Rock and Roll will never die!

It took perhaps five years for Ransom to understand that if I was playing rock and roll when he came home it did not mean I was mad at him. He had a hard time believing I could actually like rock music; after all he knew I liked Mozart and Bach and opera. To this day he doesn't understand how I can swim in both streams, but at least he no longer thinks it's personal.

I watched Pirate Radio last night and I've gotta say: WOW! What a fun time. It's an excellent little movie, very funny and very tight, but most importantly, it has perhaps the greatest soundtrack of all time. From All Day and All of the Night by the Kinks to Won't Get Fooled Again by the Who to my favorite, the much less-heard Here Comes the Night by Them, Van Morrison's break-out band. There's also the who-remembers-it-was-such-fun-to-sing Elenore by the Turtles.

While I do in fact love classical music and while I believe Wagner's Ring is the greatest musical achievement of all time, rock and roll has an energy that can't be denied and a history that is irrevocably tied to my life. I was grinning through virtually every minute of the film, either for what I was watching, or what I was hearing -- and for what I was remembering. I think there was only one song I didn't know; the rest were the soundtrack of my life, at least through the late 60s.

I remember watching the Ed Sullivan show to see Elvis and, later, the Beatles. I saw the Rolling Stones at the tiny Virginia Beach Dome, at Norfolk's Scope and then at Shea Stadium. I saw the Beatles at RFK stadium, long before it was, sadly, renamed that. There was the Grateful Dead, the Who, Elton John and countless soul and Motown groups as well. Though I don't go to rock concerts anymore, I am still very much the windows-down, hair-blowing, turn-it-up guy I was 40 years ago.

My only disappointment in Pirate Radio was that the version of Stay With Me used over the closing credits is by Duffy. It pales in comparison to the pretty much unknown original by Lorraine Ellison, a must-have for anyone who loves soul music. (Note: I see that the CD soundtrack has both versions; perhaps Ellison's was heard in the background at some point and I missed it). A minor quibble. The point is: see this movie!  And crank it up.

Long live rock!