Mixed Tape

One of my most vivid childhood memories was being in the car and listening to a mixed tape my parents had made. It had many hit songs and popular tunes from the 60s and 70s like I Am Woman Hear Me Roar, The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face, Top of the World and Hey Jude. I would loudly sing the songs that I had memorized in the order that they had recorded the music throughout the long car rides in New York City traffic. It helped with the car sickness that I felt at times. This was a few years before seatbelts were mandatory, so the only thing that would stop me was my dad’s very jerky driving that would cause me to land on the floor of the car every so often. I’d hear my mom say a few words about his driving and then I’d go back to the world of my mixed tape.

I realize now how much that mixed tape has embedded itself into my memory and my life. I have sung many of those songs on that mixed tape for auditions or live jazz shows even to this day. Regardless of the all the mixed tapes and play lists I made in high school, that mixed tape will stay with me forever.