Canned Heat, Procul Harum, ELO, The Moody Blues. Songs like Nights in White Satin in the wee hours of the morning when all is quiet. Leon Russell, Led Zeppelin. Bob Dylan. So many great songs and artists.
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I so much recognise all these - and saw quite a few of them live.
 
I have been pondering this for a while, unable to pin down a particular song. A light bulb came on yesterday when Johnny Walker played Bohemian Rhapsody on Sounds of the Seventies. Other than nursery songs (Puff the Magic Dragon, Morningtown Ride, Two Little Boys etc.) I didn't like pop music at all in my early childhood. I found glam rock a bit scary and other early seventies stuff (which I now love) seemed too grown up and sophisticated. Bohemian Rhapsody was probably the first time I liked a record that my parents did too. It marked the start of my interest in music.

The other track that springs to mind is Geno by Dexys Midnight Runners. They were the first band I ever saw live. A friend and I sneaked out to a local nightclub where they were playing (early eighties). Despite being under-aged, my friend (who knew the club owner) got us in through the back door in exchange for us helping to load the band's kit onto their van after the concert. As "staff" we managed to get right in front of the stage, right in front of the brass section belting out the chorus to Geno. The raw power of those sax's, trumpets and trombones totally blew my mind. I still get goosebumps thinking about it.
 
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