Since she was a young girl, I’ve made it my mission to make sure my daughter learned about classic rock history. I’m proud to say she’s grown up as a major Beatles lover and a fan of Springsteen, The Who, and more.
Over the weekend, we were talking about songs from the 1970s which were based on (or had a connection to) classical music, including top 40 favorites like Apollo 100’s “Joy” and Mason Williams’ “Classical Gas.” She mentioned “Nutrocker,” the only tune she knew by Emerson Lake and Palmer, and asked that I play some other ELP classics for her. So I cued up “Karn Evil 9,” “From The Beginning,” and “Still You Turn Me On.”
Then we explored some other bands that were stalwarts of FM rock stations but rarely got top 40 play, like Pink Floyd, Yes, Quicksilver Messenger Service (“Fresh Air”), and finally Jethro Tull. She only knew their song “Aqualung” (but didn’t know it was about a pedophile), so I played “Bungle In The Jungle,” “Locomotive Breath,” and video of a live version of “Bouree,” complete with Ian Anderson’s one-legged flute solo. Then I mentioned that she should ask her Uncle Stuart to tell her more about Tull, because he’s a longtime fan.
When we called him, Stuart asked if we had seen this — it’s Anderson (on Earth) playing a duet of “Bouree” with astronaut Cady Coleman (on the International Space Station) in April, 2011. We liked it so much I’ve made it today’s Picture Of The Day…